Hopefully this means a fun F1 game sometime soon, and on a good console, too.

I hope they don't dumb the game down for the sake of increasing sales.

Fine by me.

I'm playing the GRID demo right now and if they can make the F1 game as freakin' awesome as this game is, then I'm all for it.

@JonC:
I hope that they make it like that F1-style game a few years back that if you crashed in it, it would be a spectacularly realistic crash with pieces of the car going everywhere.

the last good F1 game was on the N64,hopefully CM will do us F1 fans proud

didnt really like SONY's version at all

By Sony not having the rights to this license anymore means they can concentrate on things that will bring more profit.
Its a shame that the license costs so much, but I think Sony did the right thing not renewing it.

why codemasters?

all their racing games have cars that have a central pivot. the games were good but the cars never felt right...

They need to get Geoff Crammond on their team.

What are you guys talking about? The PS3 version was frreakin awesome!

@hungry_for_worms: Spot on. GRID was the worst handling I've seen in ages. It mirrors sega rally revo. Some like it, fine but your 100% dead on with regard to central pivot. It's not a sim but surely it can handle better. PGR4 is better handling wise and gt5p even more so. It runs well on the ps3 and visually its good but I don't have high hopes for a GRID engine style F! title. Sony's F1CE was a cracking game. I still play it.

One of the only probs with the PS3 edition is that it was too realistic and thus too hard for most people to play. It's a beautiful game though.

Based on the reactions of the PS3 one, I have no doubt that they will dumb down any future iteration of the game to appeal to the masses.

@Galvanise_:
F1 wanting 75 million...yeah,I would have passed too.

Looks like Bernie Ecclestone finally got the money he wanted

I don't get this "central pivot" thing gamers today talk about. With DIRT and GRID, Codemasters have made racing fun again, and fun is the only thing that matters in the end.

They'll do well with the license, Codemasters will. They deserve a bit more credit than they are given. Though paying $75 might chip away at that credit, slightly.

@TheContender: It's quite easy. It's tetchy entering a corner and floaty in the corner. It causes an apparent pivot point feel to the car. You don't get the sensation of weight for the car. Forza 2 handles great. In grid I found it too easy to make any corner due to the ability to 'pivot' and too easy to lose speed when braking. but hey, personal pref I guess. If it's fun for the majority, then fair play, I have no doubt it will sell well esp since its a very good performing multi plat.

I played some pretty realistic feeling F1 in Pro Race Driver 2006 on PSP so I bet they could do it.

...however it wasn't really fun since one of their maniac AIs would edge over, interlock our wheels, and we'd both go flying off the track, snapping wheels off, ending the race. It's kind of like when you do a Nascar race in the same game and one of them RAMS you hard from behind (when you're already going flat out), causing you to spin, then get run over by another dozen guys. Makes for a nice real looking crash, but you have to have the patience of a saint to play it through to successful completion.

Otherwise these guys have some tight physics even on a limited system, AND a good balance of cosmetic and realistic damage.

@Roarrr_UK: This confirms it: I suck at racers. I still haven't got the hang of the braking in GRID and many times I end up off-track and getting out of the grass/sand is nearly impossible. I still can't put the demo down, though.

Grid is a pretty bad game. the Colin McRae series has always been solid. The Damage system in Grid is far too "light" in terms of how it affects the handling of the car. Plus the graphics are just boring old brown that seems to be the "in" thing with game developers today.

Codemasters, eh... should be alright. A pity it didn't go to Simbin, but it was not very likely to begin with, as they're relatively small, even tho they make the best racing games in any system.

GRID is going to be the best racer out or annouced so far this gen. One of the better demos around Codemasters knows when and how to release a proper demo.

YES!

I greet this news with optimism. I'm hoping for a game like TOCA Race Driver 2/3, rather than some of their lesser efforts.

With an F1 license, I'm sure they'll put their best people on it, and end up with a good balance in terms of realism.

@hungry_for_worms: I know what you mean about the central pivot point, but their proper track racing games (the TOCA series) tend to do physics differently to their rally games (Colin McRae).

Anyway, fingers crossed they do it right. I have faith in them ;)

I thought it was going to cost over £75m as that's what Bernie asked for the last license?

CM are cool, haven't played one of their games for time.

@JonC: ~Amen

Also in related good news, this means EA did not get the license back.

codemasters will do good with this. they are sticklers for making games RIGHT. not necessarily good or appealing or what the public wants... but damn well made

Great news... i am big formula 1 junkie :)
Will be buying for my PC or 360!!!

I'm just happy EA didn't get their filthy hands's on the licence.

They would just turn it into a cheap cash whore, regurgitating the same crap, with no inovation, year after year.......like NASCAR.

@Acute Gamer: Lol at nascar, the whole race u turn left, lots of fun. The least exciting car sport ever.

Codemasters is terrible.com

RIP good F1 games

@biofreak: Heh heh, yeah, I like all forms of motorsports. Even your turn left variety.
EA would manage to fuck up F1 though.

If it's like GRID, then wow, that would be a shame. GRID isn't what I expected. You make a slight turn and it acts as a full turn. It's too sensetive. Nothing like real driving. For me, I'll just be playing GT5. It's a shame, I loved Formula 1 Championship Edition. Great game.

@Silent_Shark: GRID replaces the TOCA series. GRID is a Race Driver game. The physics are exactly the same as in DiRT.

I love sims like forza 2 and GT5p, but I think Grid is awesome. Its feels completely different to other arcade racers like PGR3 and 4, which I also love, but that isn't a bad thing. Codies getting the F1 licence sounds good to me. Never been a fan of any previous F1 game despite racing games being my favourite genre of all. So hopefully they can change my opinion as I would love to love an F1 game.

Great, an F1 game made by people who make offroad/rally racing games. Doubt it'll work.

F1 for PS3 imo is the best racing game ever made. I love it still. No racing game has ever felt so much like a real broadcast of the race. I just wish Sony could've came out with a patch to update the teams/drivers.

@JonC:

Indeed they do. It's not a F1 game if Geoff Crammond isn't involved.

Don't get the appeal of DIRT or this new GRID demo. Both look blurry and mushy as hell (I keep thinking I've got glaucoma when I play them), the colours are awful and the cars don't feel right at all.

As a big F1 fan (not missed a race on TV or at the track since I started watching as a little squid in '86) this is BAD news.

Glad to know that the F1 license is under good hands

Good news. It's a perfect fit and I can't wait.

Sucks they got exclusivity. I was hoping Turn Ten would get a piece of that license, for future Forza titles. There's a developer that knows how to make superb racing physics.

@JonC: Good point, still the best Formula One games ever made.