Grand Prix 3

Grand Prix 3 is a computer racing simulator by MicroProse, released in 2000 by Hasbro Interactive.

Grand Prix 3
Developer(s)MicroProse Chipping Sodbury
Publisher(s)Hasbro Interactive
Designer(s)Geoff Crammond
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • EU: July 28, 2000[1]
  • NA: August 24, 2000
Genre(s)Racing simulation
Mode(s)Single-player
Multiplayer

Gameplay

The game is known for featuring the 1998 Formula One season (with all drivers except Jacques Villeneuve, who is instead replaced by a fictional character, John Newhouse). In August 2001 an expansion pack, Grand Prix 3 2000 Season, was released, updating the game to feature the 2000 season's cars and drivers (including Villeneuve), as well as the 2 new circuits on the calendar, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reception

Critical reviews

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] It was not quite as well received as its predecessors, but at the time was widely considered to be the best racing simulation available.[8][9]

The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Grand Prix 3 as the best racing game of 2000, although it lost to Motocross Madness 2. They described Grand Prix 3 as a "precisely tuned" title.[12]

Sales

In Europe, Grand Prix 3 sold 300,000 units in one month. Italy made up above 30,000 sales of this number, while Spain accounted for 6,500. Multiplayer.it attributed the relatively low sales in Spain to that country's rampant software piracy problem.[13]

In the German market, Grand Prix 3 sold 40,000 units in its first three days of availability.[14] Debuting at #2 on Media Control's computer game sales chart for July 2000, it rose to first place the following month, before claiming fourth in September.[15] The Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) presented Grand Prix 3 with a "Gold" award at the end of that month,[16] indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[17] The game proceeded to place seventh, ninth and 18th on Media Control's charts through the end of 2000.[18][19]

Although Grand Prix 3 passed the 100,000-sale mark in German-speaking countries, Udo Hoffman of PC Player reported that it had fallen below Hasbro Interactive's projections by late 2000, and that the publisher was "more than a little disappointed" in its performance. The company's product manager, Thomas Sewing, blamed this outcome in part on high competition from other titles with the Formula One license.[15] Grand Prix 3 continued to chart on Media Control's top 30 in 2001, placing 19th in January, 23rd in February and 17th in March.[19][20]

In the United Kingdom, Grand Prix 3 received a "Silver" certificate from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[21] for at least 100,000 sales in the region.[22]

References
  1. "Today's UK releases". Eurogamer.net. 2000-07-28. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  2. "Grand Prix 3 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  3. Allen, Christopher. "Grand Prix 3 - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  4. Hicks, Michael (September 14, 2000). "Grand Prix 3". Computer Games Magazine. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. Todd, Brett (November 2000). "Mr. Hakkinen, Your Car Is Ready (Grand Prix 3 Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 196. Ziff Davis. pp. 140, 142. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  6. Edge staff (September 2000). "Grand Prix 3". Edge. No. 88. Future plc.
  7. Bramwell, Tom (September 10, 2000). "Grand Prix 3". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  8. Osborne, Scott (August 28, 2000). "Grand Prix 3 Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  9. DrivingForce (September 5, 2000). "Grand Prix 3". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. "Grand Prix 3". PC Gamer. Vol. 7, no. 11. Future US. November 2000. p. 143.
  11. "PC Review: Grand Prix 3". PC Zone. Future plc. 2000.
  12. CGM staff (April 2001). "The 2001 Premier Awards: Games of the Year (Racing)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. Ziff Davis. p. 77. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  13. "Multiplayer.it Business to Business". www.multiplayer.it. Archived from the original on 13 October 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. Valtin, Georg (December 2000). "Feedback: Grand Prix 3: Mit Vollgas ins Ziel". PC Games (in German). Computec Media Group. pp. 150–4.
  15. Hoffman, Udo (January 2001). "NachSpiel: Grand Prix 3". PC Player (in German). Future Verlag GmbH. p. 32.
  16. "VUD Sales Awards: September 2000". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Paderborn. September 30, 2000. Archived from the original on April 22, 2003.
  17. Horn, Andre (January 14, 2004). "VUD-Gold-Awards 2003". GamePro Germany (in German). Archived from the original on July 18, 2018.
  18. "Stand: November 2000". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Paderborn. Archived from the original on December 9, 2000.
  19. "Zeitraum: Januar 2001". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Paderborn. Archived from the original on February 7, 2001.
  20. "Zeitraum: März 2001". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Archived from the original on April 29, 2001.
  21. "ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009.
  22. Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
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