Why a Gold Review Program for CPR?

> I don't understand MS's motives in having a Gold Review Program for CPR. Microsoft's motivations are very simple: we're very proud of the game and we want to get some core users playing it now so that by the time it hits the shelf, there will be lots of e***ment about the game. It takes 4-6 weeks to build the packaged product, distribute it, and have resellers stock it. We can duplicate a few CDs for the preview program in a day & ship them straight to the program participants. That is why the preview CD's can get out sooner. The bits on the gold preview CD are 100%, exactly, identical to the bits on the CD you'll get in the final packaged product. The only difference between that CD and the CD in the packaged product is the picture that's printed on the physical CD. Eric Straub Producer for CART Precision Racing

I don't understand MS's motives in having a Gold Review Program for CPR. I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to understand why they are doing it. I'm one of the lucky ones so I guess it will make more sense in a week or two. The Gold Review Program sounds like we may be reviewing a special "Gold Version" of CPR which is not the same version which is due to be released on Nov. 15. Another idea is they are doing this to jump-start activity on the Internet *** Zone or want us to test the Internet *** Zone. I've been on the Zone and the CPR portion of the Zone looks like its fully operational. You could be racing now if you had the game. I wonder if this review version will be any different than the final version. You would think that the finished games are coming off the production line as we speak ( and possibly for the past couple weeks ) to get games in the stores by Nov. 15th. There would be no reason for us to get an older version. Only the review version might lack the fancy packaging. This makes me think we are in fact reviewing a special enhanced version of the game which as extras not included in the general release on 11/15. For example the gold version might have a paint kit built-in which the 11/15 release does not. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Later, Stuart J. Boyle -- Later, Stuart J. Boyle

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>>> I don't understand MS's motives in having a Gold Review Program for CPR. >>Microsoft's motivations are very simple: we're very proud of the game and >>we want to get some core users playing it now so that by the time it hits >>the shelf, there will be lots of e***ment about the game. It takes 4-6 >>weeks to build the packaged product, distribute it, and have resellers >>Eric Straub >>Producer for CART Precision Racing >Hell any more e***ment and we will explode. Get the game out now if >it's ready. We ALL want to play. >Cheers

ya, it looks real good. My first impressions, on a P90 with *nothing* for accelleration, are that it is really good, a real simulator, and definitely in the Papyrus tradition- including having Laguna as the Demo track! has a bit more of the GP2 feel with the menus- but not nearly so slow to navigate. In fact, I thinnk MS has done a good job so far with getting the user in and out of the races painlessly. THis has been a real problem with the otherwise fantastic GP2 and the spectacular new CART-WS. Advice: add a key combination to restart races, like ICR2 has- SHIFT-R, for example. Do cars ever do "in air" stuff? I slammed a few around Laguna, and didn't get anybody up. Just wondering. ICR2 certainly couldn't. CART-WS for PSX does a fantastic job with that.