Passing on NASCAR 08 PS3

I have been reading some info on NASCAR 08, and it looks like I am going to have to show some restraint and not pick this one up before a test drive or some solid word of mouth. It sounds like the game is going to show off some great graphics, and a lot of arcade tendencies. I have already seen solid lighting effects in F1CE, and the same game has a great visual implementation of rain on your visor, which brings a whole new appreciation to racing under wet conditions.

Back to NASCAR 08. I suppose this is going to be EA’s attempt to emasculate the 360 and PS3, making them both equal, instead of showing off their individual strengths. I think it is great that the systems are going to have the same features, but is anyone really going to complain if the 360 has better online support? Along the same lines, will anyone care if the PS3 sports better graphics? Why did the developers have to pull back to 12 players online instead of 16? Is that because one system could not handle 4 extra cars? All of this would be fodder for system wars and the like, but in the end, gamers want the best possible games for their systems.

I have not played an EA NASCAR title in a long time, so I am not going to miss much in the transition from the PS2 to the PS3, but I have to ask why certain standard features are not being ported to the PS3 (and 360). Is this because EA needs something to release in NASCAR 08, or is it a matter of just not having enough time? In either case, I doubt we will see it happen anytime soon, but would it be such a bad idea to not release a NASCAR game next year? I would rather see EA offer some sort of $9.99 downloaded update next year (bonus tracks, cars, driver updates, Chase updates), and offer some new features in NASCAR 2010. I know it is not going to happen; material for another post.

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