Codemasters has promised DiRT 4 will return to the series' traditional pure rally gameplay after the release of its 'thrill-seeking' spin-off DiRT Showdown.
Smith explained: "At the end of each project we try to digest as much as possible about the players' experiences. Through our game data analysis, as well as reading the game's critical reception, we found that DiRT 3 had been offering two experiences: the pure rally and gymkhana."
He added: "We've focussed on what those core experiences were - one a 'hardcore', motorsports experience and one for thrill-seekers.
"We boiled down some of that thrill-seeking formula into what makes DiRT Showdown. However, this doesn't mean the more authentic rally content is disappearing from the DiRT series... that will return in a future game for sure."
Chapman spoke more openly about the future of the DiRT series, stating that the next game post Showdown will shift focus back to "more traditional elements" of the franchise.
"DiRT Showdown is offering a new and more focused experience within the series and DiRT 4, or whatever we call it, will bring that same focus to some of the more traditional elements of the series," he said.
"The fact that we're already discussing a DiRT 4 title should demonstrate that we absolutely want to meet and exceed the expectations of DiRT players.
"Our chief game designer has actually become an official rally co-driver since we completed DiRT 3 so we definitely want to offer a more authentic experience in future titles," he added.
"We just feel that the scope of the DiRT series has really now outgrown a single game and we're keen to explore all of the unique styles of play that the DiRT series on a whole can offer."
Smith claimed that Showdown's "substantial" career mode should appeal to and challenge "loyal DiRT players".
Read more about the game in our DiRT Showdown interview.
Comments
5 comments so far...
BG88 on 12 Dec '11 said:
Good i loved DIRT 3 but mainly the Rally side of it not the Ken Block s**t . It was no sim thats for shur but it was a load of fun.
I need some help i never got round to playing GRID ( i took a long break about 4 yrs without buying a racing game untill Dirt3 and F1 2011) , all i here is great things about it , do you reckon i should pick it up ? i want to get a new racing game but i cant make my mind up out of Forza 4 , GT5 (not the new update has made it what it should of been) , or GRID as its cheap aswell .
svd_grasshopper on 12 Dec '11 said:
if the rallying in dirt 3 was 'hardcore', we're in for trouble.
GRID is so old it doesn't even have trophies. though probably worth picking up if it's cheap.
NFS shift is a great driving game with the right options enabled/disabled. and same goes for WRC.
they need to go back to the tracks they had in dirt 1... dirt 3 was utter s**te, the tracks were puny, uninspired and repetitive.
we have heard this bull from codies before. they won't be able to resist injecting some DUDE!!! into it. guaranteed.
Ali_ on 12 Dec '11 said:
So, alienate your original core audience with DiRT Showdown to win over the casual crowd, and then alienate them with a hardcore sim after that? Sounds like Codies are as lost with their franchises as EA is with Need For Speed!
As to the above, don't bother with GriD. It was goo din its day but the main draw was online racing as the career was pretty dull, and Codies dropped the servers a year or so back.
Metatasian on 12 Dec '11 said:
The first and most important step is to get rid of that twunk Ken Block and his stupid American gung-ho attitude. How can they replace a true legend like Colin Mcrae with such a pleb.
mkwuk on 12 Dec '11 said:
It sounds to me like they're very much in the process of splitting this game into two - one game for all the American guff and silliness and one game in the mould of the original McRae games; and providing they don't blur the lines between the two, that can only be a good thing.
If it were up to me I'd make "DiRT" the all-American brand, and then "reboot" the old Colin McRae games for the UK. Colin McRae Rally 6 would be awesome.