WP reports:
''While EA Sports brands such as Madden and Fight Night have found enormous mainstream success in appealing to hard-core and casual fans alike, NASCAR has remained a series that's been somewhat more intimidating to those of us that don't know a thing about gear tuning and just want to drive. NASCAR 09, however, bears numerous features that show EA is trying to do away with the series' "strictly for the hard-core" image. The additions of new driving modes for more casual players, and a collection of challenges for dedicated NASCAR fans add some freshness to this year's iteration, but most will find the on-track experience largely the same.
Upon booting up, you'll immediately be greeted by a live representation of NASCAR's poster boy himself, Jeff Gordon, who will continually give you advice and information on the all the modes and options that the title contains. It's pretty obvious that EA is trying to give the series a more inviting appearance, and this carries through to the two new driving modes available at the onset, Normal and Pro. Normal mode is for gamers looking for a more arcade-like feel and who just want to enjoy the thrill of the race rather than have the constant fear of spinning out while trying to handle more sim-like controls (found in Pro). But even in Normal mode, all of the regular rules of NASCAR are still present, as well as the 40-plus tuning options. The actual control set remains the same for both modes, with the left thumbstick serving as the "wheel," the right and left triggers for acceleration and braking, and finally the X for the vehicle telemetry visor to see a comprehensive head's-up display of your car's status. And yes, the game does support the Xbox 360 racing wheel.''
In the economic hard times of late, many industries have been greatly effected. One, in particular, is NASCAR. Stock car racing is one of the biggest sports in the country. Now I know many people will argue with that because they might not watch NASCAR, but just look logically; the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama holds 125,000 people, the Daytona 500 is one of the most watched single day events every year, right behind the Super Bowl, and sponsors pay millions of dollars just to get their logo on a car knowing that if that car wins, the fans buy the product. But recently, with companies not willing to shell out so much money, sponsors have gone down, ticket sales have dropped and the revenue of NASCAR in general is low. And it doesn't stop there…
I am not entirely sure how licensing works but if I recall correctly GT5 bought the Nascar license but again I don't know if that affects EA drastically or not. You would think it probably is related somehow...
Oh well, they always rehashed the same game every year. Atleast in GT5, fans of these games will be racing in 1080p glory with the most photorealistic graphics as they go round and round.
This week's "What They've Been Playing" features discussion of Splosion Man, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Madden 10, Battlefield 1943, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a Darklord, Nascar 09, Hour of Victory, and much more. They follow that up with some gaming news including the announcement of Sam Raimi as director of the World of Warcraft movie and the record-breaking sales of Battlefield 1943.
Pictures, videos, and little notes from the event. Guests included Tiger Woods, John Cena, Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, Denny Hamlin, Jameer Nelson Major Nelson, and a random appearance by Jimmy Kimmel's parking lot security Guillermo.
