UK developer Codemasters have set their sights on Japan, announcing a fully localized version of the recently released Race Driver: GRID heading to to Japanese shores this winter. While the game in it's current form already boasts a series of Japanese events complete with a Japanese speaking announcer, Codemasters will be adding more country-specific content and translating all of the text for the release. On top of the localization, copies of the Japanese version of the game will also ship with a full version of Colin McRae: DIRT. The release marks Codemasters debut as a publisher in the country.

"The recent success of key western titles in Japan is indicative of the current trend where Japanese gamers are not only more aware of popular western gaming brands but actively seeking them out," continued Cousens. "With Race Driver: GRID set to be fully localized and arrive bundled with Colin McRae: DIRT, it is an opportune time for Codemasters to enjoy brand success in Japan."

Two games for the price of one should certainly get the Japanese market's attention. Best of luck, Codemasters!

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Codemasters has revealed details about the multiplayer aspects of it's latest entry in the TOCA series, Race Driver: GRID - just GRID in the states. The ambitious racing title will feature 12-player online races with full car damage, meaning that if I play the game I will spend all my time online trying to hurt your car. 32 online racing events will take place on 80 circuits across 15 international locations. More »

So I poked the console-wars snake last week and learned a big Fat Albert lesson about people's feelings in the process. Gametrailers, with a longer history than me, not so much.

We've been hearing a lot of chatter about how they botched a comparison video of Race Driver: GRID. In an attempt to show cooler crash physics on the 360, they used PS3's instead — easily identifiable by the controller map in the lower left corner. Doh!

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Codemasters is taking the TOCA Race Driver series to a whole new level, officially announcing GRID (Race Driver: GRID to our PAL friends), the driving game formerly known as Race Driver One. Running on the next iteration of their DiRT engine, the game promises to be something more than your standard current-gen driving game.

Says Ralph Fulton, Chief Game Designer. "GRID focuses on everything that happens between the start grid and the chequered flag: the drama, the rivalries, the aggression and the crashes. This is not a game about collecting cars or spending all of your time in the front-end tuning suspension settings or designing liveries. We want to make racing exciting again."

GRID takes place across three continents, with official track races in Europe, street races in the U.S., and night races through the streets and mountain roads of Japan. It sounds almost like three racing games in one, which is completely fine with me. GRID is due mid 2008 for the 360, PS3, and Windows PC. More »