NASCAR Racing 2003 Season Announced for Mac

Westlake Interactive, the studio who released the NR2002 conversion via publisher Aspyr for Mac, today announced an upcoming NR2003 release. The version is already confirmed to be at a ‘release candidate’ stage, so will likely go gold (move into CD production) within the next month or two.

Here are the system requirements listed on the Aspyr mini site:

Preliminary System Requirements (These may change before the game release):

Mac OS X only
256MB of Memory
G4 processor at 733 MHz or faster (Dual Processors supported, 500Mhz x2 or above)
4X CD-ROM (16X recommended)
Hard Drive, with 665 MB minimum free space
3D Graphic Acceleration or better ((ATI Radeon/NVidia GeForce2 or faster)

Multiplayer requirements:

Internet and LAN (TCP/IP) play supported
Internet play requires a 56 Kbps or faster

Westlake press release:

NASCAR® Racing 2003 Announced and at Final Candidate (April 2)

Hot on the treads of NASCAR® Racing 2002 Season comes NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season for Macintosh. Westlake programmer Duane Johnson headed up the 2002 conversion, and has made amazing progress on the 2003 code. The game is playing well, and all software features are complete and working (thus earning the game its coveted “Final Candidate” status).

From Aspyr’s Press Release: NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season showcases new dynamic 3D graphics including a populated pit row, team war wagons, pit signs, aerial objects such as planes, helicopters, blimps, and more. In addition, the enhanced AI automatically adjusts to match the player’s driving ability, allowing both rookies and veterans the opportunity to trade paint with the pros. Inspired by the exhilarating world of actual NASCAR® Cup racing, drivers can also choose to compete against a full field of 42 NASCAR® drivers online via Internet or LAN in NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season.

The Mac version of NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season has been in development and under wraps since the 2002 version was released. It’s been listed as project “Cellar” on the Westlake Status Page. “Cellar” was an obscure reference to 80’s hair band Ratt whose album “Out of the Cellar” contained the mega-hit “Round And Round”. NASCAR tracks are ovular for the most part, and the cars drive “round and round”.

Here is the Sierra press release:

BE THE FIRST TO DRIVE THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE NASCAR® RACING FRANCHISE ON THE MACINTOSH®

Vivendi Universal Games and Aspyr Present NASCAR® Racing 2003 on the Mac®

AUSTIN, TEXAS – April 2, 2003 – Aspyr Media, Inc. announced today that they will co-publish NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season for the Macintosh®. The Macintosh® conversion of NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season is being completed by Westlake Interactive and will feature teams, drivers, sponsors, and every track of the 2003 NASCAR® Cup Series. NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season features new 3D graphics, an enhanced physics model developed with the input of official NASCAR® team engineers, and informative driving aids for both seasoned and novice drivers.

“This is the most realistic driving experience yet,” says Michael Rogers, President of Aspyr. “NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season sets a new standard for what a racing game should be.”

NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season showcases new dynamic 3D graphics including a populated pit row, team war wagons, pit signs, aerial objects such as planes, helicopters, blimps, and more. In addition, the enhanced AI automatically adjusts to match the player’s driving ability, allowing both rookies and veterans the opportunity to trade paint with the pros. Inspired by the exhilarating world of actual NASCAR® Cup racing, drivers can also choose to compete against a full field of 42 NASCAR® drivers online via Internet or LAN in NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season.

NASCAR® Racing 2003 Season ships with a suggested retail price of $49.95. The game is rated “E” for everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

ABOUT NASCAR®

The NASCAR Licensing and Retail Development team that is based in Charlotte, NC, is committed to creating retail programs that provide value to NASCAR sponsors, promotional partners, licensees as well as drivers, teams and tracks. Under the direction of Mark Dyer, VP of Licensing & Consumer Products and Managing Director Dee Scott, the department researches new categories, licenses qualified companies, handles quality control, and develops retail partnerships in an effort to drive sales of NASCAR-licensed product. NASCAR supports its line of licensed products through an integrated marketing strategy including annual trade advertising, a comprehensive retail guide, trade show exhibits, a quarterly newsletter and a dedicated web presence on NASCAR.com.

ABOUT VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES

Headquartered in New York, Vivendi Universal Games is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. A leading publisher of PC, console and online-based interactive content, Vivendi Universal Games’ portfolio of development studios includes Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure, NDA Productions, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Through its Partner Publishing Group, Vivendi Universal Games also co-publishes and/or distributes interactive products for a number of strategic partners, including Bits Software, Crave Entertainment, Fox Interactive, Interplay, Majesco, Mythic Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others.

ABOUT SIERRA

Sierra Entertainment, Inc., a studio of the Games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, is one of the earliest developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment software. Based in Bellevue, Washington, Sierra has released critically acclaimed and award-winning titles that represent a wide variety of computer entertainment on game consoles and PC platforms.

ABOUT ASPYR

Based in Austin, Texas, Aspyr Media, Inc. is a leading publisher of Macintosh® interactive entertainment software, committed to offering high-quality interactive entertainment products and service, with a smile, to gamers worldwide.

Copyright: Aspyr Media, Inc.