Bizarre Creations' Blur racing to E3

Activision announces rumored game from recently acquired Project Gotham Racing studio will debut at next month's gaming expo.

In the wake of its better-than-expected quarterly results, Activision gave investors a heads-up today on its plans for next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo in an analyst conference call. Perhaps bolstered by its strong bottom line, the publisher touted the E3 debut of its upcoming racing game Blur.

PGR4 is so 2007...

Developed by Bizarre Creations (the studio behind the Project Gotham Racing series), Blur is poised "to do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters," said Activision Publishing president Mike Griffith during the call. He added, "That was the goal when we acquired Bizarre Creations to make this game."

Reportedly described by an Activision executive as "Mario Kart meets Forza," Blur was touted by Griffith during the call as bringing "real innovation to the racing category, and it's looking very strong. You will all get a chance to see this game at E3, but suffice it to say we are excited to be entering this genre with this game."

Activision acquired Bizarre Creations in September of 2007 for an undisclosed sum. Although the purchase seemed like a major deal at the time, it was put into perspective later that year when Activision merged with Vivendi Games in a deal worth $18.9 billion.

For all of the latest from E3 2009, check back June 1-4 for GameSpot's complete coverage of E3 2009.

29 Comments

  • Great_Ragnarok

    Posted May 10, 2009 11:18 pm GMT

    "Blur is poised "to do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters"
    oh gosh hope that doesn't mean the game is a dumbed down
    version. also what's wrong with the project gotham name?
    it's much better than calling a game "blur"! lmao.

  • webdoom

    Posted May 10, 2009 12:34 am GMT

    hell yes, finally something linked to PGR.. been waiting a while for something to come along

  • backatcha

    Posted May 8, 2009 9:02 am GMT

    "to do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters," Please come to PS3. Activision keeps hitting homeruns, this should be no different. Having said that, there is some deep compition in the racing genre.

  • green_dominator

    Posted May 8, 2009 9:01 am GMT

    I agree with BassMan, I like PGR 2 though I haven't had any extensive play with PGR 3 or 4 but they are fun, Mario Kart meets Forza does sound stupid, It sounds like they let an 8 year old in on the development meetings and took them seriously.....

    Forza 3 is the best racer ever....
    If they made a game engine as good as Forza but in an open city I think it would be a lot of fun to play.....

  • BassMan

    Posted May 8, 2009 8:12 am GMT

    PGR2 was classic, but 3 and 4 surpassed it. They have evolved with better car physics, controls, track designs, graphics and sound. I can't bare to play PGR2 anymore after playing the sequels. As for this new game, Mario Kart meets Forza sounds like crap to me. I am guessing it will be similar to what the midnight club series is doing with the power ups. I personally like straight up racing best. Series like PGR, Forza, and Gran Turismo are my favorites. Test Drive Unlimited was also a good game, and a nice new direction in the racing genre. Too bad it was buggy as hell.

  • SnakeEyesX80

    Posted May 8, 2009 7:59 am GMT

    "Mario Kart meets Forza" doesn't sound that great. Actually I'm picturing something like Automodellista. But since it's Bizarre Creations, I'll keep an eye on it.

  • darkeknight

    Posted May 8, 2009 5:48 am GMT

    PGR series has never been able to surpass what they accomplished in the 2nd iteration. PGR2 will remain to be what all PGR games will be measured by. The great online pay still stands out til this day.

  • sigerzx

    Posted May 8, 2009 4:21 am GMT

    exciting stuff, can't wait!

  • fps_d0minat0r

    Posted May 8, 2009 3:19 am GMT

    wot ever it is, it certainly wont match gran turismo 5.

    dirt 2, nfs shift, split second, f1, GT5....

    lots of competition wont help profits.

  • red-orc

    Posted May 8, 2009 1:18 am GMT

    Mario Kart meets Forza means: looks like a realistic racing game and has some nice Power-Ups. Could be great for multiplayer!

  • DrKill09

    Posted May 7, 2009 9:30 pm GMT

    MSR on the Dreamcast was great, so were the PGR games (2 is still my fav), so this should be great, too. Hope it comes to the PS3.

  • Nintendo_Man

    Posted May 7, 2009 9:16 pm GMT

    PGR rights are still with MS, so its up to them who they want to make PGR5.

  • makchady

    Posted May 7, 2009 9:10 pm GMT

    project gotham is by far the best racing series i have ever played. the online mode that they debuted in pgr2 was unrivaled and still the best experience ive ever had with a racing game over xbl. the mix between realism and arcade is a perfect blend, and any racing game that bizarre subsequently releases i will pick up on day 1 merely because pgr has consistently been such a great series. so, here's to blur

  • Plo_Koon_basic

    Posted May 7, 2009 9:01 pm GMT

    i can't wait to see what they come up with, should be awsome though.

  • CPM_basic

    Posted May 7, 2009 8:30 pm GMT

    Bizarre makes great racing games. Now everyone can enjoy them. Looking forward to this.

  • halomonkey1_3_5

    Posted May 7, 2009 8:26 pm GMT

    "When did this happen? How did M$ lose this dev? Am I dreaming or was I not paying attention to when this happened? I am in shock. PGR will be multiplatform because Activision is like EA only better in some ways because Guitar Hero shovelling is getting out of hand. Really looking forward to this game I hope that the gameplay is there. I love the PGR Metropolis racer series from the Dreamcast days. I just don't like the handling of PGRs cars. Graphics though they cheat alot are really good to look at."


    No one said anything about PGR going to activision with Bizarre.

  • painpas

    Posted May 7, 2009 8:16 pm GMT

    When did this happen? How did M$ lose this dev? Am I dreaming or was I not paying attention to when this happened? I am in shock. PGR will be multiplatform because Activision is like EA only better in some ways because Guitar Hero shovelling is getting out of hand. Really looking forward to this game I hope that the gameplay is there. I love the PGR Metropolis racer series from the Dreamcast days. I just don't like the handling of PGRs cars. Graphics though they cheat alot are really good to look at.

  • konradak

    Posted May 7, 2009 7:57 pm GMT

    Sounds interesting...

  • Csalbertcs

    Posted May 7, 2009 7:34 pm GMT

    Does this mean PGR5 will be multi-platform?

  • XanderZane

    Posted May 7, 2009 7:03 pm GMT

    I'm not sure what they mean by Mario Kart means Forza. A kiddie racer with a lot of customization? Is that what they are talking about. I hope it doesn't have an Mario Kart influences in it at all. What systems is this game going to be for anyways? With Activision you know it'll be PS3 and XBox 360, but what about the Wii? I have a feeling it'll just be another PGR game with a few extras added. We'll see though.

  • magicalclick

    Posted May 7, 2009 6:34 pm GMT

    Hope it is as good as PGR series. I still think PGR2 is the best out of 4 though.

  • PSdual_wielder

    Posted May 7, 2009 6:05 pm GMT

    "to do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters"

    LOL

  • Flame_Killa posted May 7, 2009 5:06 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Flame_Killa

    Posted May 7, 2009 5:06 pm GMT (hide)

    Yay, PGR 4 looked really good. And by that I mean graphics, gameplay, imo, was bad. I'm not a fan of realistic racers. glad there gonna make an unrealistic one

  • Catpee

    Posted May 7, 2009 4:34 pm GMT

    "Mario Kart meets Forza"? Translation: "I'm an executive that doesn't play video games."

  • ibanezdropd

    Posted May 7, 2009 4:21 pm GMT

    I know Bizarre can make dope racers. I wondering about adding weapons to that? I dunno. I am looking forward to see how this turns out.

  • Darkon_X

    Posted May 7, 2009 4:18 pm GMT

    God yes, I loved both PGR 3 and PGR4, I'll definitely buy Blur. And here I was thinking Bizarre Creations was going to be left in the past only to remain part of history like other acquired companies usually end up. Good job Activision!

    P.S. Plz no more WWII games.

  • jolsen

    Posted May 7, 2009 4:07 pm GMT

    could be cool. Could be another lame car combat game. My guess: it'll be a dual joystick shooter ala Geometry Wars, but with Ferraris and volkswagens instead of geometric shapes. Just kidding.

  • raahsnavj

    Posted May 7, 2009 3:06 pm GMT

    I played the first PGR and got annoyed with having to keep kudo chains going to get the best medals and such. Someone convinced me that PGR4 had got away from the kudos a bit more so I tried it out. Sure enough the game got taken out the first full race that was based all on racking up kudos.

    I don't mind kudos, but I like to race, not drive like a smack-tard down the road while I'm doing it. As such PGR anything will never grace my consoles again... But I'm sure some people really like these games (or we wouldn't have 4 of them) and everyone deserves to play games they like. So good news for the PGR fans... maybe.

    I wonder if Blur will get me interested again...

  • nate_c-12

    Posted May 7, 2009 2:56 pm GMT

    A big statement saying this will be like what Call of Duty did for shooters. And Mario Cart meets Forza? I hope its not another arcady sim.

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