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Fill 'er up: FUEL is "Biggest Console Game of All Time"

by: Randy -
More On: FUEL
They call it FUEL because it'd obviously take an Exxon Valdez full of it to cross the game's 5,560 square miles (over 14,000 square kilometers for those of you living outside the U.S.) of accessible terrain.  It's also given the confounding Guinness World Records a chance to slink back into gaming news, crowing publisher Codemasters' newest four-letter word with the title of "Biggest Console Game of All Time."  And just to put the size in perspective for you, 5,560 square miles is approximately 92 times larger than all three continents put together in World of Warcraft ... which would be a worthy comparison if WoW had, y'know, cars and stuff.

Here's a behind the scenes video featuring David Dedeine and Sebastian Wloch of Asobo Studio, developers of FUEL.  So, congratulations, gentlemen.  Just remember that it's not the size of the game that matters....

FUEL IS NAMED BIGGEST CONSOLE GAME OF ALL TIME – OFFICIALLY!

 

5,560 square miles: the largest playable environment in a console game recognized by Guinness World Records™

 

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – May 22, 2009 – It covers the approximate area of Trinidad & Tobago, it’s larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Innovative open-world racer FUEL – launching on June 2ndfor the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and a Games For Windows® edition to follow - boasts 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain, making it officially the largest playable environment in a console game ever.

 

The accolade, presented to FUEL developers Asobo Studio, was confirmed by Guinness World Records, who have verified the record for inclusion in the next Guinness World Records Gamers Edition of the best-selling guide.

 

Guinness World Records presented Codemasters and Asobo Studio with a certificate that officially documents:

Largest playable area in a console game: The largest playable environment in a console game is 5,560 sq mi (14,400 km²), and is featured in FUEL (Codemasters, 2009). The area features rivers, deserts, forests and mountains and was demonstrated at the offices of Guinness World Records, London, UK, on 20 May 2009.”

 

“We’ve been very impressed with the technology powering FUEL, and I’m pleased to welcome Asobo and Codemasters into the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition,” said Gaz Deaves, Video Games Records Manager for Guinness World Records, “What we’ve seen from FUEL places it right at the cutting edge of the open-world racing genre and really raises the bar for games developers in the future.”

 

“We knew FUEL was going to be big,” said Phil Wright, Producer, Codemasters, “but to have this confirmed officially by Guinness World Records justifies our faith in this ground-breaking title. No other game comes close to offering the variety of environments, the range of vehicles or the sheer size of FUEL.  It’s one of the most innovative racers ever, and we’re thrilled it’s been recognised as the biggest console game of all time.”

 

To celebrate the award, Codemasters has released a new video featuring David Dedeine and Sebastian Wloch, two of the co-founders of Asobo Studio, who explain gameplay features and the technical challenge in creating the record-setting FUEL. The video is available from www.fuel-game.com (in the Downloads section).

 

FUEL’s world is one of staggering size and beauty. To put it into perspective, if players choose to drive from one side of the map to the other, it will take over 3 hours straight. This unprecedented virtual playground offers 19 environmental regions and features some of the most dramatic weather effects ever seen in a racing game. FUEL’s free-roaming nature allows players to pick and choose their route, races and career progression, offering almost limitless ways to play.

 

FUEL is set to become the ultimate racing sandbox when it launches Tuesday, June 2nd for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® with a Games For Windows® LIVE edition to follow. Gain an insight into the creation of the game that sets the new standard in open-world racing by downloading the video at www.fuel-game.com.