UK, April 23, 2009 - Ferrari is in the midst of its most fallow period since 1981, the reigning World Champion has hit the self destruct button as he struggles with an ill-designed McLaren and the car to beat had barely turned a wheel before the lights went green at last month's season opener – even in its infancy, the 2009 F1 season has had more shocks and surprises over its first handful of races than the sport has managed over the past few years. The expectation for the tie-in game is reaching fever-pitch among fans whose craving has been stoked by some of the best on-track racing for years, but Codemasters has a surprise of its own. The first fruits of the newly forged relationship between the Midlands studio and the FIA won't be coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PC, with Formula 1 2009 being limited to releases on Wii and PSP.
"The scale of development that was required for the next-gen projects, especially with something like Formula 1, to do it on such a massive high-def scale requires a lot more development time than less powerful platforms like the PSP and Wii," admits brand manager Paul Walters on the choice made by Codemasters.
"We definitely looked at whether it would be possible to get a game of high enough quality on next-gen in 2009. It will be a wait, but one that's worth it," adds Codemasters' Communications Manager Adrian Lawton. "And in the meantime we're able to produce a high quality game on Wii and PSP within the timescale. The Wii is the biggest platform in the world now, so why not have a fully featured comprehensive racer for it?"
Once the initial pang of disappointment has subsided, the logic behind the decision becomes a little clearer - and from the evidence we've seen, there's no reason to believe that Formula 1 2009 on the Wii and PSP will be anything other than a fully-featured and extensive take on motor racing's premier tier.
Sumo Digital, the reliable Sheffield outfit behind Virtua Tennis 2009 among other titles, is on development duties and its intention is to create an authentic recreation of the sport. With Codemasters providing a guiding hand, as well as the physics base from the EGO engine that's powered the racing studio's next-gen output to date, there's every reason to believe the team will be successful in achieving their aim.
Firstly, put aside concerns that the lead platform's perceived audience will dictate the gameplay – the team are adamant that Formula One 2009 won't be an infantile take on the sport. Nor, however, will it be the sole reserve of the hardcore who salivate at the prospect of tweaking wing angles. "We're trying to make an authentic recreation of the sport but at the same time we really want an accessible version," declares the game's producer Jason Wakelam.
Authenticity is the watchword for Formula 1 2009, so expect to see every aspect of this season up on the screen. All 20 cars will take to all 17 tracks that make up the grand prix tour, with the teams providing assistance in the creation of the in-game models. There's still gaps to be plugged before the game's release – Sumo Digital's realisation of Hermann Tilke's Abu Dhabi circuit is still under construction, though it's still likely to be completed before its real-life counterpart, and at the time of our visit the all-conquering Brawn GP001 was still to be implemented – but come launch day it will present a painstakingly accurate facsimile of the season.
Naturally, that authenticity extends to the inclusion of the new rule-set that's turned F1's pecking order on its head. Indeed, the most fundamental of the changes seems to have been plucked from the world of videogames in the first place. KERS, or Kinetic Energy Recovery System to give it its full moniker, is a complex system that stores the force dissipated under braking and puts the extra power at the driver's disposal. Put simply, it's a push-to-pass button that allows drivers a temporary boost for around six seconds every lap – think of it as your own little Mushroom power-up to be used at will.
Realistic weather, accurate damage and fully customisable race strategy all feed into the game's realism, but the authenticity is also going to manifest itself in some more novel ways. Instead of delivering a slavish recreation of the television coverage, the game's aim is instead to mimic the driver's experience on a race weekend. That means no sassy remarks from Brundle or Legard, but instead commentary will come from the pit crew themselves – and some of F1's unsung stars could be playing a part. Rob Smedley, Felipe Massa's race engineer who's become a vocal presence in coverage of the sport over the past few years, has expressed an interest in lending his Northern tones to the game, as have several other notable Formula 1 personnel.
It's one example of Codemasters and Sumo trying to replicate some of the personality of the sport in the game: but will this be extended to mimicking some of each driver's traits in-game? Will Trulli's race pace fail to match the standard he lays down in qualifying? Will Vettel prove mercurial in the wet? And will Kazuki Nakajima spend most of his time frolicking in the gravel?
Codemasters are aiming to keep the game at a steady 60fps.
"We've definitely got the capabilities," says Walters. "The fact that the McLaren car last year was hard on its tyres – but that made it good in the wet and it handled better than the Ferrari did – we've got the ability to do that, and that's something we're looking to building in there. As to people being better at qualifying – that's still something to be confirmed."
Either way, Formula 1 2009 will definitely have the credentials to satiate the hardcore fans of the sport who have been left without an official game for over two years. But Codemasters has got its eye on the new audience that Formula 1 is drawing. Both the Wii and PSP are well placed to reap the benefit of a sport that's been rejuvenated by a new generation of heroes, the stultifying boredom of Michael Schumacher's metronomic dominance giving way to an exuberance personified by the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. The fact that this is Hamilton's videogame debut isn't lost on Codemasters, which is keen not to alienate the younger audience that the Briton's successes have attracted.
"We did a lot of focus groups and research before we embarked on this, and Formula 1 was a turn-off because they expected to spend an hour qualifying only to crash off a few laps into an 80 lap race," warns Wakelam, going on to express the importance of a game that can appeal across the vast spectrum of the sport's audience.
That calls for a game that inhabits the world of both simulation and arcade racing, with comprehensive driving aids facilitating both extremes as well as each and every degree in-between. Assists are available in the staple flavours, applicable to brakes, steering and traction control, but the twist comes in their implementation. The game will employ a system entitled 'Fair Race', an analytic that will tailor the driving model to the driver's skill, allowing father and son to compete on a balanced playing field.
Other modes will condense the F1 experience into more digestible elements; splitscreen gameplay on the Wii (and four-player ad-hoc wireless on the PSP) brings full multiplayer support, while a series of F1-themed challenges brings more bite-sized play. This extends to the inclusion of scenarios – so it's possible to take charge of Hamilton and try to recreate his last lap heroics from last year's Brazilian Grand Prix. For the longer game, a three year career mode will supplement a straight up run-through of the 2009 season, allowing players to guide their own driver from the back of the grid.
So Formula 1 2009 on Wii and PSP is looking like a serious prospect, but we can't help but be curious about next year's instalment that's to hit the more powerful platforms. Is what we've seen of Formula 1 2009 indicative of what to expect for 2010's game? "There is a longer term plan, but for now we just want to focus on this one," says Wakelam, although a single presentation slide outlines the direction that Formula 1 2010 is going to take. 'Be the Driver, Live the Life' is the slogan suggesting that the engaging career modes that have marked out Codemasters recent efforts such as GRID and DiRT will play a part in the game.
That game won't be out until the middle of 2010, but Formula 1 2009 looks like it's going to be more than just a stop-gap when it comes to Wii and PSP this Autumn.
(but with more realistic collision physics)...
