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Formula 1 98

1998 video game

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Formula 1 98 is a 1998 racing video game developed by Visual Science and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to the 1997 game Formula 1 97 and was based on the 1998 Formula One World Championship. It is the first game in the Formula One series to not be released for Windows.

01Overview

Following the departure of Bizarre Creations, Psygnosis offered Reflections Interactive the chance to develop Formula 1 98, but they pulled out to make Driver. Visual Science were hired to make the game. The game was then rushed for release to coincide with the final race of the 1998 Formula One World Championship. As a result of this, the game ended up being poorly-received by various gaming publications. Despite this, the game was a best-seller in the UK.

02Circuits

The game features 16 official Formula One circuits based on the 1998 Formula One World Championship plus 2 hidden tracks which can be accessed with cheat codes. One is based on a hippodrome, although it says "Colosseum" in the selection screen, and the other is a stunt track.

03Teams and drivers

The game features all of the official teams and drivers that competed in the 1998 Formula One World Championship, although like with its predecessor, Formula 1 97, Jacques Villeneuve's name and image are not featured due to him copyrighting both. The game refers to him as 'Williams Driver 1' and lists his nationality as 'Outer Mongolian'.

04Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings70%
Review scores
PublicationScore
Computer and Video Games3/5
Electronic Gaming Monthly6.5/10
GamePro3.5/5
GameSpot7.5/10
IGN7.3/10

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. PlayStation Power gave it a review of 69%, noting that "Psygnosis have managed to cock up the one uncockupable licence on the PlayStation" and that it was far worse than both F1 '97 and the original F1 game on the PlayStation.

In February 1999, Formula 1 98 received a "Platinum" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), indicating sales of at least 200,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Watch videos about Formula 1 98Explainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Formula 1 98, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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