History Trivia / Driver

** ''Driver: San Francisco'' got removed from all digital stores in 2016 and there is no sign of a re-release. You can play it on UsefulNotes/XboxOne and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS but only if you can track down an original 360 disc.

* CreatorBacklash: The developers for the first game state in a podcast that [[https://youtu.be/3sgMdz2Gpv0?si=vot3vKNvyfB9FJM2 they made the tutorial mission far too hard for the wrong reasons]] and game design like that would not fly in today's modern game design. Because they had no focus group, one of the developers said that he though if he could beat the tutorial in 23 seconds, then having a time limit of 60 seconds was "too much" and admits that he was completely wrong in retrospect. They also mention that if the game was made today, they would have had given the player to option to move onto the game itself if they failed the tutorial five times.

** At its heyday, it's dueling with ''Videogame/MidtownMadness'', both being 3D open-world driving games, and despite ''Midtown Madness'' being published by Microsoft, Driver won out in mainstream recognition until ''GTA'' came along while ''Midtown Madness'', despite having two games at the time, stuck being an obscure CultClassic.

* AllStarCast: ''[=DRIV3R=]'' infamously made a point to feature one, with the likes of Creator/MichaelMadsen as Tanner, Creator/MickeyRourke as Jericho, and Creator/VingRhames, Creator/MichelleRodriguez and Creator/IggyPop in other roles.

* WorkingTitle: An early trailer for ''[=DRIV3R=]'' (namely, the one included in ''VideoGame/{{Stuntman}}'') spelt out the game's title as "''Driver 3''".

** At its heyday, it's dueling with ''Videogame/MidtownMadness'', both being 3D open-world driving games, and despite ''Midtown Madness'' being published by Microsoft, Driver won out in mainstream recognition while ''Midtown Madness'', despite having two games at the time, stuck being an obscure CultClassic.

* DuelingGames: With ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' in 2001, started almost entirely by ''GTA''. However, ''Driver'' wasn't really good as a ''GTA'' clone, which led to the third game's mockery by critics and even [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]] themselves in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco'' smartly dropped the ''GTA'' pretenses by becoming a pure open world racer with no on-foot controls, instead making car-switching easier with the Shift mechanic that made the game stand out.

* DummiedOut: Infamously, the black-striped yellow car featured in screenshots and early previews for the first game was completely removed from the final product, with the Chevy Chevelle-esque dark grey car taking its place (this change was made as early as the first playable demo from circa February 1999). Furthermore, the closing credits feature a replay based in a city modeled on developer Reflections' hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne (albeit with cars driving on the right instead of the left due to engine limitations), though this level was likely never intended to be playable anyway.

* DummiedOut: Infamously, the black-striped yellow car featured in screenshots and early previews for the first game was completely removed from the final product, with the Chevy Chevelle-esque dark grey car taking its place (this change was made as early as the first playable demo from circa February 1999). Furthermore, the closing credits feature a replay based in a city modelled on developer Reflections' hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne (albeit with cars driving on the right instead of left due to engine limitations), though this level was likely never intended to be playable anyway.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Getting a hold of all the games in the series is complicated to say the least:

** ''Driver 2'' hasn't seen any re-release, but you can play it on PC thanks to an un-official source port based on a reverse engineering of the [=PS1=] version.

** ''Driver Parallel Lines'' is the easiest one to get (at least on PC). You can buy it on GOG, Steam and Ubisoft Connect and it gets discounted quite often (especially on Ubisoft Connect).

** ''Driver San Francisco'' got removed from all digital stores in 2016 and there is no sign of a re-release. You can play it on Xbox One / Series X but only if you can track down an original 360 disc.
** ''Driver Renegade'' hasn't been ported to any system since the original 3DS release. With Nintendo announcing that the 3DS store will be shut down in 2023, you may want to get a copy before prices start to go up.
** And you can forget about ''Driver Vegas'' and ''Driver L.A. Undercover'' unless you track down an old Java phone with the games already installed.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Getting a hold of all the games in series is complicated to say the least:
** The only way to buy Driver 1 right now is on the PSN for the PlayStation 3.
** Driver 2 hasn't seen any re-release, but you can play it on PC thanks to an un-official source port based on a reverse engineering of the PS1 version.
** Driver 3 hasn't seen any-release since the 2005 PC port. Considering the game's awful reputation thanks to its unfinished state and the controversy that exploded after fans find out that Atari paid reviewers to give the game high scores while ignoring all the problems, is safe to asume this game will remain buried for a long time.
** Driver Parallel Lines is the easiest one to get (at least on PC). You can buy it on GOG, Steam and Ubisoft Connect and it gets discounted quite often (specially on Ubisoft Connect).
** Driver 76 hasn't seen any re-release. Sony shutting down the PSP store doesn't help matters.
** Driver San Francisco got removed from all digital stores in 2016 and there is no sign of a re-release. You can play it on Xbox One / Series X but only if you can track down an original 360 disc.
** Driver Renegade hasn't been ported to any system since the original 3DS release. With Nintendo announcing that the 3DS store will be shut down in 2023, you may wanna get a copy before prices start to go up.
** And you can forget about Driver Vegas and Driver L.A. Undercover unless you track down an old java phone with the games already installed.

* DevelopmentHell: The movie. ''Film/PulpFiction'' scribe Creator/RogerAvary wrote several drafts before the project was cancelled. In his own words: "In the ''[=Driv3r=]'' game, Timmy Vermicelli was a joke character based on Tommy Vercetti, the character from ''GTA III''. [[note]]Vercetti is actually the protagonist of [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]], not III[[/note]] So I made Timmy the villain, who kills Tanner, who would be played by Creator/MichaelMadsen who voiced the character in the game. Tanner's son, Driver, hunts the killer around the world for revenge, eventually ending up in Iraq, where the mob has been hired by the U.S. government as a subcontractor of drugs and prostitution in the green zone. The basic idea is that Vermicelli drives around shooting people in Iraq, much like GTA, but it always gets blamed on insurgents — so he does it with impunity. Think of the movie as ''GTA'' set in Bagdad." After submitting extensive storyboards to the producers, a higher-up from the studio came down and insisted the movie be made for $40 million. The project was dead less than a week later. Avary has commented that seeing ''Film/{{Drive}}'' "nullified my need to make the film."

* DevelopmentHell: The movie. ''Film/PulpFiction'' scribe Creator/RogerAvary wrote several drafts before the project was cancelled. In his own words: "In the ''[=Driv3r=]'' game, Timmy Vermicelli was a joke character based on Tommy Vercetti, the character from ''GTA III''. So I made Timmy the villain, who kills Tanner, who would be played by Creator/MichaelMadsen who voiced the character in the game. Tanner's son, Driver, hunts the killer around the world for revenge, eventually ending up in Iraq, where the mob has been hired by the U.S. government as a subcontractor of drugs and prostitution in the green zone. The basic idea is that Vermicelli drives around shooting people in Iraq, much like GTA, but it always gets blamed on insurgents — so he does it with impunity. Think of the movie as ''GTA'' set in Bagdad." After submitting extensive storyboards to the producers, a higher-up from the studio came down and insisted the movie be made for $40 million. The project was dead less than a week later. Avary has commented that seeing ''Film/{{Drive}}'' "nullified my need to make the film."

* DevelopmentHell: The movie. ''Film/PulpFiction'' scribe Creator/RogerAvary wrote several drafts before the project was cancelled. In his own words: "In the Driv3r game, Timmy Vermicelli was a joke character based on Tommy Vercetti, the character from GTA 3. So I made Timmy the villain, who kills Tanner, who would be played by Michael Madsen who voiced the character in the game. Tanner's son, Driver, hunts the killer around the world for revenge, eventually ending up in Iraq, where the mob has been hired by the U.S. government as a subcontractor of drugs and prostitution in the green zone. The basic idea is that Vermicelli drives around shooting people in Iraq, much like GTA, but it always gets blamed on insurgents — so he does it with impunity. Think of the movie as GTA set in Bagdad." After submitting extensive storyboards to the producers, a higher-up from the studio came down and insisted the movie be made for $40 million. The project was dead less than a week later. Avary has commented that seeing ''Film/{{Drive}}'' "nullified my need to make the film."

* DevelopmentHell: The movie. ''Film/PulpFiction'' scribe Creator/RogerAvary wrote several drafts before the project was cancelled. In his own words: "In the Driv3r game, Timmy Vermicelli was a joke character based on Tommy Vercetti, the character from GTA 3. So I made Timmy the villain, who kills Tanner, who would be played by Michael Madsen who voiced the character in the game. Tanner's son, Driver, hunts the killer around the world for revenge, eventually ending up in Iraq, where the mob has been hired by the U.S. government as a subcontractor of drugs and prostitution in the green zone. The basic idea is that Vermicelli drives around shooting people in Iraq, much like GTA, but it always gets blamed on insurgents — so he does it with impunity. Think of the movie as GTA set in Bagdad." After submitting extensive storyboards to the producers, a higher-up from the studio came down and insisted the movie be made for $40 million. The project was dead less than a week later. Avary has commented that seeing ''Film/Drive'' "nullified my need to make the film."

* DuelingGames: With ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' in 2001. However, ''Driver'' wasn't really good as a ''GTA'' clone, which led to the third game's mockery by critics and even [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]] themselves in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco'' smartly dropped the ''GTA'' pretenses by becoming a pure open world racer with no on-foot controls, instead making car-switching easier with the Shift mechanic that made the game stand out.