Need for MAZDASPEED? New EA game to feature hot hatch
The new MAZDASPEED3 will be featured in the upcoming Electronic Arts video game Need for Speed Carbon, which will be in stores across North America on November 1. Leading nontraditional marketing company Channel M worked with Mazda and EA, as well as retailers GameStop and EB Games, to create a campaign around the car and the game. Not only will the MAZDASPEED3 be integrated into the game, but Channel M is going to have the car featured at the game's debut in GameStop and EB Games stores nationwide. Channel M CEO David Teichner explained today that besides heavy in-game exposure, Mazda will be a big part of an in-store pre-order campaign in GameStop and EB Games stores, that will give customers a chance to win a real MAZDASPEED3 car for themselves. During the month of November, mall events will be held in 16 cities. Besides the obligatory car displays, an organized tournament will take place with the winners getting an invite to compete in the finals in Las Vegas, where the winner will drive off in a new MAZDASPEED3 .
"The 263-hp, 155-mph MAZDASPEED3 kicks asphalt and takes names, and Need for Speed Carbon is the perfect way for us to bring this exciting new vehicle to market in an all-new way," said Jim Jordan, Alternative Marketing Manager for Mazda North American Operations. The all-new MAZDASPEED3 is one of our favorite new offerings. With a six-speed manual transmission and the turbocharged 2.3-liter direct-injected four making 263-horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque, it can do 0-60 mph in under six-seconds and is electronically limited to a 155 mph top speed.
For more details and contest rules click here.
[Source: Mazda]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave T 4:13PM (10/26/2006)
I played this yesterday at EA Chicago on a PS3. Lots of interesting cars in this game that car guys will love. We'll have a full report tomorrow on it.
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pookgai 4:17PM (10/26/2006)
EA is retarded, they made the Mazdaspeed 3 into a RWD car even though it is a FWD in real life.
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Dave T 4:21PM (10/26/2006)
pookgai,
why do you say that? I'm pretty sure all the cars in the game are accurate to real life.
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pookgai 4:37PM (10/26/2006)
Dave T,
Look at this screenshot, you can clearly see the MS3 doing a RWD burnout.
http://images.ea.com/games/nfs/carbon/_img/screenshots/mazda/2_full.jpg
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Jeremy 1:01AM (10/27/2006)
pookgai, it's drifting.
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Paulo Becker 5:06PM (10/26/2006)
EA might be retarder, but Mazda is even more for making a 263-hp FWD -_-'
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RidinLow 5:44PM (10/26/2006)
Who knows, that picture might be showing what the MS3 looks like when it e-brakes to a stop. :)
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MikeUF 6:10PM (10/26/2006)
Paulo...at this point in time, what manufacturer doesn't have a 260HP+ FWD Car???
Acura, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Dodge, Chevrolet...all make em.
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Tim UF 6:30PM (10/26/2006)
its not a mazdaspeed3 on the box art either... thats a 3 box car on there... mazdaspeed3 is a 2box car
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Paulo Becker 6:34PM (10/26/2006)
Just because they're all doing it, doesn't mean it makes much sense :P
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epp_b 6:43PM (10/26/2006)
Amazing! A front-wheel-drive car that drifts! How did Mazda do it?!
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Sammy B 7:01PM (10/26/2006)
The pic is probably just from a cut scene that happens at the beginning of the race. It is prescripted with the car peeling out and spinning around. This happened in the last need for speed game and shouldn't be any real indication of how the car will handle in game.
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Daniel Turman 8:09PM (10/26/2006)
Looks like a WRX on the box cover. I thought everyone here was a "car person." They don't look anything alike, right?
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Jay 8:34PM (10/26/2006)
Yeah, that IS a wrx on the front. Who suggested it was a Mazdaspeed 3?
And I think that the screenshot could be the car braking. The brake lights seem to be on.
and there is no problem making a 260bhp fwd car if the car can handle it.
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AL7AIR 9:33PM (10/26/2006)
No~oo that's not a Subaru WRX on the front cover, that's a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII or higher.
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Anthem 9:58AM (10/27/2006)
Some of you may be too young to remember when the first Need For Speed came out back in '95. Man, how great and simple a concept; Line up a couple of high-end, high-powered cars (Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Testarossa, Porsche 911 Carrera, Chevy Corvette), throw in a few Asian imports like Mazda's RX7, Toyota's Celica Supra Turbo, and an Acura NSX... count down from three and let 'em fly.
These days it's all about the tuner scene. While I'm sure there are those gamers who get their kicks peeling off paint in simulated commuter cars, some of us would appreciate a street racing game with a contingent of cars that are actually MANUFACTURED for speed and speed alone. Not cars that you have to add $100,000 worth of mods to get record-breaking performances out of.
Hey EA, how about the Koenigsegg CC, the Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, the Pagani Zonda C12-S, the Ferrari Enzo, the Audi Le Mans Quattro or any one of a host of Supercars built for super speed? Yeah, yeah, I know... it's all about licensing. But would it hurt to try and procure a car that actually lives up to the title of the game. It's Need for Speed, not "Need for Lead (me to the tuner shop)."
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Dave Thomas 10:26AM (10/27/2006)
Anthem,
Look at the car list for Carbon.
You'll find the Koenigsegg CCX, Audi Le Mans Quattro, Lamborghinis out the ying yang and concepts like the new camaro and challenger.
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Mike 11:16AM (10/27/2006)
Anthem - two reasons:
1. The "tuner" crowd games sell well because dopes with cars like STIs and EVOs get way worked up about brands and models, and want to buy anything that looks like or has the name of their car. It's not about actual performance, it's about brand recognition and feeling cool.
2. Most of the really great car makers have already sold exclusive gaming rights to a single programming house.
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Dave Thomas 2:10PM (10/27/2006)
Mike,
Read the above, go to ea's site or something before you say something. There are new Fords, DCX and GM vehicles in the game along with Porsches, Audis etc.
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AL7AIR 2:46PM (10/27/2006)
@ Anthem
I remember the first Need for Speed very well, each car without the tuning but with a lot of extra pages detailing every little detail of the engine and a complete design history. Those where the times (._.)
@ all
The new Need for Speed may have every car you want, but still: You can't compete in the races until you tune them, and imho they handle like . The PGR series has better car handling even so it's an arcade racer as well. So if you wanna drift like the cars in EA's game, put on some soap bars and get rid of those rubbery things which give you way to much control over your vehicle (>_
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