Formula 1 Will Get FIFA Like Treatment via Codemasters

Publisher Codemasters has talked about launching yearly versions for the Formula 1 franchise, aiming to mimic the launch schedule of other important sports series like FIFA and Madden NFL from EA Sports, believing that the predictable launch dates are important for success.

Steven Hood, who is one of the designers working on the Formula 1 games, told Play.tm that, “At the moment we’ve got the license for 2011. I think were in negotiations about 2012. I would love to see Codemasters – if we can keep building on this every year – as a FIFA-type yearly update.”

He added, “When we set out our ideas for Formula One in the first place, a lot of people said to us, ‘What can you do in Formula One that is original?’ There’s sh*t loads of things that we’ve got ideas for, but its a case of trying to get as much as you can in 2010 and update that with a bunch of new features in 2011. But I’d love to plan further ahead as well, and build towards the ultimate F1 game.”

Paul Jean, who is a senior producer on F1 2010, has added that the team has ideas that cannot be implemented in the game they are working on, because mostly of time constraints, but that they can often form the basis for next year's Formula 1 video game.

Formula 1 2010 has a host of interesting features, including significant impact of weather on racing, with wet conditions changing the way cars performs and forcing drivers to stick to a dry line.

The game also allows players to get new and better parts as the season progresses, if they do well on the track, simulating the constant research effort that goes on in real Formula 1.

F1 2010 has been released and can be played on the PC, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft.