''Formula One 99'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

developed by

Studio 33 Studio 33 was a game developer from Liverpool, UK. It was once partly owned by Psygnosis, making Newman-Haas Racing, Formula One 99, Formula One 2000, Formula One 2001, Formula One Arcade and Destruction Derby Raw for the PlayStation, and D ...

and published by

Psygnosis Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hether ...

for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. It is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Formula 1 98 ''Formula 1 98'' is a racing video game developed by Visual Science and published by Psygnosis exclusively for PlayStation. It is the sequel to the 1997 video game ''Formula 1 97'' and was based on the 1998 Formula One World Championship. Over ...

'' and was based on the

1999 Formula One World Championship The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 53rd season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 7 March and ended on 31 October after sixteen races. The Drivers' Championship w ...

. Following the disappointment of ''Formula 1 98'', and the subsequent split with Visual Science, Psygnosis hired Studio 33 to develop ''Formula One 99'', after their successful development of ''

Newman/Haas Racing Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the CART and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enth ...

'' the previous year. During production of the game, Sony completed a full acquisition of Psygnosis, making this the final Formula One game to be published under the Psygnosis name. The game is unique in having substitute drivers appear in the game as they did in the real 1999 season (such as Mika Salo replacing Michael Schumacher for the races between Austria and Europe). A new grid editor tool was also introduced, allowing players to customise the starting grid to their own liking before a race. Despite the lack of an arcade mode that had featured in previous titles, the game was widely praised as an overwhelming improvement in comparison to the 1998 game.

Reception

The PlayStation version received "favorable" reviews according to the

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website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. ''

Official UK PlayStation Magazine An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

'' said that the game "put the series back on track after last year's debacle", with top gameplay and a true sense of speed.

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

said: "Formula One 99 has great control and enough settings to keep any longtime fan of the Formula One series glued to the TV for quite some time".

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

said: "Welcome to the best F1 game on the PlayStation". In Japan, where the PlayStation version was ported and published by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

on October 21, 1999, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of 28 out of 40.

References

External links