Mentre il nuovo Test Drive Unlimited viene molto apprezzato dalla nazionale di calcio Brasiliana (leggi sotto comunicato stampa) che lo ha provato, vi possiamo mostrare quella che sarà la confezione del gioco targato Atari.

In order to keep the members of the Brazilian National Football Team entertained between matches, Atari and the Kempinski Hotel Falkenstein have provided a games lounge for the players. The Brazilian Football Stars are first in line to have the opportunity of road-testing a pre-release version of the Massively Open Online Racing Game (MOOR) Test Drive Unlimited. Microsoft has provided Atari with five Xbox 360 debug kits for this purpose.

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The action in Test Drive Unlimited takes place on the streets of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Players participate in online races and create communities by establishing or joining exclusive member clubs as a platform for communication. They can trade cars and race against the best international competitors in a special online mode.

The extensive number of vehicles was designed with great respect even on the smallest details to ensure that they resemble their real-life counterparts in terms of external as well as internal appearance. The large choice offers players to equip their garages according to their personal preferences with the most sought after and fastest cars on the planet, which were licensed by 25 top manufacturers.

For further information, screenshots and a trailer, go to: www.atari.com/testdriveunlimited

La EA Sports ha annunciato che il pilota testimonial per il prossimo Nascar 07 sarà il bravissimo Elliott Sadler. Nascar 07 sarà disponibile a settembre per XBox e Playstation. Questo il comunicato stampa:

"I'm thrilled that EA has chosen me as their cover athlete for the game this year," said Sadler, driver of the No. 38 M&M's Ford Fusion for Robert Yates Racing. "I've been a big fan of this game for a while now and play it as often as I can whether I'm on the road or at home."

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"The changes for the game this year are really going to impress folks," Sadler added. "They've brought the excitement and speed aspects of our sport to the forefront and put the control in the hands of the player. It'll feel like you are right there in the car with me, feeling that adrenaline rush I get every time I'm out there on the track."

Todd Sitrin, vice president of marketing, EA Tiburon, stated, "Over the years we have watched Elliott deal with some of the most exhilarating racing situations in the sport and come out on top. He represents what NASCAR 07 is all about, dealing with difficult situations and not letting it get to you, but instead focusing on the next opportunity and doing what you can to win."

Elliott Sadler comes from a long line of racing history on the short tracks of Virginia, his home state. He spent two years in the NASCAR Busch Series before joining the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series ranks in 1998 with Wood Brothers Racing. After four seasons, Sadler and Wood Brothers parted ways and he secured a spot behind the wheel of the No. 38 M&M's Ford at Robert Yates Racing.

2006 marks Sadler's eighth season of competition on NASCAR's premier circuit, where he has amassed three wins, a Gatorade Duel victory and six pole positions. Sadler has the distinction of being one of only four drivers to stay in the top-10 in points throughout the entire inaugural Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup in 2004.

Get an inside look at the incredibly fast and dangerous world of NASCAR racing with NASCAR 07. The control is now in the hands of the player as they attempt to navigate through intense moments with drivers racing inches apart at 200 mph. Push your car to the limit and leave drivers in the dust as all-new effects from screen blurring to camera shaking highlight every detail of the action. Modify your car's handling to your exact specification with a user-friendly sliding scale that makes for ultimate control behind the wheel. Get a NASCAR 101 racing education in a one-on-one tutorial from Kenny Wallace, then select your favorite driver and invest skill points to help him reach the pinnacle of the sport: The NEXTEL Cup Series championship.

NASCAR 07 will be on store shelves September 6th and is rated "E" for (Everyone) by the ESRB. The game will be available on the PS2, Xbox and NASCAR will also be available on the PSP.

Gli sviluppatori di Forza Motorsport 2 hanno presentato via Internet alcuni fotogrammi aggiuntivi dal trailer apparso durante la fiera E3 2006, che tuttora rappresenta l'unica "prova visiva" del gioco. Oltre alle immagini, sono disponibili alcuni sfondi per il desktop dedicati alla Ferrari 430 GTI, a questo indirizzo.

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Tra le novità annunciate finora, si segnala una più accurata modellazione dei danni, un frame-rate più elevato (60FPS), più opzioni nella modifica di ogni vettura oltre all'ovvia aggiunta di nuove auto e circuiti, questi ultimi (in buona parte) ricreati da vere piste professionali. Salvo ritardi, Forza Motorsport 2 si presenterà nei negozi attorno a fine anno, probabilmente nel periodo natalizio.

La Atari ha diramato un nuovo comunicato stampa, che trovate qui sotto, per elencare nel dettaglio le varie features della modalità single player del prossimo Test Drive Unlimited:

The challenging single player game in Atari’s hotly anticipated Massively Open Online Racer, Test Drive Unlimited offers a fully-featured gameplay experience, complementing the online play to give gamers playing offline the complete jet-set luxury lifestyle and the chance to rack up the road miles.

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SINGLE PLAYER GAME FEATURES

For more information, screens and trailers visit www.testdriveunlimited.com.

Il portale di SimHQ, nell'ambito della rassegna stampa denominata "Unification Theory" dedicata al simracing, ha pubblicato la terza parte dell'articolo con l'interessante intervista fatta ad Hudson Kerr, noto modder grafico.

We now continue our series where we let the sim-racing community talk about… the sim-racing community. After some initial confusion on the part of the concierge at SimHQ towers as to where exactly my cubicle was located, and a slight delay the consequence, the concierge and my guest for the day, Hudson Kerr ran into “20mm� in the hall who told the befuddled concierge to “just keep going towards the soundtrack with the banshee noise of the V16 BRM�...

Secondo le informazioni raccolte dalla Rivista Ufficiale Xbox, Project Gotham Racing 3 dovrebbe ricevere entro breve un nuovo aggiornamento tramite Xbox Live, scaricabile ovviamente solo da chi è abbonato a Internet con un Xbox 360.

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I contenuti dello "style pack" annoverano macchine vecchie e nuove (Ferrari 430 Challenge, Mini Cooper S, Pagani Zonda F) parzialmente riviste nella dotazione estetica e nelle prestazioni che saranno vendute sia come pezzo unico sia come singoli esemplari. La prima soluzione dovrebbe costare circa 400 punti, mentre il prezzo di una vettura singola sarà di 60 punti Microsoft. Attualmente si parla anche di un'auto "omaggio" che tutti gli utenti potranno scaricare gratuitamente, ovvero la RUF (Porsche modificata) RK Spyder.

[Fonte Nextgame.it]

E' disponibile a questo link la nuova versione demo da 28 MB del nuovo Phoenix Racing, divertente titolo racing arcade che in questo dimostrativo ci offre due tracciati ed una fiammante Allard J2X Mk1.

In Phoenix Racing, you can modify everything from the transmission to the drive shafts. There are 10 different slots on the car you can switch out. As you race and win, modify your car and build it into a true racing machine. See if you have what it takes to handle the race. This demo features two tracks and the Allard J2X Mk1, built on real-world car data.

Il nuovo Test Drive Unlimited della Atari sarà in mostra presso il Max Power Live di Birmingham, in Inghilterra, dal 30 giugno fino al 2 luglio, con la possibilità di provare direttamente il gioco.

Video games developer and publisher Atari today announced it is showcasing their highly anticipated racing game for Xbox 360, Test Drive Unlimited, at Max Power Live between 30th June and 2nd July 2006.

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This is the very first time Test Drive Unlimited, will be on public display allowing visitors to get their hands some of the world’s hottest cars and bikes made by the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ducati, Aston Martin, Pagani and lots more. Test Drive Unlimited will feature on thirty Xbox 360 pods, a super car will be featured on the main area and attendees will have the chance to win an Xbox 360 and white Sony PSP consoles every day of the show.

Attendees will also have the chance to have their picture taken with the Test Drive lovelies which can be claimed on a special ‘Max Power Test Drive Unlimited’ website where they can also win £1000 worth of Ben Sherman gear, a Pyramat gaming chair, High Definition televisions, and copies of what has been described by critics as one of the hottest games of 2006.

Packed with the world’s most luxurious vehicles, more than one thousand miles of open Hawaiian roads, a challenging single player game and a host of online options, Test Drive Unlimited is the ultimate automotive gaming experience. Test Drive Unlimited is racing reinvented!

Test Drive Unlimited will be available on Xbox 360 in September 2006 and on PSP, PS2 and PC later in the year.

Test Drive Unlimited can be seen at stand 10440 at Max Power Live – Birmingham NEC Arena.

Come anticipato qualche giorno fa, ecco arrivare puntualmente il comunicato stampa di Electronic Arts che annuncia ufficialmente lo sviluppo di Need for Speed Carbon, l'ultimo capitolo della serie automobilistica di EA, curato da EA Black Box di Vancouver, che vedrà la luce il prossimo novembre per PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PSP e PS3, Nintendo Wii, GameCube, DS, GBA e cellulari (dimenticato nessuno?).

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Principale novità di questo capitolo sarà la presenza di corse sulle pericolose strade che costeggiano i canyon americani. «Siamo orgogliosi della nostra abilità nel rinnovare con successo la serie Need for Speed, scoprendo continuamente nuove ed eccitanti tendenze nella cultura automobilistica. Il Canyon Racing – gara di velocità condotta sulle strade lungo i canyon - è un’autentica prova di abilità per ogni pilota, e pensiamo che rappresenti una fantastica opportunità per lo sviluppo di inedite modalità di gioco», ha commentato Larry LaPierre, produttore esecutivo del titolo.

Il giocatore e la sua squadra saranno chiamati a partecipare a una guerra spietata per la città, rischiando il tutto per tutto per conquistare il dominio sui rivali, quartiere dopo quartiere. Quando la polizia interviene, la battaglia si sposta definitivamente a Carbon Canyon, dove fama e supremazia si possono perdere ad ogni singola curva.
Particolare attenzione, come si diceva anche nella news segnalata all'inizio, alla personalizzazione delle auto, con la possibilità di progettare e modificare in ogni modo i bolidi della propria grazie alla tecnologia Autosculpt (di cui parleremo meglio non appena ne sapremo di più).

Vi lasciamo con le prime - ancorchè poco significative - immagini del gioco.

[Fonte TGM Online]