Sony Losing the F1 license? EA to get it back?

[Nozzleman_216]

http://www.qj.net/Sony-to-lose-Formula- ... aid/106573

While the article does not specifically state that EA is buying the license, it sure is a lot of money to pay a driver........for WHAT? It has to be a new game. This may be a bad thing since its EA, but it will get the game to the 360 only owners and that would please MANY including me! Time will tell and I am sure there will be some bug announcement before we know it.

[matthewk]

This may be a bad thing since its EA,...I am sure there will be some bug announcement before we know it.

Is your subconcious talking?

[Rodster]

Not good news for F1 fans because between the two companies Sony produced the better F1 games for their consoles whereas EA's F1 console games where crap.

The only EA F1 game that was good was F1 Challenge '99-'02(PC) the very last year on their F1 license before they lost it to Sony.

[pk500]

Agree with Rodster. EA did nothing with the F1 license for the console when it had it in the late 90s and earlier this decade. Its F1 console games were complete sh*t.

Take care,
PK

[webdanzer]

This may be a bad thing since its EA,...I am sure there will be some bug announcement before we know it.

Is your subconcious talking?

[Nozzleman_216]

LOL I guess it was.

[spooky157]

Not good news for F1 fans because between the two companies Sony produced the better F1 games for their consoles whereas EA's F1 console games where crap.

I hope this doesn't mean EA will have exclusive rights. Just because EA might be back in F1 gaming doesn't necessarily mean that Sony has to tap out. Both EA and Sony were doing F1 games back in the early days of PS2 so hopefully that will be the case once more.

[Nozzleman_216]

Not good news for F1 fans because between the two companies Sony produced the better F1 games for their consoles whereas EA's F1 console games where crap.

I hope this doesn't mean EA will have exclusive rights. Just because EA might be back in F1 gaming doesn't necessarily mean that Sony has to tap out. Both EA and Sony were doing F1 games back in the early days of PS2 so hopefully that will be the case once more.

Not sure, but somewhere I read that Sony made the comment that the license (exclusivity) was too expensive. So maybe back then there was no such thing as an exclusive license OR they shared the cost and they are about to do the same thing.

[GB_Simo]

Its F1 console games were complete sh*t.

I gave myself the task of reviewing F1 Career Challenge at the old Calvert Games, and God, was it bad. The car you were steering never seemed to be your own, and the list of bugs, glitches and duff bits of design was unbelievable - I recall that Michael Schumacher could still win the 1999 title, because even though he was replaced by Mika Salo after Silverstone as in real life, when he came back in Malaysia he'd take over all of the points Salo scored, and that in the 2000 season Sauber had Diniz in the 2000 car and Salo in the 2001 car.

Shame, really, since their first next-gen release, F1 2001, showed promise as long as you didn't have any AI cars near you, and their PSOne games were phenomenally easy but otherwise enjoyable.

[10spro]

Its F1 console games were complete sh*t.

For most of the games but I did have a pleasant journey with the PS3 version and PSP.

[pk500]

Its F1 console games were complete sh*t.

For most of the games but I did have a pleasant journey with the PS3 version and PSP.

I said EA's F1 console games were crap. F1 was long out of the F1 gaming business when the PSP and PS3 were released.

Take care,
PK

[10spro]

Its F1 console games were complete sh*t.

For most of the games but I did have a pleasant journey with the PS3 version and PSP.

I said EA's F1 console games were crap. F1 was long out of the F1 gaming business when the PSP and PS3 were released.

Take care,
PK

Stand corrected PK.

[Rodster]

Not good news for F1 fans because between the two companies Sony produced the better F1 games for their consoles whereas EA's F1 console games where crap.

I hope this doesn't mean EA will have exclusive rights. Just because EA might be back in F1 gaming doesn't necessarily mean that Sony has to tap out. Both EA and Sony were doing F1 games back in the early days of PS2 so hopefully that will be the case once more.

Well i'm not too optimistic because if Sony still had rights they would have rightfully called F1 Champion Edition, F1 2007 and they didn't. So I suspect they have decided not to renew past the 2006 season.

Another reason why i'm not too optimistic is that's what EA did before turning over the F1 license to Sony back in 2003. Instead of EA releasing F1 2003 they called it F1 Challenge '99-'02 so as not to violate licensing rights.

[Rodster]

Not sure, but somewhere I read that Sony made the comment that the license (exclusivity) was too expensive. So maybe back then there was no such thing as an exclusive license OR they shared the cost and they are about to do the same thing.

It doesn't surprise me one bit. It's the same reason EA did not renew their F1 license for 2003 and instead introduced F1 Challenge '99-'02.

I think what's different for EA this time around is the next Tiger Woods but literally and figuratively, Lewis Hamilton. They are banking on his appeal, looks and skill to sell mass market videogames something they couldn't do with a Formula One license in the past.

[spooky157]

Not sure, but somewhere I read that Sony made the comment that the license (exclusivity) was too expensive. So maybe back then there was no such thing as an exclusive license OR they shared the cost and they are about to do the same thing.

It doesn't surprise me one bit. It's the same reason EA did not renew their F1 license for 2003 and instead introduced F1 Challenge '99-'02.

I think what's different for EA this time around is the next Tiger Woods but literally and figuratively, Lewis Hamilton. They are banking on his appeal, looks and skill to sell mass market videogames something they couldn't do with a Formula One license in the past.

Maybe it's not an F1 game at all...maybe they're working on "Lewis Hamilton's Need For Speed" or something along those lines.

[Rodster]

Maybe it's not an F1 game at all...maybe they're working on "Lewis Hamilton's Need For Speed" or something along those lines.

For their sake I hope not. Jeff Gordon and Michael Schumacher couldn't sell racing videogames on their name alone. Everyone who knows or has heard of Lewis Hamilton thinks Formula 1. I bet it's either an F1 game OR a no name open wheel grand prix type game. I still think it will be F1 because the rumor was already circulating that Sony was giving up their F1 license and EA was going to resign. I think the Hamilton effect is what EA is banking on and it should pay off. I just hope the game is good.

[GB_Simo]

Maybe it's not an F1 game at all...maybe they're working on "Lewis Hamilton's Need For Speed" or something along those lines.

Given that Johnny Herbert, Nelson Piquet, Prost Grand Prix and Jacques Villeneuve have lent their name to games in the recent past, and that Villeneuve's and Piquet's were nothing at all to do with any existing racing series, that could quite easily be true.

[GB_Simo]

Jeff Gordon and Michael Schumacher couldn't sell racing videogames on their name alone.

True enough, but when Michael's karting game was released it was developed and published by JoWood, who are quite some distance away from having the kind of marketing clout EA have.

[JRod]

And knowing EA, year 1 will be shiite. Year 2 well be decent with bugs. Year 3 is when it will start to show what it can do. Who can wait 3 years for EA to make a decent racing game?

[Rodster]

And knowing EA, year 1 will be shiite. Year 2 well be decent with bugs. Year 3 is when it will start to show what it can do. Who can wait 3 years for EA to make a decent racing game?

Hell it's been four years and EA still can't make a decent NASCAR game. What makes us think they will pull a rabbit out of their hat with a stellar F1 title.

One reason why EA F1 games sucked because they used the ISI engine better known as the rFactor people. The ISI engine has been known to have crap AI and that was EA's biggest problem as the AI sucked with the exception of F1 Challenge 99-02 for the PC. That game had a somewhat decent AI although not in the same league with Grand Prix 4 which to this day is the benchmark for PC based racing AI.

[GB_Simo]

One reason why EA F1 games sucked because they used the ISI engine better known as the rFactor people. The ISI engine has been known to have crap AI and that was EA's biggest problem as the AI sucked with the exception of F1 Challenge 99-02 for the PC.

Rod, I'm happy to be corrected on this but I've always understood that Visual Sciences were responsible for EA's console F1 engine, as they were for Formula One '98 by Psygnosis. That was certainly true for EA's PSOne efforts, and I'm fairly sure they had something to do with the PS2/XBox one. Might be wrong, though.

[Rodster]

Rod, I'm happy to be corrected on this but I've always understood that Visual Sciences were responsible for EA's console F1 engine, as they were for Formula One '98 by Psygnosis. That was certainly true for EA's PSOne efforts, and I'm fairly sure they had something to do with the PS2/XBox one. Might be wrong, though.

You are correct as I was referring to the PC version which was based on the ISI engine. Psygnosis was a Sony 1st party publisher/developer who was actually Bizarre Creations. When Bizarre Creations got pissed off and it was handed over to Visual Sciences the brand went into a decline. There was no comparison between Psygnosis F1 Championship Edition and Formula 1 '98 as F1 '98 was rubbish.

Visual Sciences took there lack of skills and were hired by EA. I don't know why because Milestone who did the critically acclaimed Superbike series also used the ISI engine. I honestly thought every PS1 and PS2 EA F1 game was garbage but EA's last PC effort was solid and highly modifiable again because it was based on the ISI engine. Visual Sciences did a decent job on the PC side only because they based their game from a highly modifiable developer, ISI.

[jcalvert]

I gave myself the task of reviewing F1 Career Challenge at the old Calvert Games, and God, was it bad.

You tell 'em! CG was the best! LOL

Blast from the past. Just could not resist posting.

[GB_Simo]

Rod, my fault - I didn't realise we were discussing the PC games too.

F1 '98, for what little it's worth, was a rush job. Bizarre Creations admit that their code for Formula One and Formula One '97/Championship Edition was a tangled mess. Visual Sciences preferred to build their own engine, but had nowhere near the time needed to do it to their satisfaction, or indeed to yours, mine or anyone else's.

As far as EA, console and PC releases are totally different beasts, as you've said. Superbike 2000, for example, was just about Milestone's finest hour on PC but an absolute disaster on PSOne. If they've really got a Lewis Hamilton licence, or they're using him as figurehead for an F1 release, then it's almost certain that game is going to lead on consoles, where EA's track record gives little cause for optimism.

JC, I was hoping you might be around to catch that. We had plenty of good stuff posted there, much of it race-based. I still read the blog too, lurking quietly.

[Airdog]

Not good news for F1 fans because between the two companies Sony produced the better F1 games for their consoles whereas EA's F1 console games where crap.

The only EA F1 game that was good was F1 Challenge '99-'02(PC) the very last year on their F1 license before they lost it to Sony.

At the very least, consumers on all (most) platforms would have a chance to play an F1 title if Sony loses exclusivity. It would be best if multiple developers/publishers got a crack at it though.