F1 2000 (lost pre-release builds of Formula One game; 2000)
PlayStation cover art for the game.
Status: Lost
F1 2000 is a Formula One racing game that was developed by Visual Sciences and Image Space Incorporated, and published by EA Sports. Released in early-to-mid-2000 for the PC and PlayStation, the game was a simulation of the 2000 Formula One Season and was the first under EA's F1 series. During the later stages of development, pre-release PC and PlayStation builds were given to reviewers, which notably featured the 1999 cars.
Background
F1 2000 marked EA Sports' first instance of publishing a game under the Formula One licence.[1] Released in early-to-mid-2000 depending on the region, the game generally received praise from critics.[2] This included GameSpot, who deemed the PC version as "one of the best F1 racing sims to date". Later, EA Sports would go on to publish F1 Championship Season 2000, F1 2001 and F1 2002, with its final title prior to originally losing the F1 licence being F1 Career Challenge.[3] In December 2020, EA re-gained the licence by purchasing Codemasters for $1.2 billion.[4]
In a review by GameOver's jube, a pre-release PC version was tested.[5] The review praised the game for its graphics, sound, and overall gameplay but did criticise its AI system, which proved to be overly aggressive and made completing races with damage modelling enabled difficult.[5] Nevertheless, it concluded that the game was worthwhile, scoring it 75% overall.[5] It also provided eight screenshots that notably showed the pre-release build contained car and driver data from the 1999 Formula One Season.[5][6] Additionally, an r/formula1 discussion revealed an unarchived GameSpot page also held screenshots of a pre-release PlayStation version that contained the 1999 cars.[6]
Availability
While the available screenshots confirm the existence of 1999 builds of F1 2000, similar to F1 2010's pre-build containing 2009 cars, it was likely not publicly released due to licencing issues.[7] If any builds still exist, they likely dwell within EA Sports' archives, with an unlikely chance of being released.
Gallery
Images
The Benetton B199 at Melbourne.
A Minardi M01 ahead a Jordan 199 at Monaco.
A Benetton B199 ahead of Mika Häkkinen's McLaren MP4/14 at Monaco.
Onboard of a Jordan 199 chasing a Ferrari F399.
A Jordan 199 at Monaco.
Mika Häkkinen's McLaren MP4/14 chasing a Ferrari F399.
Sideview of a Jordan 199.
Side onboard view of a Jordan 199 at Melbourne.
See Also
- 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1953)
- 1953 Italian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1953)
- 1954 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1954)
- 1954 Italian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1954)
- 1955 Dutch Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1955)
- 1955 Italian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1955)
- 1955 Monaco Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1955)
- 1956 Belgian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)
- 1956 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)
- 1956 French Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)
- 1956 Italian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)
- 1956 Monaco Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)
- 1957 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1957)
- 1957 Monaco Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1957)
- 2005 San Marino Grand Prix (partially found ITV advert break during final laps of Formula One race; 2005)
- Donkey Does F1 (partially found photos of Shrek character inflatable at Formula One races; 2004)
- F-1 World Grand Prix III (lost build of cancelled Nintendo 64 Formula One racing game; 2000-2001)
- F1 2010 (lost pre-alpha build of Formula One game; 2010)
- F1 Racing Championship 2 (lost build of cancelled PC/PlayStation 2 Formula One game; 2001)
- Fernando Alonso's 2015 testing accident (lost footage of Formula One test session crash; 2015)
- Grand Prix 3 (lost build of cancelled Dreamcast port of PC Formula One racing game; 2001)
- Grand Prix 4 (lost build of cancelled Xbox port of PC Formula One racing game sequel; 2002)
- McLaren MP4-18 (lost footage of unraced Formula One car; 2003)
- Racing Arrows (partially found Formula One TV series; 2001)
- Robert Kubica's 2010 Japanese Grand Prix Q3 lap (lost audio of Formula One qualifying lap; 2010)
- Williams FW15C (partially found footage and lap time information of unraced CVT Formula One car; 1993)
References
- ↑ GameSpot noting F1 2000 was EA Sports' first F1 game. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ GameSpot's review of the PC version of F1 2000. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ GameSpot's review of F1 Career Challenge, noting some of the other EA F1 games released previously. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ The Verge reporting on EA purchasing Codemasters. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 GameOver's review of F1 2000, also providing some pre-release screenshots. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 r/formula1 post discussing the lost F1 games, including the pre-release of F1 2000. Retrieved 16th Aug '22
- ↑ Racefans preview of F1 2010, noting the licensing issues that prevented 2009 cars from being in the released version of F1 2010. Retrieved 16th Aug '22