No, it’s not April Fools day, Codemasters has just announced that their much anticipated official Formula One 2009 game will be released this year – But only for the Playstation Partable and the Nintendo Wii. Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC owners will have to wait for Formula One 2010 as a full-blown version has been postponed until next year.
There have been plenty of rumors about the delay of the 2009 version and they turned out to be true. Apparently, Codemasters is focusing on working on the 2010 version while another studio, Sumo Digital, is responsible for the PSP & Wii versions.
“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,” brand manager Paul Walters commented.
“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’ Adrian Lawton.
Due to the fact that both systems are not quite as powerful as a modern pc or a next-gen gaming console, F1 2009 will probably not be able to tell us in which direction the 2010 version will be heading. Yes, it will contain all cars, drivers and tracks of the current season, expect everything else (including graphics, physics and sounds) to be heavily watered down to suit the system’s hardware and audience though.
Below are some shots of F1 2009 courtesy of IGN, it’s no surprise that these are less than impressive. F1 2009 will be released in fall, F1 2010 for the PC, the Xbox 360 & the Playstation 3 is scheduled for mid-2010 – More than a year to wait until we get to see what Codemasters is really able to do with the precious F1 license.
Via IGN
mike
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:42
judging from the first screenshot this is exactly like sony’s F1 game.
gtrNL
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:43
Nice, finally a good (hopefully) racing game for my PSP.
F1Racer
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:58
So the project is bigger and more complicated than they first thought. Well I think any of us lot could have told them that !
So whats with F1-2010 ? Is it called that because its being released in 2010 (which would be stupid) or because it will feature cars from the 2010 season ?
If the latter, then quite how they plan to get it out in mid-2010 is beyond me.
Don’t call it F1-2010 if its the 2009 season, jeez.
hypertek
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:11
thats fine with me, they just havent officially announced that making a full blown f1 game would be more than a few months work lol
ghost_301
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:33
Guess we still have to stick with rfactor great F1 mod till then.
If rF2 comes early then their F1 game, I have no idea what will happen 
gregerson888
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:34
i laughed when i saw the title
unklepepper
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:44
This is probably a good thing really, of course many of us will be sceptical about CM’s meaning of a sim right up to we get a chance to try it out. But 2 years development must give it some credibility. It was mentioned somewhere that ISI have said rF2 will be out late 2010 so with CTDP developing F1 09 for that we may see a head to head fight! I cant wait
lovretta
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:52
Codemasters should release F1 2009 as rFactor mod + track pack but F1 2010 as their own game :D
ghost_301
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:00
Well, really, a bit disappointed with the announcement … I thought they are using an enhanced version of GRID engine ? Game engine is there then they still need time till mid-2010 for the release ? They had got their license for F1 last year if not mistaken, so what’s the thing they have done after getting the license ?
That’s all about my moaning. I will keep rfactor for few years more
BSR-WiX
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:06
what did anyone expect ? .. its Codemasters. Great for gaming., but simming ??
They would have a tough time beating stuff like FSone mods annyway…
ForzaBarca88
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:22
Damn, bit disappointing…..
That first screenshot is pretty oldskool – bring back the blurry textures and the jaggles!
ghost_301
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:27
I think those shots are meant for PSP and Wii, don’t they ?
Joni
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:33
Pff, This just shows codeshit dont have any glue what they are doing. I think we all know that sony F1 games were rubbish, but atleast they got those out in time.
moppenheimer
April 23rd, 2009 at 17:43
if it is half as good as cm say it is gonna be, ie laser scan, marbles, weather, i can wait an extra year
Paul Kelly
April 23rd, 2009 at 18:16
And you actually believe them? Well, I have oceanfront property in Kansas to sell you …
ermax18
April 23rd, 2009 at 18:43
HAHAHAHA. I needed a good laugh today.
Hank Amarillo
April 23rd, 2009 at 19:56
THIS.
Uff
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:00
OFFICIAL FAQ
1: What formats will you be releasing the F1 Game on?
Wii/PSP – Autumn 2009
PC/PS3/Xbox360 – Mid 2010
2: Around what F1 season will the games be based?
Wii/PSP – Based on 2009
PC/PS3/Xbox360 – Based on 2010
3: When will the game be out?
See point 1 above
http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340638
For me, this is a great news: instead of rushing the game and release an unfinished product, they’re taking all they time they need in order to deliver the best experience they can.
Yes, I hoped to see HD versions in 2009, but if this meant a buggy game with less features than expected, well… way to go, F1 2010!
Siggs
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:33
I knew there would be a fair few people putting this down
Fact is, it’ll still be a good game im sure, not quite as realistic/large scale, but that’s not a problem for me, knowing the ‘works’ edition will be coming soon enough.
Also, there are some surprisingly realistic games on the psp, I can imagine most of the people complaining don’t own one. Juiced on psp has some compotent, and not too arcadey physics, and if you want the real deal, try SBK2008. It’s really very sim-like for a hadheld, its great.
The graphics aren’t the best I’ve seen from the psp (I assume those are psp shots, because of the resolution), but they’re compotent. The real shame will be the bad cockpit view, if there is one.
“seriously watered down” is a bit of an exxageration. I’m optimistic
Wil
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:49
I dont really got it. Grid already has a hell of good graphics engine: prety and fast, HDR, etc..
Why not make some bucks with 2009 season witch they got until now and develop this full blown mega 2010 further?
Grid´s engine just need some tweaked physics and dynamic weather to get the job done.
At my best estimate CTDP will take at least 2 or 3 years for their 2009 mod considering the state of art established with CTDP 2006.
And we still have to deal with the lack of weather and terrible AI and poor tracks from rFactor…
Sad, so sad…
Sodapop
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:52
I’m getting the Wii version in the hopes that it will have the infamous blue shell.
Siggs
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:58
^Wil, rfactor doesnt have poor tracks, in most cases it has the best.
.
Uff
April 23rd, 2009 at 21:40
Probably because they don’t want to waste such an important license with a rushed release, which would be “just another F1 game”.
In order to realize what they’re aiming for, I suppose that the game engine needs something more than just a few changes here and there.
Tifose
April 23rd, 2009 at 22:17
i like what there doing taking there time!!!
i for one don’t want to play any rush Game
Floptickle
April 23rd, 2009 at 23:32
Well, it’s ok :)
Just hoping for a lot of WIP-screenshots :)
UncleChuckle
April 23rd, 2009 at 23:34
Despite not liking rFactor, I’ve got to give you that. It does have some stunning tracks.
As for Codemasters… They’ve always been a pathetic joke, all the way back to their pitiful Dizzy games.
EAKMotorsports
April 23rd, 2009 at 23:55
wow this is an mod for F1 2002 or something !?! I know the WII and PSP are less powerful but this graphics just look alike F1 2002 or F1Challenge mod.
fpol
April 24th, 2009 at 02:46
I was a bit skeptical about this, and to some degree I still am, but the fact that it’s being delayed is, possibly, a sign that they’re actually going to do at least a reasonable sim. I had a hard time believing that you could get a *quality* simulator out the door that fast. A longer dev cycle gives reason for hope.
UncleChuckle
April 24th, 2009 at 06:41
Delays are generally a sign of things being crap. Evidence: Daikatana.
vali
April 24th, 2009 at 11:35
Yeah, and a game with a yearly (or almost) release is a sign of top notch quality. Evidence: NFS.
samanthaUK
April 24th, 2009 at 23:10
Codemasters F1 2009 Teaser Trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgBZqN3luHc
six.degrees
April 25th, 2009 at 15:32
Complete with the distinctive turbo whine of an old champcar! Brilliant attention to detail there
F1Racer
April 25th, 2009 at 16:24
No gameplay in a game trailer = Trailer Failure.
What are we being teased with ? An intro ? Brilliant. Just what I buy the game for.