According to Mike Griffiths, CEO of Activision publishing, no-one's really sunk their teeth into the racing genre yet. We rarely say this, but "ZOMG!"

He described the market as "under-penetrated". Yes, that sounds like a young chap with a small todger trying his best to satisfy his girlfriend and failing miserably. Yes, that flies in the face of the bajillion racing titles and franchises such as Need for Speed, Forza, Gran Turismo, Project Gotham, Race Driver and DiRT (to name but a few) that currently occupy the market.

Unsurprisingly, Griffiths reckons that Activision Blizzard's upcoming title from developer Bizarre Creations can do the business. "We're convinced we have the opportunity to capture leadership in this genre", he said during the company's analyst day yesterday.

"We've tested extensively our position and our game design, and results have reinforced our hypothesis. Consumers respond extremely well to our racing concept, with significantly stronger results ... than external competition", he went on.

When kicking off a new franchise, apparently, Activision has five criteria. "We start with five basic questions that we've got to answer affirmatively to justify moving forward: Is the genre large with an acceptable barrier to entry? Do we have something unique and compelling to offer? Is the opportunity annualize-able? Do we have the right developer to deliver game quality? And finally, can we expect a strong return on investment?" Sensible stuff. You might be tempted to question Activision's judgement on such things, however, if it sees the racing genre as "under-penetrated".

Once again offering nothing surprising, Griffiths added, "We knew with Bizarre Creations, we had the perfect partner for the game we had to make in this space."

Activision, of course, bought Bizarre last year. The rights to Project Gotham (which Bizarre developed), however, are still held by Microsoft.

Are publishers' attempts to capitalise on the racing genre like a wee willy probing around a gargantuan garage? Give us your thoughts in the Forum.

^{Source: Edge Online}