History VideoGame / ProjectGothamRacing

''Project Gotham Racing'' was a racing game series developed by Creator/BizarreCreations. All games in the series were published by [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]]. The series was a SpiritualSuccessor to the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast game ''Metropolis Street Racer'', also developed by Bizarre.

Unfortunately, the series would be abandoned due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations and eventually closing the developer shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. It was highly believed that Creator/Turn10Studios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works, but these rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is now filled by Creator/PlaygroundGames'[[note]]Which was founded by several racing game veterans from the UK, including staff from Bizarre![[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series, which is also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]'' (''Forza Horizon 4'' even has Edinburgh, complete with a recreation of one of ''[=PGR2=]''[='=]s tracks in the game). Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Creator/EvolutionStudios for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* ''Project Gotham Racing'' (2001, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}})
* ''Project Gotham Racing 2'' (2003, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}})
* ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' (2005, UsefulNotes/Xbox360)

* ''Project Gotham Racing 4'' (2007, UsefulNotes/Xbox360)

** Class G: old and new city cars ([[GlassCannon Austin Mini Cooper]], [[LightningBruiser Mazda MX-5]], [[Film/BackToTheFuture DeLorean DMC-12]])

* CameraScrew: The fourth game does this in the form of the in-car/helmet camera. Specifically, how it impedes your ability to drive some of the cars properly from that view. Unlike the third game, in which the game always provided you with its own gauges/readouts of vehicle speed, gear selection, and engine speed no matter what view you were in, in the 4th game, it does not do so for the cockpit view (which incidentally was introduced into the series in the 3rd game), instead making you reliant on the interior model's gauges and readouts to get the info you need. How the camera screws with you here is that either the interior point-of-view is usually a bit too far back from the gauges and makes them hard to read, or it's mis-elevated (too high/low) and allows the steering wheel to block a part of the instrument panel or, in extreme cases, ALL of it. What makes this worse is that these screws made some cars returning from the 3rd game undrivable when using the helmet cam to various degrees, due to a change in seating position from their [=PGR3=] counterparts.
** Returning car made mildly undrivable: The TVR Sagaris. The cockpit view in the 3rd game gave you a clear view of every important element in the instrument panel, from the analog speedo and tach, to the shift-up warning lights above them, and the digital; numerical readouts of vehicle speed, engine speed, and gear selection below the analog gauges. In the fourth game, the helmet POV is lowered such that the wheel is now blocking those digital readouts, leaving only the analog gauges visible.
** Returning car made a nightmare to drive: The Aston Martin [=DBR9=] race car. The 3rd game's cockpit view of this car gave you a clear line-of-sight on the digital gear/speed/revs readout. The 4th game's cockpit view is altered as such that the readout is not visible, again due to the steering wheel obstructing it.

->"Life starts at 170 mph."

* ''Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition'' (2009, Zune HD)[[note]]A free mobile spin-off of ''PGR'' focusing on one make, much like ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Porsche Unleashed''.[[/note]]

* RareVehicles:
** The Caparo T1 in ''4''. The thing is a street-legal ''UsefulNotes/FormulaOne'' car, basically. Only 25 are churned out a year. As of 2012, only 16 have been sold.
** Exaggerated with Toyota GT-One, first appeared in ''3''. A street-legal [[UsefulNotes/TwentyFourHoursOfLeMans LMGTP road car]] whose only two street versions were built.

* ShaggyDogStory: There is a pack in ''4'' which costs 1 million kudos, [[spoiler:which turns out to be a gamer picture, and an achievement]]. It counts also as BraggingRightsReward.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters:
** In [=PGR4=], the AI on career mode have human names, and they all have different personalities: some are more aggressive and concentrate on pulling out tricks to get more Kudos, others are more focused on true racing.
** While the Project Gotham Racing didn't contain as much cars as ''Gran Turismo'' and ''Forza'' had, [=PGR4=] managed to make wade variety of car production years with more than 130 cars from the 1950s to 2008.

Unfortunately, the series would be abandoned due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations and eventually closing the developer shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. It was highly believed that Creator/TurnTenStudios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works, but these rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is now filled by Creator/PlaygroundGames'[[note]]Which was founded by several racing game veterans from the UK, including staff from Bizarre![[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series, which also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]'' (''Forza Horizon 4'' even has Edinburgh, complete with a recreation of one of ''[=PGR2=]''[='=]s tracks in the game). Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Evolution Studios for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* AllOrNothing: The Arcade challenges provide an example: either you achieve the objective and you gain Kudos (the higher the difficulty, the higher is the Kudos quantity received), or you go home with nuthin'.
* AllThereInTheManual: The manuals for ''3'' and ''4'' are chock of infos about the game, but the former is more comprehensive: it even goes as far to talk about the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic huge soundtrack]], with even a few examples from each playlist.
* BoomTown: Almost all scenarios are actual real life cities such as UsefulNotes/{{London}}, [[BigApplesauce New York City]], UsefulNotes/LasVegas and UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, to name a few.
** ''4'' adds in St. Petersburg, Quebec City, Shanghai and UsefulNotes/{{Macau}}.

** Class A: hypercars and race cars ([[InfinityMinusOneSword Mclaren F1 LM]], [[GlassCannon Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Supersport]], [[GameBreaker Ferrari F50 GT]])

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''3'' has a much darker, more minimalist and more streamlined design than the first two installments. Also ''Blur'' has cars attacking others. Although in both cases the game itself really isn't all that dark. It's just a racing game. Even in ''Blur'' it's more silly and unrealistic. It could be said that the whole franchsie was rather dark, as it was one of the first games to feature hardcore metal music, some of which was very dark.
** LighterAndSofter: ''4'' has a more colorful and poppy design than ''3''.
* DenserAndWackier: A rare case in which this is darker and edgier. ''Blur'' features competing cars actually trying to attack each other with some warp-type weapon. It makes the game somewhat Franchise/StarTrek-like.

** RubberBandAI: On the other hand, you have to be nearly perfect to beat most of the AI in higher difficulty if you want to win the races.
* DrivingTest: The Michelin Test track for trying out any car in [=PGR4=]. From the straightforward oval circuit to the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ultimate Test]], the player can measure any of the cars and bikes in the game (in this mode, all of the vehicles in the game are available from the very beginning) in three tests: a time trial in any of the five layouts of the test track, a speed run in the oval circuit, and a solo drift contest.

* InfinityMinusOneSword: In ''3'', the Mclaren [=F1=] LM, the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Supersport and the Panoz Esperante GTR-1 are this to the [[GameBreaker godlike]] Ferrari [=F50=] GT.

* LevelGrinding: ''3'' suffered from this. While MoneyGrinding wasn't a big deal at all (one can acquire the [[GameBreaker Ferrari F50 GT]] within a few hours of playing!), the real problem was Kudos grinding.
** Fixed in ''4''. The championships in the Career mode can net you several thousands of Kudos, and in some cases, you earn enough Kudos to buy certain car packs containing a set amount of cars including the Ferrari FXX, Lamborghini Murcielago, and even a FREAKING Mclaren F1!

* NintendoHard: Platinum difficulty. Oh god: in this difficulty setting, the AI will always be on the back of your neck, and the objectives in solo challenges require nigh-inhuman skills to beat. The latter example is much stronger in ''3'': in style challenges (where you have to gain a determined amount of Kudos with certain moves to win), in Gold difficulty you sometimes have to reach a few thousand Kudos, but not that much to be NintendoHard. In Platinum? You have to beat an objective which is '''FROM 3 TO 10 TIMES BIGGER''' than the Gold difficulty one!
* RacingGame: Well this is Project Gotham Racing after all.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Metropolis Street Racer'', as noted above. As for ''PGR'' itself, the ''Forza Horizon'' series.
** Also, note the StealthPun in play. This series' predecessor was '''''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]]''' Street Racer''. This was ''Project '''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]''' Racing''.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Despite the name]], the game has no connection to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. Although, if it did, it would be awesome. In fact, the name of the series was originally its ''[[WorkingTitle code name]]'', which remained unchanged due to said codename being printed on the billboard prior to the game's true name reveal, and without any time left to reprint the correct one, Bizarre and Microsoft opted to use that name[[note]]Later ''Bizarre'' projects would use codenames filled with profanity, so the mistake would not be repeated again[[/note]].

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

Unfortunately, the series would be abandoned due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations and eventually closing the developer shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. It was highly believed that Creator/TurnTenStudios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works, but these rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is now filled by Creator/PlaygroundGames'[[note]]Which was founded by several racing game veterans from the UK, including staff from Bizarre![[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series, which also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]'' (''Forza Horizon 4'' even has Edinburgh, complete with a recreation of one of ''[=PGR4=]''[='=]s tracks in the game). Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Evolution Studios for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

-> "Life starts at 170 mph."
--> '''Tagline of [=PGR3=].'''

List of ''PGR'' games released:

Unfortunately, the series' fate is [[LeftHanging uncertain]], due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations, and the eventual closing of the latter shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. Though it's highly believed that Turn 10 Studios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works. These rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked, so technically the series is now over. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is being filled by Playground Games'[[note]]Which was founded by several racing game veterans from the UK, including staff from Bizarre![[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series - also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]''. Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Evolution Studios for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

Known for being the series that introduced the world to ''VideoGame/GeometryWars'', which is included from the second game onwards as an EasterEgg.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Despite the name]], the game has no connection to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. Although, if it did, it would be awesome. In fact, the name of the series was originally its ''[[WorkingTitle code name]]'', which remained unchanged due to said codename being printed on the billboard prior to the game's true name reveal, and without any time left to reprint the correct one, Bizarre and Microsoft opted to use that name[[note]]Later ''Bizarre'' projects would use codenames filled with profanity, so the mistake would not be repeated again[[/note]].

NeedsWikiMagicLove.
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* CoolCar: The A car class breathes this trope. Nothing else than non-road-legal race cars and hypercars. If you ever race in this class, get ready to see a free-for-all brawl of badass race cars to see who's the best on the track.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: In ''3'', the Mclaren [=F1=] LM, the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Supersport and the Panoz Esperante GTR-1 are this to the [[GameBreaker godlike]] Ferrari [=F50=] GT.

** Also, note the StealthPun in play. This series' predecessor was '''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]]'''
* DenserAndWackier: A rare case in which this is darker and edgier. ''Blur'' features competing cars actually trying to attack each other with some warp-type weapon. It makes the game somewhat [[Franchise/{{StarTrek}}]]-like.
''Street Racer''. This was ''Project'' '''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]''' ''Racing''.

Unfortunately, the series' fate is [[LeftHanging uncertain]], due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations, and the eventual closing of the latter shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. Though it's highly believed that Turn 10 Studios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works. These rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked, so technically the series is now over. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is being filled by Playground Games'[[note]]Which was founded by several.[[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series - also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]''. Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Evolution Studios for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* ''Blur'' (2010 UsefulNotes/Xbox360)

Unfortunately, the series' fate is [[LeftHanging uncertain]], due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations, and the eventual closing of the latter. Though it's highly believed that Turn 10 Studios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works. These rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked, so technically the series is now over.

Known for being the series that introduced the world to ''VideoGame/GeometryWars'', which is included in some of the games as an EasterEgg.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Despite the name]], the game has no connection to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. Although, if it did, it would be awesome.

* ''Blur'' (2010/Xbox360)

* WackierAndDenser: A rare case in which this is darker and edgier. ''Blur'' features competing cars actually trying to attack each other with some warp-type weapon. It makes the game somewhat [[Franchise/{{StarTrek}}]]-like.

* ''Blur" (2010/Xbox360)

* WackierAndDensier: A rare case in which this is darker and edgier. ''Blur'' features competing cars actually trying to attack each other with some warp-type weapon. It makes the game somewhat [[Franchise/{{StarTrek}}]]-like.
** Also, note the StealthPun in play. This series' predecessor was '''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]]''' ''Street Racer''. This was ''Project'' '''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]''' ''Racing''.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''3'' has a much darker, more minimalist and more streamlined design than the first two installments.

** Class F: old sport cars ([[CoolCar Aston Martin DB4]], [[BadassGrandpa Lamborghini Miura]], [[FragileSpeedster Lancia Stratos]])

* RareVehicles: The Caparo T1 in ''4''. The thing is a street-legal ''UsefulNotes/FormulaOne'' car, basically. Only 25 are churned out a year. As of 2012, only 16 have been sold.

''Project Gotham Racing'' was a racing game series developed by Creator/BizarreCreations. All games in the series were published by Creator/MicrosoftStudios. The series was a SpiritualSuccessor to the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast game ''Metropolis Street Racer'', also developed by Bizarre.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Metropolis Street Racer'', as noted above.
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