Forza (; Italian for 'power') is a series of racing video games for Xbox consoles and Microsoft Windows published by Microsoft Studios. The franchise is currently divided into two series, the original Forza Motorsport series developed by Turn 10 Studios and the open world-focused Forza Horizon series mainly developed by Playground Games.
Forza seeks to emulate the performance and handling characteristics of a large number of real-life production, modified and racing cars. Forza is often seen as Microsoft's answer to Gran Turismo for the PlayStation systems.
As of February 2010, the Forza games have sold over 10 million copies since the release of Forza Motorsport in May 2005. As of December 2016, the series has made over a billion US dollars at retail, making Forza one of the highest grossing video game franchises. Over 14 million unique players were registered in the Forza community on Xbox One and Windows 10 by December 2016.
Video Forza (series)
Games
Forza Motorsport (2005)
Forza Motorsport was released in 2005 and is the first installment in the Forza Motorsport series, a series that has continued on Microsoft's current systems, the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. It was the only title in the series to be released on the original Xbox console. It is backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. It features over 200 cars and multiple real world and fictional race courses. It also featured online multiplayer via Xbox Live. It received a Gold sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The NPD Group reported that in its release month the game sold over 100,000 copies in North America.
Forza Motorsport 2 (2007)
Forza Motorsport 2 is the first sequel to Forza Motorsport and the first Xbox 360 title in the series. The Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was developed alongside Forza Motorsport 2 and is designed to work with the game. Prior to the game's release, Microsoft launched Forza Motorsport Showdown, a four-part TV miniseries on Speed. The show was produced by Bud Brutsman and hosted by Lee Reherman. It received a Platinum sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
Forza Motorsport 3 (2009)
Forza Motorsport 3 includes more than 400 customizable cars (more than 500 cars in the Ultimate Collection version) from 50 manufacturers and more than 100 race track variations with the ability to race up to eight cars on track at a time. These cars vary from production cars to race cars such as those from the American Le Mans Series. At the E3 2009 Microsoft Press Conference where the game was first showcased, Turn 10 unveiled the rewind feature (much like the "flashback" feature on Race Driver: Grid and DiRT 2), which allows the player to turn back time to fix previous mistakes made on the track. The rewind feature has no limit on how many times it may be used but afterwards the player must wait 30 seconds before being able to rewind again.
Forza Motorsport 4 (2011)
For Forza Motorsport 4, Turn 10 Studios partnered with BBC's Top Gear (and its American counterpart) to get Jeremy Clarkson, among other Top Gear hosts, to do voices for descriptions, race titles, and the new Autovista mode, which allows players to explore a certain selection of cars in great detail. The game is also the first in the franchise to utilize the Kinect sensor. Players can utilize the sensor to turn their head to either side, and the game dynamically follows in a similar motion, turning the game camera to the side. It is the last Motorsport released for Xbox 360.
Forza Horizon (2012)
Forza Horizon is the first open-road spin-off game based around a fictitious festival called the Horizon Festival, set in the U.S. state of Colorado. The game incorporates many different gameplay aspects from previous Forza Motorsport titles, like the large variety of cars, realistic physics and high definition graphics. The aim is to progress through the game by means of obtaining "Wristbands" by driving fast, destroying property, winning races and other driving antics. Horizon features the physics of Forza Motorsport 4, which have been optimized to work on the 65 variants of terrain said to be present in the game. Players can drive off-road in select areas, while others are limited by guardrails or other means. Horizon allows the player to modify the car that is selected from the garage by changing numerous features both internally and externally on a car. One can also obtain cars by winning races with random drivers on the street, by winning larger competitive races, and by finding barns that contain treasure cars.
Forza Motorsport 5 (2013)
Forza Motorsport 5 is the first Xbox One Forza game, the fifth in the Motorsport series, and the sixth game in the Forza series. The game expanded on the Top Gear partnership by having Richard Hammond and James May provide commentary alongside Clarkson. The game was first confirmed by the Sebull of Microsoft France. The game was released on November 22, 2013.
Forza Horizon 2 (2014)
On September 30, 2014, Forza Horizon 2 was released in North America for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The Xbox One game was developed by Horizon developer Playground Games, with assistance by Turn 10 Studios. The 360 version was developed by Sumo Digital. The Xbox One version introduced a dynamic weather system to the series. An expansion, Forza Horizon 2: Storm Island, was released on December 16, 2014. A cross-promotional standalone expansion called Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious was released in March 2015 for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the last Forza for Xbox 360 and DLC was exclusive for Xbox One only. The expansion's plot is to collect ten cars by using specially modified cars in different events to get them. By handing the development of Horizon to Playground Games it seems that Microsoft aims to have a new Forza title released every year, "without making the sacrifices that are commonly seen in yearly franchises handled by one developer. It also seems that the Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport series will continue as a bi-yearly series, meaning that if a Forza Horizon game comes out, then the next year, a Forza Motorsport game will come out, and then a Horizon game next year, and so on."
Forza Motorsport 6 (2015)
Forza Motorsport 6 was officially announced at the North American International Auto Show on January 12, 2015. As part of a development agreement with Ford Motor Company, Turn 10 Studios was given direct access to the design team for the 2017 Ford GT supercar, which is the game's cover vehicle. The game was released on September 15, 2015 for Xbox One. A free-to-play Windows 10 version of the game, known as Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, was released as a beta on May 5, 2016. On September 6, 2016, it was removed from beta and became a full addition to the franchise.
Forza Horizon 3 (2016)
On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced Forza Horizon 3 for Windows 10 and Xbox One. The game is set in Australia, and has the player represented in the game as the host of the Horizon Festival itself. The game launched on September 27, 2016 (September 23 for Ultimate Edition owners). The game launched with over 350 cars, and is the first game in the series to be launched on both Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. As of December 2016, Forza Horizon 3 sold around 2.5 million units.
An expansion called Blizzard Mountain was released on December 13, 2016 featuring a snow area, the name giving blizzard storms and 8 new cars. A second expansion themed around Hot Wheels was released on May 9, 2017. This expansion features a new area called Thrilltopia and adds orange and blue Hot Wheels track with loops, jumps, corkscrews, boost pads, half-pipes and more. The expansion also includes ten new cars.
Forza Motorsport 7 (2017)
On June 11, 2017, Microsoft announced Forza Motorsport 7 for Windows 10 and Xbox One. The game was released on October 3, 2017. This game includes many tracks, including the return of Maple Valley Raceway, the fictional track last included in Forza Motorsport 4.
Maps Forza (series)
Reception
The Forza series has generally received high acclaim from critics. With the exception of Forza Motorsport 5, every game in the main Motorsport series, as well as its spinoff, the Horizon series, have received a Metacritic score of 85/100 or higher. Of the ten titles thus far released, five have scores of 90/100 or higher.
References
External links
- Official Forza Motorsport site
Source of article : Wikipedia
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