Atari announces Race Pro

[Flawless]

TeamXbox

Quote:

Atari Revs its Engines With the Ultra Realistic Racing Experience 'RACE Pro' Nothing Gets Closer to the Real Thrill of the Race Track on Xbox 360 this Fall 2008 NEW YORK, July 11: Atari (OTC Pink Sheets: ATAR) is revving it up with the announcement of the ultra realistic racing video game RACE Pro, scheduled to speed into stores this fall 2008 exclusively for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Developed by renowned award-winning game developer SimBin, a leading creator of PC racing simulators, RACE Pro brings SimBin's formidable skill and know-how to Xbox 360 for the very first time this fall. RACE Pro recreates a breathtaking reality giving gamers the ultimate racing simulation experience, all powered by Lizard, SimBin's own physics engine. With precision physics and handling, racers will feel every bend and burst of acceleration along with every emotion from pre-race tension in the pit lanes to the exhilaration of capturing the checker flag. RACE Pro provides unrivalled realism and deep immersion into the racing world through ultra realistic car models and official FIA championships and tracks. Putting players in the driving seats of their simulated racing careers, racers will have the opportunity to work their way up the leader boards through intense training and winning key races. RACE Pro has something for everyone, allowing players of all levels to pick up and play, while offering challenging tracks and advanced modes for the more experienced players. RACE Pro offers a wealth of cars ranging from 200 to over 1000 horse power, as well as a host of championships including WTCC (World Touring Car Championship), Formula 3000 and Formula BMW. GT cars from manufacturers including Aston Martin and Saleen take their place on the grid as well as production cars such as the Audi R8 and Dodge Viper SRT10. In addition, RACE Pro is exclusively bringing all the WTCC cars from manufacturers Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and Seat to Xbox 360 for the very first time. For a blast of accessible fun, the Mini Cooper Challenge invites players of all abilities to take the wheel. Gamers and racing fans alike will experience the thrill of racing these powerful cars on 13 real life tracks covering all continents, of which Macau, Porto and Pau are exclusive to RACE Pro, and US tracks Laguna Seca and Road America are brand new to SimBin fans. "With five years worth of experience under SimBin's belt, RACE Pro ensures a unique racing experience unlike anything seen before on console," said Cyril Voiron, VP Brand Management, Worldwide Publishing, Atari. "Nothing gets you closer to the ultimate racing sensation than RACE Pro and Atari is proud to add this product to our holiday line-up." "Having personally taken the leap from 20 years of championship racing to racing simulation development, I am really excited for SimBin to be taking its own leap from PC to Xbox 360," said Henrik Roos, CEO, SimBin Studios AB. "We are proud to be taking this significant move with Atari, our trusted partner since our very first game." Online play via Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network for Xbox 360 and System Link support lets up to 12 players take on equally high-powered opponents and test their skills to the limit to reach the finish line ahead of the pack. For friends closer to home, the brand new 'Hot Seat' feature puts players in the driving seat for a limited amount of time before passing the controller to the next player and so on, demanding exceptionally quick reactions and precision racing from even the most seasoned drivers. Nothing gets closer than RACE Pro, the ultra real racing simulation game exclusive to Xbox 360, scheduled for release this fall 2008.

[lnin0]

I almost didn't read this because it said "Atari"...but I'm glad I did give it a glace : SimBin this FALL - YESSSSS!!!!

[Kruza]

Well, this game should make up for having no Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli on the Xbox 360. Great news.

Kruza

[Flamehead]

Nice! Just give me 30+ cars on the track and some damage to go with those physics and I'm there. Between this and the F1 title coming out from Codemasters, looks like the racing sim-heads are finally getting some attention on the consoles now. This should definitely keep me going until I can get a good pc gaming rig.

And these two titles just might allow us to save profiles without getting corrupted. Whoo-Hoo!

[Trupwr]

This must be the "GTR" for consoles they were talking about ealier last year, that was SimBin talking about a FIA game coming soon to consoles

[Flawless]

Race Pro Gets Release Date

Quote:

Race Pro, the upcoming racing simulation game from developer SimBin, is on track for a November release date, publisher Atari confirmed today. The Xbox 360-exclusive title features a variety of cars, including formula, GT and WTCC, and includes more than 15 real-life tracks from around the world. Known for creating highly realistic PC racing sims like GTR, Swedish developer SimBin is making its first foray onto consoles with Race Pro.

New trailer:

[bighoff63]

After watching that trailer and knowing F1 is coming out I'm definitely investing in a racing wheel. This game looks just freaking awesome, I just hope they've got a view from the drivers seat.

[forensicd]

This is Simbin, they are guarenteed to have a drivers seat cam.

[Flawless]

Gamespot: RacePro Hands-On

Quote:

Hardcore racing fans are likely to have heard of Race, SimBin's ultrarealistic driving series. However, the console crowd may not be so familiar with the sim, given that it has so far been exclusive to the PC. Although there was some talk of its predecessor GTR making it to the consoles, it never materialised, which makes RacePro SimBin's first non-PC game. We were excited to see the game in action at this year's Games Convention, where we were also able to pitch all of our questions to the developer of the game. First of all, RacePro is remaining an Xbox 360 exclusive. SimBin claims that it looked into the possibility of PlayStation 3 development, and though it has nothing in the pipeline right now, it remains open to working on the platform in future. For now, the Xbox 360-exclusive version will offer a Career mode in which you'll chase contracts and sponsorship, as well as a 12-player Xbox Live mode. There will be new postrelease content arriving in the form of tracks and cars, but the initial game will ship with 13 tracks and vehicles from Minis to Formula 3000 track cars. RacePro will also offer some tracks for the first time in the series, including Laguna Seca and the Macau Grand Prix. It will also have a multiplayer mode, although it won't run in split-screen. SimBin claims that this is a less-than-ideal way of racing head-to-head, and has instead implemented a feature in which players take turns to control their car in 30- or 60-second bursts. Depending on how you set each race up, the AI will control your car when the other player is racing, and you'll have to swap around the controller in allocated bursts. We didn't actually get to see this mode in action, so we'll just have to remain slightly dubious as to how well it's all going to work. The Race series is notoriously realistic, so there will be plenty of tutorials that ease you into the game. We took the controls on the novice difficulty level and it took us a few corners to start getting the turning right, and we felt the entire car shake with every minor bump and scrape as we learned the controls. There will be novice, semi-pro, and professional difficulty levels in the final game, which will alter the various driving assists that help you keep the car on the road. Of course, the World Touring Car Championship will be officially licensed, as has always been the case, and you'll be able to travel the world as a professional WTCC driver in the Career mode. SimBin also prides itself on modeling every interior accurately, and is especially stringent when it comes to sound. Microphones test the noise output on the engines, tyres, and other parts of the real-life cars to accurately sample the sounds that they actually create. Real-world racing drivers have used the previous games as practice for upcoming races, and with the right driving setup in your home, we expect that the Xbox 360 version will let you do the same. RacePro is set to launch exclusively on the Xbox 360 in November.

[OnlookerDelay]

Ahhh yes... this is starting to sound more and more like the type of racing game of which I have dreamed! This will totally make me forget the disappointment I experienced with GRID!!