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New Company Gets Exclusive NASCAR Rights
As NASCAR racing teams prepare for Daytona in February, video game fans of stock-car racing may be wondering when the next installment of the NASCAR franchise is coming. The exact answer to that remains up in the air, but a new player on the scene – DMi Games – has announced that it has worked out a new deal for the exclusive rights to the racing association.
In an open letter on DMi's website, the company announced that it has the exclusive "long term" rights to publish and develop NASCAR titles across a variety of platforms, and it is already working on multiple titles aimed at different audiences.
DMi's first title is a sim-based NASCAR racer for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC that is expected in 2016. The company has worked out a deal with former rights holder and developer Eutechnyx for a transfer of art assets (such as tracks and cars), which will serve as a foundation for future games, and acquired the NASCAR Manager iOS app and other titles. DMi says that NASCAR Manager will be re-released soon.
Until 2016, stock car fans don't have to worry about the 2015 season passing them by with nothing to do. Eutechnyx is planning an online-only spring update to NASCAR '14 (shown) on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. The exact contents of the update are unknown, however.
DMi is headed by president Ed Martin and CEO Tom Dusenberry. Martin has a long history with NASCAR games, including developer Papyrus, Hasbro Interactive (NASCAR Heat), EA Sports, and Eutechnyx. Dusenberry was the founder and president of Hasbro Interactive.
You can read DMi's full open letter on its website.
[Source: DMi Games]
Our Take
Eutechnyx's stewardship of NASCAR video games in its short tenure was a period of treading water – the franchise laid a foundation, but couldn't build off of it. Hopefully DMi and its long-term license can give the license stability and deliver a meaningful NASCAR experience to home console owners.
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