Microsoft may be ending 2009 with only one high profile exclusive for the XBox 360: Forza Motorsport 3 from Turn 10 Studios – but the year ahead looks ever more hopeful. It seems that the 360 will have two more exclusives to add to it’s stable. Ironically enough, in a year that sees the release of the much awaited Gran Turismo V for the Playstation 3, these two “confidential projects” could very well be sequels to established racing franchises.
RABCAT Group is an experienced and self-proclaimed “leading supplier of high-end realtime 3D content for the interactive games industry. Publishers and Developers from all around the world trust our ability to create state-of-the-art quality both on time and on budget.” This same studio has performed the “production of true to original exterior and interior work for Turn10`s upcoming next generation racing game” which is – you guessed it – Forza Motorsport 3.
If you look at the company’s Track Record on it’s Company page, you’ll see three “confidential projects”, one being for 360 and PS3, and published by Disney Interactive Studios. This has already been confirmed to be Split/Second, under development by Blackrock Studios of Pure fame.
The other two projects – one undergoing development this year for Microsoft Game Studios, the other since 2007 for Eden Games/Atari – are exclusive to the 360.
RABCAT Group is experienced in providing 3D content, which branches out into character assets (Silent Hill Origins, PSP) and level design (Cursed Mountain, Wii). However, their main expertise and signature talent lies in their vehicle creation assets. Sample this:
- 20+ next gen race cars for Forza Motorsport 3
- Vehicle asset porting from PS2 to Xbox for GTA Vice City
- 2 off-road vehicles and vehicle concept artwork for Motorstorm
- 15 destructible next-gen vehicles for Alone in the Dark
Take another look at the “confidential project” of 2007 from Eden Games/Atari. This was the year that the same developer/publisher had already put out Test Drive Unlimited. Incidentally, RABCAT has designed “60+ next gen cars” for the same, aside from plenty of Alone in the Dark work for the same companies. A year later, it’s confirmed that Test Drive Unlimited 2 is under development, the platforms not yet being revealed (and thus far, it’s been the only racing game under development by them thus far). Habib Baka, a 3D Character Artist for Eden Games, recently posted that he’s been working on it since July 2009, so the game definitely exists.
That being said, Test Drive Unlimited 2 could be exclusive to the Xbox 360 – or at least a timed exclusive, given how it’s predecessor came to the original Xbox before it’s PSP and PS2 versions.
The other confidential project? Are there any other racing game franchises that have been exclusive to the Xbox series of consoles besides Forza Motorsport? Just one – the critically and commercially acclaimed Project Gotham Racing, developed by Bizarre Creations (which is owned by Activision). Each PGR since then has had a 2-year gap between sequels, so it fits into the pattern of past PGR releases. The game is most certainly not Blur since that title is being published by Activision and this one is under the wing of Microsoft Games Studios.
Be what they may, there’s little chance we’ll see these titles before Summer of 2010 (it’s even been speculated that Test Drive Unlimited 2 could hit consoles till 2011) but when the support of a leading asset developer, one instrumental in the third iteration of Forza, is in your favour, the future sure looks bright for racing game fans.
I hope it's Rallisport Challange, but I think it just might be DLC for Forza 3
