Grand Prix Legends Released

Sierra today announced that Grand Prix Legends from Papyrus is now officially available. The news came a month after the news that they licensed Ferrari for Grand Prix Legends, their 1967 Formula One simulation developed by Papyrus. Talk about a last minute addition! Expect those copies to start showing up on store shelves very soon.

Press release:

EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF VINTAGE AUTO RACING WITH GRAND PRIX LEGENDS FROM SIERRA SPORTS

WATERTOWN, Mass.(October 5, 1998) – The year was 1967 and daring drivers throughout the Grand Prix circuit took their primitive-yet-powerful machines to the streets and tracks of the world, encountering many dangers to see who was the fastest.

Now for the first time, serious racing simulation fans can experience that historic Grand Prix season through the release of Grand Prix Legends, available today from Sierra Sports.

Grand Prix Legends, developed by the award-winning Papyrus Design Group, features the most realistic vehicle dynamics model available in a racing simulation. To complete the experience, Papyrus went to great lengths to re-create the historical tracks, drivers, teams and cars that made 1967 one of the most thrilling years in racing history.

“Like the other titles in the Sierra Sports family, Grand Prix Legends represents a quantum leap forward in realism for driving simulations, and lets users ‘play the sport,’” said Sean Gleason, vice president of marketing for Sierra Sports. “Serious driving enthusiasts will appreciate how Sierra Sports has raised the bar for PC-based simulations, and delivered the authentic look and feel of a race car competing in the 1967 Grand Prix season.”

Grand Prix Legends’ new physics model enables users to experience firsthand the thrill of piloting a 1967 Grand Prix racecar under realistic race conditions. This extremely precise physics model allows cars to drift, “catch air,” and interact more realistically with the environment than ever before in a racing simulation. Grand Prix Legends also incorporates enhanced artificial intelligence for a more competitive racing environment and offers native 3Dfx and Rendition graphic accelerator support.

“Grand Prix Legends took more than three years to develop,” said Matt Sentell, Creative Director, Papyrus. “That’s a long time for any game to be in development, but the results speak for themselves. Of course the physics and AI are a big step forward, but the product has also been built from the ground up for multiplayer, the Windows environment, and hardware graphics acceleration. This is the technology on which future Papyrus products will be built, so we have taken the time to get it right.”

Papyrus has faithfully re-created the experience of 1967 Grand Prix racing, when safety regulations were much less stringent than they are today. The game’s designers went to extraordinary lengths to meet the specifications of the original tracks, in many cases unearthing the original blueprints. The tracks of 1967 were sometimes no more than country roads, where spectators lined the shoulders as the classic racing machines roared by. Some of the legendary tracks included in Grand Prix Legends are Nurburgring, Monaco, the historic Spa and Zandvoort.

Similarly, cars were less technically advanced in 1967, and Grand Prix Legends recreates these cars as they existed in this “golden era of racing.” Papyrus worked with some of the original car designers to ensure that the cars in the game look and perform as authentically as possible. Grand Prix Legends also captures the compelling drivers from the era, including Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and others, as well as teams such as Lotus, Ferrari, Brabham, and BRM.

Features and Availability
Grand Prix Legends, a CD-ROM for Windows 95/98, also offers a realistic 3D cockpit, fully animated polygonal driver, 16-bit graphics, and multi-player capabilities. Grand Prix Legends carries a suggested retail price of $49.95 and will be available at computer stores everywhere or by calling Sierra direct at (800) 757-7707. More information about Grand Prix Legends is available at the Sierra Sports website (www.sierrasports.com).

Papyrus Design Group
Papyrus is a division of Cendant Software. Papyrus’ open-wheel racing simulations, including the currently shipping CART Racing, have sold more than 800,000 copies since the release of Indianapolis 500 in 1987. Papyrus’ best-selling NASCAR Racing 2 was the #7-selling entertainment title in the U.S. in 1997.

Sierra Sports – Play the Sport
Unveiled at the 1998 Daytona 500, Sierra Sports is one of Sierra’s best-selling brands, and publishes the most complete list of high quality sports simulations on the market. A common passion unites Sierra Sports developers such as Dynamix, Papyrus, Headgate and the Sierra Sports NW team?commitment to the true spirit of sport. Upcoming titles from Sierra Sports include Grand Prix Legends, NFL Football Pro 99, PGA Championship Golf – 1999 Edition, Basketball Pro 99, Fantasy Sports Pro, NASCAR Racing-1999 Edition, Skiing 99, Trophy Bass 3D, and Trophy Marlin.

Cendant
Cendant is the world’s premier provider of consumer and business services. Cendant operates in three principal segments: Alliance Marketing, Travel and Real Estate Services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company has more than 40,000 employees, operates in over 100 countries and makes approximately 100 million customer contacts annually.