When Project Gotham Racing dev Bizarre Creations was scooped up by Activision last year, many 360 owners were left wondering what would become of the system's flagship racing franchise. Speaking to Kikizo, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim provided one possible (and likely) scenario: put Forza Motorsports 2 team Turn 10 behind the wheel.
Kim says that MS is eager for Turn 10 to branch out and "do more creative execution in the racing space." (Read: more than just hardcore racing sims.) Kim expressed a desire to take "a fresh creative approach" to a fifth game in the series, and, to that end, proposed imagining "a future where [Turn 10] would develop a new version of Project Gotham Racing." We humbly suggest that – should they get the gig – Turn 10 replace Kudos with actual MS points.
Microsoft and Turn 10 might be determined to seek and destroy acts of hatred and discrimination plastered on Xbox Live, but the publisher and developer of Forza 2 couldn't act fast enough to prevent a 1957 Mercedes 300SL, defaced by pro-Nazi symbols and sentiments, from being offered through the game's online auction mode. 360-gamer recently pointed to the unsettling item, criticizing the moderators for their inability to keep this kind of content off of the Xbox Live servers; or at least promptly remove it (apparently the car's been Live for a while).
Whether adolescent mischief or true delusion, a small percentage of user-generated content is always going to incite "discrimination, hate, or violence towards one person or a group." While Microsoft clearly defines the boundaries of condemnable content in its Online User Policy*, the company fails to suggest how it might protect its users from being victimized by such content. Probably because it can't.
Joystiq reader Mike Black, in purportedly his first tip ever (bless his heart), has drawn our attention to a custom Forza 2 design he made "after around 30 hours of work and over 2000 layers." We're impressed, especially given that it's one of our favorite RPGs of all time (full picture). Check out the highlights for today:
Just another ridiculously good user-created paint jobs in Forza2. With this car, you know you've got the full power of Professor Chaos and General Disarray at your disposal. Check out the highlights for this weekend:
Now would be the ideal time to compare EA to The Incredible Hulk in one of your slightly aloof forum debates on the death of innovation in the gaming industry. If there's one thing the gigantic publisher and mass churner is saying in the above video, it's "EA SMASH!" The teaser seems to indicate that the next Need for Speed title (no platform specified) will feature extravagant damage modeling, as well as an array of enormous balloons -- the former is likely the one EA intended to highlight.
Car damage would be a logical addition to the franchise in its current state, though if it wasn't for the Need for Speed branding in the trailer, we might have gotten it confused with EA's other smashing success, Burnout. We'll find out more on May 31st.
Alright, this is getting ridiculous. For the third time in almost as many months, a sports model from Project Gotham Racing 3 has becoming an unwitting spokesmodel for Sony's PlayStation 3. Having already been mistaken for Gran Turismo HD and used to promote the PS3 in a KIA ad, Microsoft's exotic car racer now finds itself inside Dutch magazine, Mediamarkt, as posted in the Bizarre Creations forums. The depicted Saleen has likely been in those pages before... just not in an article discussing the PlayStation 3's future.
Is this indicative of some deeply rooted desire for a multiplatform excursion for the series? Perhaps it's some subtle commentary on the lack of distinguishing features in the racing genre? We'll ponder these questions and more once we've finished our race in the Forizmodemo. Or whatever.
In a politely worded e-mail, Microsoft has announced that seriously simmy sequel, Forza Motorsport 2, has at last gone gold. Having hit Ctrl+S for the final time, the team at Turn 10 Studios has sent the finished code off to the disc pressers, shortly before collapsing into a nearby and distinctly unhygienic pool of blood, sweat and oil.
A demo of Forza 2 is currently available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the full game can be expected to arrive on 29 May. UK retailers currently list a June 8th release date for those that enjoy driving on the wrong side of the road.
Just in time for you to bone up for next semester's driver's ed. class, 691MB of Forza Motorsport 2 demo love have arrived on Xbox Live for your downloading pleasure. We know the demo includes 24 cars selected from several different classes; in fact, community manager Che Chou has already revealed 16 of them, like the 2005 Subaru Legacy B4 2.0 GT and the 2005 TVR Sagaris. The other eight will be a mystery until the demo reaches your hard drive. We're not really what you'd call "car experts" but we're hoping for the 1997 Fastest Car, a 2003 Vroom Vroom Rocket or KITT.
Microsoft has limited the customization options for the demo and and the game isn't sporting any of its Xbox Live features. But if you're eager for a taste of what Forza 2 will have in store , there are many worse ways to spend your zero dollars.
We really wish videogame companies would unify their message. First we're told that crashing is awesome, and now Forza 2 lead designer Dan Greenawalt is telling CVG that his game is driver's ed. on a disc! Well, actually, he said that "things you learn in Forza Motorsport apply in the real world," but that's practically the same thing. Greenwalt explains, saying that there are some videogame conventions that would have your family clipping coupons for Casket Town if you tried them in reality. "They learn that if you're at the edge of traction and you brake, you'll get more turning," Greenwalt said. "Well, that's just not true, and it'll get you killed on a track."
As a result of our completely non-court-orded house arrest (we just loved Disturbia) we're unable to test Greenwalt's assertions. But that also means we're without an answer to the big question: Will games turn us into "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo or Hoke Colburn? No matter what you think the answer is, let's just keep it between us, shall we? We don't need any attorneys-at-lawl getting any bright ideas.
A just punishment for such a terrible mangling of words, not to mention the trickery of "Final Forza 2" leading people to believe that Microsoft was releasing a bizarre automotive RPG, complete with mutant mechanics and bottles of restorative oil. No, the relevant game is Forza 2, simmy sequel to 2005's foray into car customization, reckless racing and all-round Gran Turismo-ing.
The official Forza Motorsport 2 website has unveiled the full list of cars to be included in the final game when it screeches into stores this May. Numbering 310 and representing enough reflective metal to burn holes through the back of your head, the list of cars is sure to please fans unsatisfied by the forthcoming demo's comparatively meager offering of 24 vehicles. It's noted that seven of the 310 cars have been deemed "special," with some only being available to pre-order deals and the game's collectors edition. The "controversial unicorn cars" will also be exclusively available for a limited time in the game's online auction house.
Racing enthusiasts are encouraged to look, use the Forza page and inspect the list closely as they attempt to answer the question, "Is there vroom for improvement?"
After popping up in a scanned page of Official Xbox Magazine, the Forza 2 demo has been given the official and unrelentingly green light by the Microsoft pit crew. The Redmond giant tells Eurogamer that further details regarding the demo, including its time of arrival on the Xbox Live Marketplace "will be confirmed in the coming weeks."
As if sensing the impatience surrounding Forza 2's May release, Microsoft also doled out another list of cars set to be featured in the final product. Though you might better judge them after the break, we feel confident in confirming them all to be fast, shiny and the sort of expensive that demands the use of words like "ludicrously," "disgustingly," "outrageously" and "quite."
According to the Japanese arm of Xbox.com, Japan is no longer being left out of Forza Motorsport 2'sproposed global launch. A press release issued on the site claims Forza 2 will hit Japan on May 24; presumably the same week Turn 10's racer hits North American and European retail.
Xbox.com release dates have proved just as sketchy as any retailer's listing, but this one's bolstered by an official release -- "2007-5-24" it is. Expect a similar date to ring out from Microsoft's GDC outpost later this week.
Turn 10 and Microsoft today revealed plans to launch Forza Motorsport 2 "on a global level simultaneously," indicating that the European version would arrive in May alongside its previously confirmed US counterpart -- no mention of a Japanese release was made. The news was joined by a list of the game's European exotics and several new screens to boot. Sooo ... Gran Turismo 5 or Forza 2?
In a brief and somewhat enthusiastic e-mail, Microsoft has today announced that Forza Motorsport 2 is expected to come roaring out of the development pits in May, straight into the open arms of driving enthusiasts. It could get messy, but getting down to the nitty-gritty and tweaking speeding hunks of metal until they reach peak performance is what the game is all about.
The official site has also been updated with a full track listing, which includes such exotically named locales as Nürburgring Nordschleife, Sunset Peninsula Infield and, err, Test Track. If you still crave satisfaction and insist on doing everything you can for za motorsport (OOF!), consider purchasing two more Xbox 360s and indulging in ludicrous, triple screen immersion (as seen above).
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Posts with tag Forza
Microsoft and Turn 10 might be determined to seek and destroy acts of hatred and discrimination plastered on Xbox Live, but the publisher and developer of Forza 2 couldn't act fast enough to prevent a 1957 Mercedes 300SL, defaced by pro-Nazi symbols and sentiments, from being offered through the game's online auction mode. 360-gamer recently pointed to the unsettling item, criticizing the moderators for their inability to keep this kind of content off of the Xbox Live servers; or at least promptly remove it (apparently the car's been Live for a while).
After popping up in a scanned page of Official Xbox Magazine, the Forza 2 demo has been given the official and unrelentingly green light by the Microsoft pit crew. The Redmond giant tells Eurogamer that further details regarding the demo, including its time of arrival on the Xbox Live Marketplace "will be confirmed in the coming weeks." 
According to the Japanese arm of Xbox.com, Japan is no longer being left out of Forza Motorsport 2's proposed global launch. A press release issued on the site claims Forza 2 will hit Japan on May 24; presumably the same week Turn 10's racer hits North American and European retail.
