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1. the
official announcement
Let's
start with the official Infogrames press release from January 2002:
«London,
January 2002 - Enter a universe born of perfection, technology, competition,
blistering speed and of course glamour - and witness the unveiling of a new
chapter in Formula 1 gaming. Leading interactive games publisher, Infogrames,
has today announced that it is bringing one of the largest and most critically
acclaimed brands in gaming to Next Gen consoles for the first time,
specifically the Microsoft XBOX. …»
Infogrames
promoted the XBOX version in the official TV spot and in print ads. In
addition, the XBOX cover was published.
Screenshot from the TV commercial
of Grand Prix 4
The official XBOX cover of Grand Prix 4
GP4 poster with XBOX logo
Cover
and posters can be found in the Behance profile of Tony Ebright, apparently the
creator of it.
2. demonstrations
of the XBOX version of Grand Prix 4
There
are several reports and details about the XBOX version of GP4. The editors of
the Italian computer games magazine "The Games Machine" had the
opportunity to visit the team around Geoff Crammond in Bristol (Chippenham) in
March 2002 and to see the beta or alpha version of GP4 on PC and XBOX. There is
a detailed report about this in the April 2002 issue of the magazine. In addition,
an approx. 7-minute video of the visit was published on the website of The
Games Machine, but it was taken off the net again after a short time.
Unfortunately,
I could only find a version of the video in poor quality. The file in high
resolution can't be found until now (the filename was "gp4fin.exe").
Below you can find a screenshot from the video with the XBOX demonstration. I
have scaled it up with artificial intelligence so that it is somewhat recognizable.
XBOX demonstration in Bristol (Chippenham) in March 2002 (AI-upscaled video
screenshot)
Footage from the Chippenham visit by reporters of The Games Machine magazine
From
March 25th 2002 Infogrames began a promo through Europe which
started on Monday at Paris (France), Tuesday they went to Milan (Italy),
Wednesday to Frankfurt (Germany) and Thursday to Helsinki (Finland).
Footage of the Infogrames Event in Frankfurt (GER), showing
Nick Court and an XBOX running GP4
On
march 28th, Matti Laitinen from alphaf1.com published an article about his
experience in trying out an early version of Grand Prix 4 at the Infogrames
event in Helsinki, in particular also the XBOX version:
«Big
thanks to executive producer Nick Court and Infogrames for inviting me to play
Grand Prix 4 at Seaside Hotel today. After a long anticipation, I got my hands
on the both PC and X-Box versions of the game. They had the latest alpha
version of the game, first beta is expected to be ready after couple of weeks.
Nick
Court started by showing us the XBOX version of the game. I believe it was a
normal PAL version with fixed framerate 25fps (50Hz in TV) with 640x480. Like
already seen in the demo movie, the graphics looked amazingly good and smooth
altough it was running on a normal TV screen.
…
Then
I tried the X-box version which was a big positive surprise! The pad feels very
nice since all the controls are analog and it has rumble effects as well. It
tought it'd be some crappy arcade conversion, but driving the car felt very
good and I can recommend the XBOX version everyone who has the console.»
Marco Zambon from gpx.it also had the
opportunity to try out Grand Prix 4 on XBOX on March 26 as part of a press tour
by Infogrames:
«As
soon as we entered the room we saw two stations set up, a TV connected to the
XBOX and a Pentium4 2.2GHz with Geforce 3 (Windows XP operating system).
On
the two monitors there was already GP4 loaded, stationary in the menus and I
assure you it was hard to resist the temptation to get up and go fiddling with
it right away!!!
Let's
start right away with the XBOX version, the developer doesn't mince words and
decides that he wants to explain GP4 to us while "playing" it. I
won't hide from you that the first impact with GP4 was great! It was quite
impressive to see live what we had only seen via screenshots until now!
But
the best was yet to come! Because as you will read in a moment, in my opinion,
the PC version deserves more than the XBOX version.
I
start by telling you that the two versions of GP4,as graphical appearance,
functionality, adjustment possibilities, menus, etc. are identical for both PC
and XBOX. The only difference is in the fact that in the XBOX the game runs at
a fixed resolution of 640x480 with the maximum possible detail and with fixed
60frame/sec. You cannot make adjustments to graphic detail, etc.
In
the PC version you can set the resolution up to 1280x1024 (but I assure you
that already at 1024x768 which is the one we tested, the game looks really good
graphically)!
One
can set the frames/sec up to a maximum of 60 and also has an extensive and
comprehensive menu of adjustments of all graphical aspects and details.
Do
we now have confirmation that the graphics engine has been completely redone?
As
soon as I saw GP4 running on the PC, I realized that the "most
beautiful" screenshots seen so far were taken from the PC version and not
from the XBOX version!
Let's
analyze now more in depth all the details that we managed to discover for the
PC version! (since the XBOX was abandoned after not even 10 minutes!).
I
preface that the version used is not even a BETA of GP4, but a PRE-BETA
version»
3. Interviews
Grand-prix.4players.de had the opportunity to
talk to Nick Court in March 2002 in Frankfurt (GER):
What are the reasons for the release
on the XBOX?
Look
at the TV back there. You get the feeling that it's a real race, but you're
engaging yourself! And that's what makes the XBOX so interesting! Formula 1
races are normally only watched on the TV and not on the monitor - if you can
now play Grand Prix 4 on the TV, it feels even more realistic!
Nick Court (MicroProse)
...and likewise, gp4.gamer.nl:
We hear rumors that GP4 is also
coming in a Playstation 2 version. Is this true?
No
comment. (Red.: given the grin on NC's face, we think this version is coming.
Perhaps only after the release for XBOX and PC, though).
Nick Court (MicroProse) and Niels Tieman (gp4.gamer.nl)
In 2023, Niels Tieman posted the following on
MicroProse's Facebook page:
«I’ve seen the Grand Prix 4 version
on the XBOX in Frankfurt Germany. It was a early version though and somewhat
buggy.»
The
"Media & Games Online Network" (www.mgon.com) conducted an
interview with GP4 producer Phil Gilbert (MicroProse) in spring 2002 as well:
Phil Gilbert in front of the MicroProse Studios in Chippenham UK (image from
the GP4 menu)
The
XBOX version is a major leap for you. What are the differences between the two
formats?
PHIL:
The XBOX version hasn’t been too difficult. There have been memory limitations
and of course you have to think in console terms and there are elements which
you can’t just port across – the menus for instance have had to be redone. It
is an ongoing process as you have seen. On the whole it has been very pleasing
to make the game for XBOX. It is great that the game supports bump mapping and
environment maps and the visuals are very cutting edge.
It
is also great that the game supports split screen on XBOX, is this also
happening on the PC?
PHIL:
No, but you do get the game playing online and there is the greater level of
detail too. Splitscreen was made easier when we developed the code for the TV
monitors in the game, a key new feature. You have through the track, and also
on the car when you are in pit lane, video walls or TV monitors which you can
use to keep an eye on the progress of other drivers and other happenings around
the circuit when you are not driving your self.
The
video walls around the track also show these happenings, but it can be hard to
see the great detail these video walls presents to the player when you are
racing past. Nonetheless this ability to have separate video feeds in the game
helped us to easily convert the code so that it would run in a split screen
mode, as is the case on XBOX. We are very happy with it.
…
In
terms of where the GP franchise is going, have you looked at other consoles?
Gamecube?
PHIL:
I can’t talk about that at the moment.
Because
the game is virtually a launch title for the XBOX, was there pressure to get it
done fast and would you have liked to cram a few more features in or are you
happy with where you are?
PHIL:
We are all happy and have worked on it long enough and feel that we are just
tweaking it now, and come June we will have a fantastic game. Networking games
on the XBOX was something we looked at, but we don’t think this is a priority
at the moment.
Is
the PC version going to be released before the XBOX incarnation?
PHIL:
The PC version is a little more complete, but really with XBOX all we have to
add are small features like menus, so the two versions could be released at the
same time, we are not sure if this is going to happen though.
In early March 2002, the British magazine PC
Zone also published an interview with Nick Court and XBOX programer Simon
Michael:
Geoff
Crammond's Grand Prix series has always been a PC-only affair. Why did you
decide to bring it to XBOX too?
Court - It's always been a PC
game because we've never had the chance to bring it to the other formats.
Hasbro made an agreement with Simergy that, because we [Microprose] have the
new license for five years, we wanted to make the most of if. If we'd let
Simergy carry on the way it had done, with Geoff developing all by himself,
we'd have only had one game. What we had to do was split the game into two
pieces, with Geoff doing what he does, and us [Microprose] doing what we do.
Geoff does what he's good at and enjoys such as physics and AI, and we do all
the graphics, the tracks etc. This makes an awful lot of sense. On all formats
we use Geoff's code, but us as a team we [Microprose] are working on the XBOX
version and any other format that we fancy doing. That was the reasoning behind
it, and it's been incredibly successful.
Do
you think the XBOX version of Grand Prix will appeal to owners of Microsoft's
machine, seeing as they're more likely to console fans? After all, the series
as a whole is usually regarded as hardcore PC fare.
Court - Yes, I think so. When
you buy it, the default settings in the game are set up so that you have all
the help settings on when you first play. The way the help options have been
developed is great, because you don't really know that they're there helping
you until you turn them off and realise how tough it is to control the car.
However, you don't ever feel like someone else is taking over the game, you
still feel in control. I do believe that people out there with consoles do have
the ability to get to grips with an in-depth driving game. This whole idea that
you have to dumb down a game for consoles is a bit extreme.
Michael - The PC version is a
simulation and anybody who knows Geoff Crammond's games knows this. For
example, you can change all the settings on the car - it's just like real life.
We do have options to do that on XBOX, but it's more in keeping with consoles.
We've provided more of an arcade-like feel. The realism in both games, however,
is absolutely identical - with the cars physics for example.
We've
actually made a lot of changes to make it appeal to XBOX owners. We think we've
got the balance right between making it an arcade game and a simulation. It
makes it easier to get into. But we still wanted the realism in there. There're
plenty of games out there that don't have the handling, but with GP4 we have
that. It takes a lot of time to get into, but once you're into it, it gives you
a lot of satisfaction when you get it right.
So
what sort of features does Grand Prix 4 have that will ease people into it?
Michael - You have numerous help
options that you can adjust, so if we want more traction control, braking
control, steering help etc. you can set those All these features will be on PC
too, by the way.
Did
you find that The XBOX's static hardware helped you with graphics development,
because you were saying that the XBOX version will look superior?
Court - It's been fun working
with the XBOX because of that, and it's definitely more fun playing that game
on a TV than on a monitor - because you'd normally watch F1 on a TV and so it
just works better. The bump-mapping and lighting effects all look good.
You
were saying that the XBOX version is about two weeks behind the PC version in terms
of development. Will they still both be out at the same time?
Court - That's undecided at
the moment. The obvious difference in time is to be expected because we're
leading development on the PC rather than developing for two separate formats.
I think both will be out in June, but whether the PC will lead we're not sure.
In July
2008, the user "NinjaMouse", who claims to be a former member of the
GP4 team, made the following statement in the Autosport forum:
«I
was on the Microprose side, which was mainly graphics and integration of Geoffs
(Synergy) code with various platforms, PC: XBOX and PSII (sadly not released on
the 2 later, a bit like putting a bowling ball in a marble bag as they say.....»
Geoff Crammond in 2010 in an interview with the RetroGamer magazine
In 2010, Geoff Crammond himself commented on
the XBOX version of Grand Prix 4 in an interview with RetroGamer magazine:
RG:
Is it true that GP4 was planned for conversion to the XBOX console?
GC:
Yes, the XBOX version of GP4 was even demonstrated to the press during a
promotion day. I thought it looked very good and worked well. It was a casualty
of the MicroProse studio closure, which was announced two weeks after GP4 was
released on the PC. A couple of months work was needed to finish the XBOX
version, so sadly it couldn’t be done.
4. Reporting
in XBOX magazines (print media)
The Official UK XBOX Magazine dedicated a
two-page article to Grand Prix 4 in its first issue of March 2002. However,
this is more of a general description of Grand Prix 4, with no specific
information about the XBOX version. The screenshots shown are the known
work-in-progress images, which likely are from the PC version.
Also the “UK’s permier unofficial magazine for
XBOX gaming” published to previews to Grand Prix 4 on XBOX, where in Issue 07
even an interview with Nick Court took place.
XBM, Issue 09, 2002
XBM, Issue 07, 2002
5. remnants
of the XBOX version on the PC version of Grand Prix 4
Those
who are familiar with Grand Prix 4 know that there are several files in the
installation directory with hints for the XBOX version.
In the
resources folder of the Track WADs, you can also find two arcade displays in
their XBOX versions. However, I doubt that xbox_dial.tga is actually the XBOX
version of the rev counter. It seems to be more like an earlier version of the
file. Confirmation for this hypothesis could be the absence of shadows in the
font used for the position, laps, and time display (at the top of the screen),
which was added in the final version. Several work-in-progress screenshots also
show this font without shadows.
As for iconspage2_x.tex,
it represents the replay menu of the XBOX version. The only difference from the
PC version is that references to the F-keys have been removed. I assume that
this menu could have been operated using the XBOX controller's directional pad.
PC version of GP4 with the (presumed) XBOX
arcade displays
Under "fonts" you will find three
files with the file extension "xbx". This file type is usually XBOX
game saves that contain a preview graphic (icon) for display in the XBOX system
menu.
Unfortunately,
however, I did not manage to open the files, not even with the tool provided
for this purpose (XTech's XBX Tools).
Based
on the location, you might think that these are fonts. However, *.xbx is not a
common format for XBOX fonts.
In the
fonts-folder as well there are the text-files for the ingame-skymessages.
You’ll find some skymessages that are exclusively for the XBOX version:
Under Grand
Prix 4\MenuData\PC\GP2001\Images the files 317.gpi to 333.gpi
can be found. These are graphics of the XBOX controller buttons that are
displayed in the XBOX menu.
Further hints can be found in the menu files (main_menu.mem
and GP2001.gst):
gp2001.gst
main_menu.men
Main_menu.men
shows that there were apparently three prepared XBOX controller layouts (layout
A-C) from which the player could choose.
Also in the GP4.exe itself there are some
references to the XBOX version:
6. Rumors
There
is a rumor that a few years ago several disks with a so-called "Grand Prix
4 XBOX pre sample" were offered for around £2000 on an online sales
platform (ebay?):
“last
night I was messaging with some [xxx]
friends who still play gp4 and [xxx], one
of them, told me that he remembered that in 2017-18 he had found a seller on
eBay who was selling a CD with a "pre sample" of GP4 for XBOX with a
starting price of £2000. However, I can't find any trace of this auction 🤔.
[xxx] always says that he found a site
some time ago where someone wrote that about ten CD cases for XBOX had been
printed to evaluate their quality and that the label was downloadable.”
Unfortunately,
I could not find any further information, let alone confirmation, on this
rumor.
7. the
end of the development of the XBOX version of Grand Prix 4
Shortly
after GP4 was released on PC, rumors began to circulate that the MicroProse
studio responsible for its development would be closing. These rumors were
confirmed by Infogrames in September 2002.
Gamespot
published the following news article on September 12, 2002:
“Infogrames
has confirmed that the MicroProse UK studio responsible for Geoff Cramond's
Grand Prix 4 will be shut down on September 20. The studio currently employs 27
people and was the last UK-based studio under the MicroProse label.
The
only remaining US MicroProse studio is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
MicroProse, once a major PC game publisher, was acquired by Hasbro in 1998 and
was a part of Hasbro's later deal with Infogrames. When asked for comment, an
Infogrames representative said, "MicroProse is a lesser label and has been
for some time." Starting with the 2002 release of Neverwinter Nights,
Infogrames turned to branding high-profile PC games under the Atari label.”
Eurogamer.net
on September 16, 2002 reported the following:
“The
only remaining Microprose development studio in the UK, which most recently
created Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4, is being shut down by owners Infogrames
- with the doors shutting on the studio for the last time this Friday,
September 20. The closure of the development house, which employs 27 people,
poses serious questions about the future of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 on
the XBOX, which has been delayed heavily despite the release of the game on the
PC some time ago. We have so far been unable to reach anybody at Infogrames for
comment, but sources suggest that the XBOX version of the game may now have
been cancelled entirely. What this almost certainly represents is the death of
the Microprose label, which was purchased by Infogrames as part of its
acquisition of Hasbro properties. Although several leading-edge PC games from
the publisher appeared under the Microprose label, the newly-revived Atari
label now covers that area of the market, and it seems likely that Grand Prix 4
will have been the last game ever to carry the Microprose logo. Now the only
remaining studio from the old publisher is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland in
the USA. Interestingly, Infogrames today announced the creation of a new
Formula One racing title and potential franchise on the PS2, entitled Grand Prix
Challenge. The game will be developed at Infogrames Melbourne House, which was
previously responsible for, er, Looney Tunes: Space Race. Is this just a pit
stop for the much-loved Geoff Crammond franchise, or has it spun out of the
race entirely?”
Apparently,
this information did not reach everyone. Because in the October 2002 issue, the
Hungarian magazine Multiplay announced the XBOX version for November 2002. I can no
longer understand where they got this information from. At least I'm not aware
that an official release date for November 2002 was ever given.
October 2002 Issue of Hungarian magazine “Multiplay”
But why
did Infogrames refrain from releasing an almost finished game despite the
studio's closure? The reasons may be manifold. But one essential question is:
How "finished" was the XBOX version of GP4 really? Geoff himself said
in 2010 that "a few more months" were needed to complete it. That may
not sound like much from today's perspective. In a time when multiple F1 titles
were released annually, it may have been the deciding factor in the
cancellation. Let's not forget that F1 2002 was released by EA Games back in
June 2002 on PC, XBOX, PS2 and Gamecube (!). Mind you, with actual season data
from 2002. Sony's Formula One 2002 followed in November 2002 on PS2, also with
current season data. I suppose this aspect is even more relevant for the
stakeholders of console titles than for PC gamers. From an economic point of
view, would it really have made sense to release a console title with 2001
season data after the real 2002 Formula 1 season was over? At a time when
several console titles with more up-to-date data were already available.
Further,
Infogrames already had "Grand Prix Challenge" in development (which,
despite the slightly misleading name, has no relation to Geoff Crammond's Grand
Prix series) when the XBOX version of GP4 was discontinued. Although
"Grand Prix Challenge" only appeared on PS2, it also had season data
from 2002, so two Formula 1 titles from the same house might still have
competed unnecessarily.
Grand Prix Challenge, published by Infogrames on PS2 in
November 2002
We also
know that Infogrames was under a lot of financial pressure at the time. The costs
for the final development, the already at that time exorbitantly high license
fees of the FIA and the big competition from other titles probably led to the
fact that the financial risk for the completion and publication of Grand Prix 4
on XBOX was simply too big.
But
what we also know today: In the years 2003 to 2006, Sony secured the exclusive
rights to Formula 1 games. Accordingly, only Sony-developed Formula 1 games
were released in those years, and only on the PS2. Looking back, Grand Prix 4
would have had a very good chance to become the only alternative for fans of
real Formula 1 simulations on consoles. We will never know.
8. figures
and facts
|
Subject
|
Info
|
Source
|
|
Graphics
(PAL)
|
Resolution:
640*480
25
fps /50 Hz
Full
details
|
Preview
by alphaf1
Preview
by gpx.it
|
|
Menus
|
Identical
to the PC version but no (or reduced) graphics options, most likely XBOX
button symbols
|
Preview by
gpx.it
GPI-files
with XBOX button symbols in the PC-version of GP4
|
|
Controls
|
XBOX
controller (“the duke”) with analog input for acceleration, brakes, and
steering.
3
controller layouts to choose from
|
Preview
by alphaf1
main_menu.men (file from GP4 PC-version)
|
|
Multiplayer
options
|
Split
screen (amount of players unknown)
|
Phil
Gilbert interview
|
|
Release
date
|
Sep
12th 2002
|
Infogrames
website on Sep 1st 2002
|
|
EAN-Code
|
3546430024546
|
Infogrames
website on Sep 1st 2002
|
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