The Evolution of F1 Video Games [Infographic]

Harley Nixon https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk 4m 1,064 #videogames

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Video Games Evolution

In 2016, when you insert a modern day F1 video game into you X-box or PlayStation console, in front of a giant 50-inch flat screen TV, we forget the amount of blood, sweat, and tears were put into the development of F1 video games over the last 35 years to get to this point, where we look at our screen, and see how graphically supreme the game has become, there’s barely a difference between the game and the live F1.

At times we forget that, once the F1 video games were simply a static block moving from side to side to miss other blocks. You had to install the games, in order to play them. We would play as fake drivers, driving in fake cars on fake tracks.

Our infographic “The evolution of F1 video games” displays how far we have come; we start from the early days of F1 games, the first F1 game for at-home video gaming was “Grand Prix”, released on Commodore 64 in the US, which still holds a Guinness world record of highest selling single commuter model of all time. In 1985, “Formula One” on ZX Spectrum was the first attempt by a UK games console. The game was way ahead of its time due to the developers thinking outside the car, and giving players more responsibility by handling sponsorships and team budget. 1992 Nintendo released one of the first split screen multiplayer racing games ever released.

The PlayStation from Sony changed the game in 1996, “Formula One” for the PS was by far the most realistic F1 game to date, and was console to introduce the steering wheel. Last but not the least F1 2015 was released on both PS4, and XBOX ONE, not only is it the most realistic, it also gives us more outside of racing including real-life head scans of the current crop of F1 drivers. We hope that you like our infographic, and it wakes the F1 aficionado inside you.

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The Evolution Of F1 Video Games

FROM THE ZX SPECTRUM TO THE OCULUS RIFT

APRIL 1982 ZX SPECTRUM

AUGUST 1982 COMMODORE 64

1983 GRAND PRIX COMMODORE 64

The first Formula One game for “at-home” video gaming was “Grand Prix”, released on the Commodore 64 in the USA, which still holds a Guinness World Record for the highest selling single commuter model of all time.

1985 FORMULA ONE ZX SPECTRUM

“Formula One” on the ZX Spectrum was the first attempt by a UK games console. The game was ahead of the times due to the developers thinking outside the car and giving players more responsibility by handling sponsorship and team budgets.

Whilst “Formula One” thought about other things outside the car, “Nigel Mansell’s Grand Prix” thought about making the game more realistic inside the car. Players now had to watch their fuel, oil, water, and turbo levels.

SEPTEMBER 1982 GAMEBOY

NOVEMBER 1990 SEGA MEGA DRIVE

Introducing the first F1 game to make it on to the Gameboy. Unfortunately, it was only made for release in Japan.

1991 SATORU NAKAJIMA F-1 HERO GB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ’91

APRIL 1992 NINTENDO

1992 F1 POLE POSITION SUPER NINTENDO

One of the first split screen multiplayer racing games ever released. Now you can play against your friends for the first time!

1993 F1 SEGA MEGA DRIVE

1993 gave us the first racing game to have a full F1 license allowing gamers to play as their favourite driver, in their favourite car, on their favourite track.

JULY 1995 SEGA SATURN

1995 F1 CHALLENGE SEGA SATURN

F1 Challenge gave us F1 racing cars in 3D, which meant turning became much smoother and realistic.

SEPTEMBER 1995 PLAYSTATION

1996 FORMULA ONE PLAYSTATION

The Playstation changed the game, literally. “Formula One” for the PS was by the far the most realistic F1 game to date thanks to the Playstation’s advancements in technology. PlayStation was also the first major console to introduce the Steering Wheel.

1997 FORMULA 1 97 PLAYSTATION

Different camera angles, including the cockpit angle which got splattered with rain and flies could be removed by tearing a strip off the driver’s visor. A co-commentator was also introduced as well as more realistic race elements such as flags, fuel depletion, different weather conditions, and car failures. 1997 also saw the Playstation get a new controller with Joysticks!

1999 FORMULA ONE 99 PLAYSTATION

Innovation of the Pit Lane Speed Limiter and a Clutch. All alcohol and tobacco related sponsors were censored.

MARCH 2000 PLAYSTATION 2

2003 FORMULA 2003 PLAYSTATION 2

OCTOBER 2003 EYETOY

Even though the PS2 had been out for a few years, it wasn’t until 2003 when saw another big leap in F1 racing games. Formula 1 2003 had much better graphics than previous games and also introduced multiple game modes such as “time trials” and “championship”.

2005 FORMULA 1 05/EYETOY PLAYSTATION 2

SEPTEMBER 2005 PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

In 2005 Formula 1 05 became the first racing game to incorporate PlayStation’s new “EyeToy”, a camera that allowed you to put your face on your in-game character.

NOVEMBER 2005 XBOX 360

2005 F1 GRAND PRIX PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

2005 also saw the development of F1 Grand Prix for the PlayStation Portable taking high quality F1 games portable for the first time.

DECEMBER 2006 NINTENDO WII 

MARCH 2007 PLAYSTATION 3

First major F1 game developed for the PS3. Graphically it was another huge leap forward and made weather conditions very realistic.

2007 FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION PLAYSTATION 3

2009 F1 PSP/WII

F1 2009 was the first F1 game to be released in 3 years. It was also the first F1 game released on multiple platforms since 2003! We also saw the introduction of KERS.

2010 F1 PS3/360

Hailed as “the most complicated weather system ever seen in a game.” Rain caused a loss of grip and overhanging trees sheltered the track.

2011 F1 PS3/VITA/3DS/360

MARCH 2011 NINTENDO 3DS

F1 2011 was the first game to really push online multiplaying. It also implemented the DRS system and was the first to introduce Day-to-Night transitions.

FEBRUARY 2012 PLAYSTATION VITA

2013 F1 PS3/360

NOVEMBER 2013 PLAYSTATION 4

F1 2013 gave players the chance to drive Classic Cars on Classic Tracks including “Brands Hatch”, “Estoril”, “Imola”, and “Jerez”.

NOVEMBER 2013 XBOX ONE

2015 F1 PS4/XBOX ONE

Today we have one of the best F1 games ever in F1 2015. Not only is it the most realistic, it also gives us more outside of racing including real-life head scans of the current crop of F1 drivers.

THE MODERN DAY RACING GAME SET UP

VIRTUAL REALITY

As you can see, racing set ups have come along way since the first wheel accessory was introduced back in the 90’s!

Source: https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/news/the-evolution-of-f1-video-games.html

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