''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of

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 ...

s developed by

Bizarre Creations Bizarre Creations Limited was a British video game development studio based in Liverpool, best known for their racing video game, racing titles ''Metropolis Street Racer'' (Dreamcast) and the follow-up Project Gotham Racing, ''Project Gotham Rac ...

and published by

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

(Xbox and Xbox 360) and

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

(Dreamcast). The series appeared on the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

consoles, and consists of ''

Metropolis Street Racer ''Metropolis Street Racer'' (''MSR'') is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Sega exclusively for Dreamcast. The game was intended to be a Dreamcast launch title, however, due to numerous delays it was not release ...

'' (Dreamcast), ''

Project Gotham Racing ''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). The series appeared on the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, ...

'' (Xbox), ''

Project Gotham Racing 2 ''Project Gotham Racing 2'' is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released exclusively for the Xbox in November 2003. As in 2001's ''Project Gotham Racing'', the route to advancemen ...

'' (Xbox), ''

Project Gotham Racing 3 ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 as a launch title in November 2005. The game was rated by ''Official Xbox Mag ...

'' (Xbox 360), and ''

Project Gotham Racing 4 ''Project Gotham Racing 4'' is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 in October 2007. Development history ''Project Gotham Racing 4'' was accident ...

'' (Xbox 360).

Gameplay

The ''PGR'' series have a system called Kudos points. These are given for performing stunts with the vehicle (such as power sliding, overtaking another driver, two wheels, etc.). The longer the stunt is maintained, the more points the player receives. Colliding with the

guard rail Guard rail, guardrails, or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Common shapes ...

s and other surroundings will cause the Kudos points from that stunt to be lost. ''MSR'' did not support direct network play via

SegaNet The Dreamcast is a home video game console by Sega, the first one introduced in the sixth generation of video game consoles. With the release of the Dreamcast in 1998 amid the dot-com bubble and mounting losses from the development and introducti ...

/Dreamarena, however it did provide some online features. Players could download ghost data and download Hot Lap and Time Trial challenges set by the developers. It also featured rudimentary downloadable content in the form of challenges which featured new racetrack configurations. ''PGR2'', ''PGR3'' and ''PGR4'' supported direct network gameplay via

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...

, while the first installment in the series did not. The cover of each game in the ''Project Gotham Racing'' franchise has featured a

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

car on it, going from the F50 (''PGR'') to the

Enzo Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin America but ...

(''PGR2''), the F430 (''PGR3''), and the 599 GTB Fiorano (''PGR4''). The car manufacturer was even the main focus of a free mobile entry in the series, ''PGR: Ferrari Edition'' for the

Zune HD The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009, by Microsoft. It was a direct competitor with Apple's iPod Touch series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A ...

, similar to that of

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

in '' Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed''. The ''PGR'' series is the successor to Bizarre Creation's

game ''

'', as evidenced by the similarities and the recycled content between the first ''Project Gotham Racing'' and ''Metropolis Street Racer''.

Discontinuation

In September 2007, after being bought by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

, Bizarre Creations announced that ''PGR4'' would be the last game produced for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

. Bizarre developed ''PGR4s spiritual successor, '' Blur'', which was released on

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

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 ...

. As no new ''PGR'' games were released in the 2010s, and Bizarre Creations was shuttered by Activision in 2011, the franchise is presumed to be discontinued.

Titles

Releases

Reception

All five games in the series received positive reviews from critics.

References

External links

* {{Xbox Game Studios Microsoft franchises Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2000