In a very surprising move Atari issued a press release today that their upcoming MOOR game Test Drive Unlimited will follow Rockstar’s Table Tennis and hit stores at an MSRP of $39.99. Additionally, free content will be available for download on a monthly basis.
“Innovation should be available to everyone, not a privilege for those can afford high price tags,” said Bruno Bonnell, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Atari. “Our GamersFirst program demonstrated the positive impact of flexibility in pricing. We believe it is our mission to deliver triple-A games that are accessible to the masses. As such, we are offering Test Drive Unlimited - a game that is being positively touted and recognized by the media - for $39.95, and furthermore, will continue users’ experiences past launch by featuring new cars and free music for download.”
That last line is kind of tricky, suggesting the radio stations will be free but the cars may not be, and I expect this was the intention as it is hard for a developer to release quality downloads like cars for free, especially since they have to pay license fees to the car manufacturer as well. Further on they also suggest though that the downloads are combined, stating that “each downloaded car pack will also include a free radio station […] set according to genres, such as Rock, Blues, Electronic, R&B, Jazz, Latin, etc., and feature between 10-20 songs.”
Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360 is slated for a September 12 release this year. Thanks to LinkinPrime for pointing towards this news!
The pricetag is sweet, but the downside is that there’s talks on other forums of “CAR PACKS’ being sold for up to $7 but for 39.99 for the initial game it doesnt seem so bad. With the new demo scheduled to release this August, I’ll finally decide whether I buy it or not.
Mmmhhhh I thought that demo didn’t live up to the expectations it already had created. I am curious if the 2nd demo is better then that and the final game will be for sure. I mean it looked nice, but nothing more then that
well, the game should be much better than the demo by then and for that price its gonna be a good buy. and to boot u dont even have to pay to play online for the faux mmo stuff. very nice. sega should have done this with chromehounds, but to their credit chromehounds has a free dlc pack already.
“Innovation should be available to everyone, not a privilege for those can afford high price tags,” said Bruno Bonnell, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Atari. “Our GamersFirst program demonstrated the positive impact of flexibility in pricing. We believe it is our mission to deliver triple-A games that are accessible to the masses. As such, we are offering Test Drive Unlimited - a game that is being positively touted and recognized by the media - for $39.95, and furthermore, will continue users’ experiences past launch by featuring new cars and free music for download.”
The pricetag is sweet, but the downside is that there’s talks on other forums of “CAR PACKS’ being sold for up to $7 but for 39.99 for the initial game it doesnt seem so bad. With the new demo scheduled to release this August, I’ll finally decide whether I buy it or not.
There already is a demo that came out during E3. And it’s sweet.
I don’t need a new demo to convince me any more.
Mmmhhhh I thought that demo didn’t live up to the expectations it already had created. I am curious if the 2nd demo is better then that and the final game will be for sure. I mean it looked nice, but nothing more then that
totally killer,really looking forward to thid
I’m eager to get this game just so I can go explore where I used to live.
Kailua
well, the game should be much better than the demo by then and for that price its gonna be a good buy. and to boot u dont even have to pay to play online for the faux mmo stuff. very nice. sega should have done this with chromehounds, but to their credit chromehounds has a free dlc pack already.
Yeah, I’ll give the game a second chance with the new demo. The first one was abysmal.
ya im definitly hoping that the latest demo will see some major tweaks and adjustments even for 40$ it needs to be solid to warrant the purchase
Im getting this game,used to live in Aiea…finally Latin music!!!
BATE AND CATCH - OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK
w00t only €30,-
The handilng of the cars better be seriously improved cos that ruined the first demo.
Great game until you felt the need to turn a corner.