How the Famous Formula One Game Evolved

From arcade gaming consoles to E-Sports competitions, Formula 1 games have evolved considerably over the years. Several of these games have managed to delight enthusiasts greatly and deserve a nostalgic look down memory lane. Here are some key points worth noting in this story.

Timeline for F1 Game Evolution

• The roots of the game go back to the 1970s.
• The first version was reportedly released by Namco, the noted Japanese video game publisher, in the year 1976.
• Namco followed through by churning out Pole Position in 1982 that quickly turned into one of the world's most iconic arcade game titles. Key attractions here included the CPU opposition feature and time-trial qualifying lap mode which made it a highly advanced proposition for its time. Little surprise then that IGN named it as the most influential racing game ever in 2015.
• F1 made the leap into other devices, with Super Monaco GP becoming a mega hit in 1989 on Sega Megadrive, while inputs were taken from legend Aryton Senna for the sequel in 1992. At the same time, Grand Prix was another 1992 game that kick-started the evolution in a big way.
• The biggest success for any Formula One simulation game was the 1996 Grand Prix 2 that was made for the PC by Geoff Crammond. It was based on the 1994 season of the German Grand Prix, containing entire drivers and team line-ups along with a championship feature and Grand Prix weekends.
• The sequels included the Grand Prix 3 and Grand Prix 4 in 2000 and 2002 respectively.
• At the same time, Sony saw its PlayStation achieving huge success, releasing one of its best-selling games Formula 1 in 1996. This had Murray Walker's commentary along with an unlockable Easter Egg, and a championship mode. Formula 1 97 also witnessed major success with sequels in 1998 and 1999.
• The license for F1 was shared between Sony and Electronic Arts (who kept making yearly F1 game editions) in the 2000-2003 period. EA also came up with related games like F1 Manager for PC which was another hot favourite.
• Sony got exclusive F1 game rights from 2003, restricting it to the PlayStation only. Subsequent games got many additions including career modes as well. Online multiplayer gaming started off with PlayStation 3 and the F1 Championship Edition in 2007.
• Codemasters picked up the rights thereafter, venturing into the space with F1 2009 on Nintendo Wii.
• It achieved success with F1 2010 which was the first to release on both Xbox 360 and PS3. The publisher started making additions on a yearly basis, coming up with new attributes like safety cars and more. There was a game named F1 Race Stars that came out in 2012.
• The first game was F1 2015 for 8^th generation Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. F1 2017 was a landmark launch as well with the official E-Sports series being set up.
• With F1 and Liberty Media striving to engage with the growing youth community, the Formula 1 Esports Series was a mega hit and the top-20 racers were flown to Abu Dhabi in 2017 for the final Grand Prix. Brendon Leigh from the UK became the champion after online qualifier games and semi-finals streamed live.
• 2018 saw a bigger Esports competition, with Leigh becoming champion once more, representing Mercedes. 2019 saw the joining of Ferrari with the prize fund rising even more. David Tonizza from Italy became the champion for Ferrari in this year as well.
• 2020 saw a consistent series being made, under the production baton of Motorsport Games and Veloce Esports. Not the GP events took place with several celebrities and real-world drivers alike. This led to the Virtual GP Series being set up.

What remains constant in spite of rapid evolution is the sheer love that fans have for the sport!