F1 2013 announced, available in standard and premium 'Classic' editions
UPDATE: Classic Edition £10 more than standard version.
UPDATE: The Classic Edition of F1 2013 is £10 more than the standard edition.
GAME has the Classic Edition up for pre-order on its website at £49.99. The standard edition is £39.99.
For more on what's included in both editions, see the story below.
ORIGINAL STORY: Codemasters has announced that classic cars will make an appearance in F1 2013, the latest installment in the officially-licensed series - and that there will be both a standard and premium priced 'Classic' edition that bundles together all of the new content.
Included within the standard edition is content inspired by 1980s Grand Prix racing and introduced by commentating legend Murray Walker, with five classic cars from Williams, Lotus and Ferrari as well as appearances from iconic drivers such as Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti. There will also be classic tracks in the shape of Jerez and Kent's own Brands Hatch.
The 'Classic Edition' also includes content from 1990s F1, with Imola and Estoril appearing as well as six period cars from Ferrari and Williams driven by the likes of Alain Prost, Jacques Villeneuve and Eddie Irvine. The 'Classic Edition' arrives with a premium price, though how much that premium will be is yet to be made clear.
"The pricing difference is still being debated," F1 2013 creative director Steve Hood told Eurogamer.
"For us the idea was that a lot of people in the community have been asking for a premium edition, and normally with a premium edition you get maybe a steel book, a USB keyring, those kinds of things. That's not what we're trying to do. We did want to incorporate the classic content, and there are a lot of deals to sign and that costs us an awful lot of money to incorporate.
"We thought it was worth a punt to go for that because people have been asking for this content. And we thought it was an appropriate time to bring two iterations, with the classic edition having all the 1990s and 1980s, the 2013 game and the four classic tracks, and then there's a slightly cheaper version that has the 1980s content, with the drivers and the vehicles, and two of the classic tracks.
"But DLC pack one and two complete it with the 1990s data and the two remaining classic tracks, and you can really bring it up to par with the classic version. I think it gives gamers some choice - those who are late to the party and can't get hold of the premium version don't miss out on anything - they can purchase that and have parity with everyone else."
F1 2013 also introduces mid-session saves and the ability to take an existing driver through the 2013 campaign, a feature that was missing in last year's edition. It is also skipping out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and a Wii U version is also not in the works.
"It's current-gen - 360, PS3 and PC," said Hood. "Obviously in the future people will be talking about coming out on next-gen, and a company of Codemasters' size is always looking to tomorrow, but we thought it was time for us now to do one final iteration on the current-gen.
"Tomorrow, we'll see what that brings."
