''Lotus Challenge'' is a

racing 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

Kuju Entertainment Kuju Entertainment Ltd. is a British video game developer. The original company was Simis, formed in 1989 and purchased by Eidos Interactive in 1995. Kuju was formed in 1998 in Shalford, Surrey, England, after a management buyout of Simis from Ei ...

and published in 2001 for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

by Virgin Interactive. Versions followed for Windows, GameCube, and Xbox from different publishers.

Development

Virgin Interactive first announced the game for the

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 ...

in August 2000 for an early-2001 release. The game was renamed Lotus Extreme Challenge in November 2000 with a North American release planned to be published by Interplay Entertainment. Although this never came to circulation. The game would eventually see its release under its former name. In March 2002, Virgin Interactive announced they would release the game on the

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 ...

under the name of Lotus Arcade before reverting to its former name, with the announcement that the Xbox version would feature major improvements over the PS2 version. The game was due for a release in Europe by Virgin in September but this never happened. In November 2002,

Xicat Interactive Xicat Interactive was a video game publisher with distribution across Europe and North America. Xicat held several significant licenses, including Gothic; Motor Trend; Jane's Combat Simulations; and Guns & Ammo. Games published/distributed *'' ...

announced they would release the game in North America instead as an Xbox exclusive, with a GameCube port also announced. In December 2002, Xicat secured a licensing deal with

Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...

to rename the title as Motor Trend Presents Lotus Challenge, with the Xbox version releasing shortly after. The GameCube version was due for a release in August but was pulled for unknown reasons. In May 2004,

Ignition Entertainment Ignition Entertainment Limited, doing business as UTV Ignition Games, was a video game publisher of Indian media conglomerate UTV Software Communications. After The Walt Disney Company acquired UTV Software Communications as a wholly owned subsi ...

's website listed a title named Lotus Extreme for the GameCube. However, the game was renamed again back to its original title a few weeks later when it was officially announced by Ignition. and was released shortly after.

Reception

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

gave the Xbox version of the game a score of 3 out of 5 stating"Lotus Challenge is very deep and is worth every penny of its price if you take the time to get to know it" The game sold more than 130,000 units for the PlayStation 2.

References

{{reflist 2001 video games GameCube games Kuju games Lotus Cars PlayStation 2 games Racing video games Virgin Interactive games Windows games Xbox games