Ferrari Challenge

[db2450]

http://threespeech.com/blog/2008/07/...ceo-mark-cale/

If you’re a tifosi – a fanatical Ferrari fan – then your prayers may just have been answered, in the form of Ferrari Challenge, a new racing game exclusively for the PlayStation 3, published by small but perfectly formed UK outfit System 3 and developed by Eutechnyx.


Ferrari Challenge is dead simple to describe – it exactly mirrors the real-life Ferrari Challenge racing series, in which (mostly non-professional) drivers race lightweight Challenge versions of the F430 in three parts of the world: Italy, Europe and North America. One of the most popular and longest standing racing series in the world, you can now experience it vicariously on your PS3s.

To mark the game’s arrival on 4 July, System 3 threw a bash at the Kempinski Hotel on London’s Great Marlborough Street, at which we arrived in style in the passenger seat of an F430 Spyder. There, we got to play the game, and subsequent time with it confirmed our initial thoughts that it was perhaps the most serious simulation-style racing game yet for the PS3.

Packed full of classic racing Ferraris waiting to be unlocked, and featuring some of the world’s finest tracks (as well as “Ferrari” tracks like Mugello and Fiorano, you’ll find the likes of Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Hockenheim), its stand-out feature is the cars’ handling, which is incredibly realistic (so older cars are a real handful); the control system gives you bags of feel, and really rewards good racing technique.

We also caught up with System 3 CEO Mark Cale, something of an industry legend who has been making games since 1984. Ferrari Challenge is very much a labour of love for Cale – he has actually raced in the real-life Ferrari Challenge himself, and he is one of the most passionate Ferrari enthusiasts in the UK. He explained what Ferrari Challenge is all about, the role in the game’s development played by Bruno Senna, nephew of the late, great Ayrton and a man pushing hard for the GP2 title, and much more besides. This is what he said:

Q: How did System 3 manage to get the Ferrari licence and make an official Ferrari game?

Mark Cale: There are three reasons why we got the Ferrari licence. Because of my connection with the factory and the amount of cars I’ve had in the past, plus my passion for Ferraris, I think they felt the licence would be in safe hands, which is a very important thing: we wouldn’t just see it as a way to shift boxes. It’s not about that.

Secondly, I’ve raced in the Challenge, so I know all about it. And thirdly, with the years of experience I’ve got, picking the right development team. Making the right decisions about how we developed the game would be another factor. If you recall, at one point Acclaim had the Ferrari licence, but didn’t pay Ferrari, so they lost the licence. Then EA picked it up for the Need For Speed series, but didn’t do anything with it. So really, it was important that, instead of allowing the licence to go to someone who didn’t have that care or desire to make a good product, we beat other, larger publishers.

So how did we go about making a difference? Choosing the right developer was very easy, because the technology at Eutechnyx is second to none, and they’ve proven themselves, over the years, to be one of the last great independent, global developers.

[Seasonone]

I think I will have to pass on that, I've never had much faith in small firms trying to make a game for 1 company. They just don't have the money or the R&D that Polyphonic or Turn 10 do.

[NooDle]

Ferrari? ZOMG EPIC *starts fapping*

yet ANOTHER reason to get a PS3... but I has no more monies

[Vltros]

Originally Posted by Seasonone

I think I will have to pass on that, I've never had much faith in small firms trying to make a game for 1 company. They just don't have the money or the R&D that Polyphonic or Turn 10 do.

I also thought the same as you until I saw some trailers and images. It's not a game I'm going to buy because I don't like racing games with only one car brand (except for NFS: Porsche Challenge). But it has the looks for being quite a good game very similar to that glorious F355 challenge from SEGA.

[db2450]

Originally Posted by Seasonone

I think I will have to pass on that, I've never had much faith in small firms trying to make a game for 1 company. They just don't have the money or the R&D that Polyphonic or Turn 10 do.

I think it will be a PSN game (PS Store download), so it might not be the full $60 or even $40 taht some games are, which might make it worth the buy. But I do agree with about the money and R&D factor.

[jeffy777]

IGN gave it an 8.3:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/884/884834p1.html

The graphics look alright, but not quite as good as GT5 or Grid. Couple screens:

[Gman333-X-ferrari]