http://www.virtualr.net/gtr3-lots-of-p45-competizione-previews

Even though the car is based on a Ferrari F430 chassis and a Ferrari engine, the car isn’t allowed to sport the prancing horse badge which is a good thing as it allows the car to be included in Simbin’s upcoming title.


Did Simbin loose Ferarri to somebody else?

Microsoft has the rights to Ferrari for both PC and XBox. (Turn10 and their Forza games)

!@#$ Microsoft.... they cant make a decent game, 99% of consumers are to stupid to know this, we 1% get screwed.

I'm getting to the point of being done with computer gaming. Too much concentrated in the hands of a few companies focused on maximum profit rather than maximum quality.

You can add EA to your short list. They have the Porsche models in their iron grip. Like the p4/5, we can count ourselves lucky that there are the RUF cars.

That's gaming in general though LawnDartLeo, it doesn't matter if it's PC or console, the greed factor is there and some products miss out because EA or Microsoft have the rights...

A few short years ago we were treated to a revolutionary new racing game, GTR. It included Porsche and Ferrari along with a multitude of other vehicle makes and models....

Now, because of exclusivity agreements (and the manufacturers are just as much to blame because they took the money to license their models to one company or another) we end up with games that have a bunch of fictitious cars or "also rans" that are probably delighted that somebody wants to give them free exposure.

yep that's been the way of the corporate world in everything... It's happened in F1, football and a lot of other sports in real life... And now the Simracing world is suffering under the greed of the corporate world... I understand the value of money, but I don't understand the greed to have more than you need...

I would actually blame the manufacturers.

They should be aware that there is large sim world out there, being fed and created by many different devs, and that theie exclusive licensing simple means they are taking their virtual cars away from part of their fans.

All they care about is the money they get from licensing. They realize and accept that most of those "fans" will never buy a car from them, so why care?



The Jedi Master

I understand manufacturers since they invested their own money in the design. It's not like the models were made with tax money. At least BMW has the right idea, with their support for games, like "Live for Speed".

But I hope they get a boatload of cash for each year the company name is held hostage.

Unfortunately the fair use doctrine is too narrow to accept the broad use of copyrighted material that is in plain sight, every day, for all to see. My interest in rF2 and GTR3 is quickly waning. I am not interested in fiction nor am I interested in 2nd tier and I am certainly not interested in the garbage that EA and MS pump out.

Oh well.... /rant off

Well, don't drive those cars then. Just drive the ones that are real.

Or are you saying that unless they all have access to every real car you're not buying?



The Jedi Master

Fact is these greedy and expensive licencing and exclusive licencing rights are killing racing games... No more the simple pleasure to drive a Porsche against a Ferrari... sad and frustrating.

Yep. If the publishers are stuck paying for exclusivity they might as well keep it to themselves. We don't know what the agreement is like anyway, the may not even have the ability to share licensing for a fee.
I don't blame EA, and I don't blame MS. I blame Porsche and Ferrari.

The good news is that if the cars are in there, but de-badged, perhaps some kind soul out there will paint up a new skin for them. Or the cars themselves.

Actually, it's not really the companies' fault, it's the lawyers'. See, the way copyright law apparently works is you either defend it or you don't. If they decided, based on simple common sense, that they could let EA and MS do whatever they wanted because it wouldn't affect them at all, it would mean to other companies' lawyers that they don't defend their copyrights and their logos and stuff could be used by others without compensation for things like sunglasses, watches, etc.

Without any wiggle room in how you can choose to enforce them, they must demand licensing deals.

Now the exclusive thing is the real stinker, and my guess is that is EA's and MS' idea. EA pays more and takes the Porsche license, so MS takes the Ferrari license in retaliation so EA can't. Sure Porsche and Ferrari could decline an exclusive, but if these stupid game companies are willing to pay more, why not?



The Jedi Master

Agreed, exclusivity has it's drawbacks. It's the consumer in the end that pays... literally.

"Build by James Glickenhaus, the car is a one of its kind creation powered by a Ferrari V8". It's a 4 million dollar customized Enzo. Its a commissioned one-off car.This was most likely how SIMBIN acquired the license.

Dunno about this politics. This legal issue, it's only effects the manufacturer brands right? I mean, like: name (Ferrari, Porsche), car type (F430, 911), their logos, etc. If so, then why don't the sim/game dev just give us a car that looks and handles like F430, for instance, name it Horsie 221 and put a random logo on it? I know I won't mind. I can always run photoshop, edit the skin until it looks like the real F430, change the *.car file (using GTR2 as example) so the name will appear correctly.
Of course, if the car shape and handling characteristic are also "exclusive materials" then it won't work. But even if it is, how could they prove it, anyway?

So, yes. Just give me a Horsie 221 anytime.