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09.07.2006
Dear Burnout Developers,
I’m a big fan of your racing franchise. I wanted to ask if there going to be new cars and courses to choose from and also new challenges for burners like me.
Also how does the online play work because Burnout Revenge is a real sucess with the new racing system and it’s really fun.
Also new crashes and AI mechanics are challenging.
Also how is the Takedown and crash cam during a race going to look?
Honest, I like Burnout 3’s crash cam when you’re doing a race better than Burnout Revenge’s.
Before I end my letter, is Burnout 5 going to use the same features as Burnout Revenge but with major changes for better gameplay?
Well I hope you receive my letter and it would be best if you respond back. Thank You.
Burnout Fan
Kelvin Acevedo.
Dear Kelvin,
It’s always good to hear from fans of our game. Thanks for mailing.
We guess you are asking us a lot of questions about our new game Burnout Five.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to be talking much about this game on the site right now. Instead, we going to be working backwards through the series to begin with.
So we cannot answer your questions right now.
The Burnout Team
MY ENDLESS LOVE
Since EA has announced B5, can you answer these now? I'll love you forever!
First thing first, there's Takedown, Revenge, Legends. What extension will Burnout 5 have?
Takedown introduced Road Rage, Revenge came with Traffic Attack, what new mode if any will be implemented in Burnout 5?
It seems that Crash Mode as been based on different sports like bowling and golf, what sport will Crash Mode be based on this time?
Traffic Attack wasn't as big as a hit like Road Rage was. Will we be seeing Traffic Attack in Burnout 5?
Are the race maps be based on actual locations again and if so, what locations will be implemented?
What different consoles will Burnout 5 be released on?
What different features will Burnout 5 feature?
And finally, when will Burnout be expected to hit shelves?
Phil Cory
Dear Phil,
Thanks for mailing.
Yes, we announced this new game last week. However, see the above reply to understand why we cannot answer your questions right now. All we can say is that the game will be released in Spring 2007.
Hopefully you will still love us forever for telling you that.
The Burnout Team
SHOW US YOUR JUNCTIONS
Hi!
Glad to see you've finally got a proper email account. Had to dig for ages to find one last time I wanted to email and in the end all I got was some EA marketing goon churning out the standard spiel. Probably even automated.
Let's start by saying I'm a HUGE fan of the Burnout series. I picked up the first one on a whim one day and never put it down... and they've only been getting better (except Legends, which was a great concept but turned out a bit cack - I understand you didn't have much to do with it, though). I admit, every time I hear the announcement of the new 'gimmick' for the next game (first it was Crash Mode, then Takedowns, then traffic checking, now free-roaming) I have my doubts as to how it could work well with the Burnout style, but every time you manage to pull it off flawlessly. Except Crash Mode. I hate crashing. *shake fist* Takedowns turned out to be brilliant, especially with the Revenge incentives added in Burnout Revenge. And traffic checking gives you an option between playing it safe in friendly traffic, or going for the risk/reward in oncoming. So, I have faith you'll turn out another genius game. Definately looking forward to it. Now I have my excuse to get a 360!
I was wondering if I could get a little tour or visit or something? I live just down the road near Gatwick so it's no biggie to get up there. And I'd love to see what the game industry's like from an actual working perspective. I'm a budding 3D artist (favourite subjects being vehicles), about four or five years now, weapon of choice being Max. Not too shabby on my 2D texture painting either, though I could definitely use some pointers. I'm 17, just kicking into my A-Level year at college now, with an aim of getting into the videogame Art & Design course at Teeside, and then hopefully clawing my way into some work in game dev. Ideally, with you guys!
Maybe you can give me some tips, or I could speak to your vehicle artist? Hell, might as well come out and ask if you could give me some work experience or some kind of weekend apprentice deal or even the illustrious tea-boy position. I make damn good sandwiches.
I've got a little portfolio semi-setup somewhere. If someone could maybe take a minute out to look at it and tell me if I'm on the right track, I'd really appreciate it.
By the way, that junction by the station is a b*stard. I assume it's where you got, and continue to get, the inspiration for Burnout from.
Owen Kemeys
Dear Owen,
Thanks for mailing.
You must be confused. The marketing guys at Electronic Arts are some of the best in the business. We certainly do not think they are ‘goons’. This is actually an automated response. Bet you can’t tell.
Burnout should not just be your excuse to buy a 360. It’s a great machine. You should have bought one ages ago. If you are a huge fan then cracking one thousand gamerscore on Revenge should come easily to you.
Sadly, we gave up on our special museum style tours sometime ago. The office tended to get quite crowded and some our exhibits are very valuable.
We wish you the best of luck in joining the industry.
The inspiration for Burnout came from numerous places – from real-life car accidents, to a love of Japanese arcade style racing games from great teams such as AM2.
If any other readers can name a real traffic junction that is worse than the one by Guildford train station, then do take a photo and mail it in to us. We could have a competition and I am sure we could find some special Burnout related merchandise to give away as a prize. Put ‘Real Life Crash?’ in the title of the email. Special bonus points are awarded for the picture showing someone holding a copy of one of the Burnout games.
The Burnout Team
J’AIME BEAUCOUP LE BURNOUT NUMERO DEUX!
Hello,
I'm a fan of Burnout 2 and it's for me the best of all Burnout games.
Burnout 3 and Burnout Revenge are for me horrible, I hate the takedowns and it's not the same fun like in Burnout 2. It's impossible to do a good race if everyone want to push everyone. And in Burnout Revenge you can also push all vehicules ! It's not for me a Burnout Game.
I had more fun in Burnout 2 than Burnout 3 (I haven't buy Burnout Revenge and I wouldn't buy a game where you can push every things).
The fun in Burnout is to drive in opposite direction, to avoid the cars, to drift and to win.
I would be happy if the next Burnout will be like Burnout 2 and not like Burnout Revenge and burnout 3.
I would be also happy if Burnout 2 can be playable with the Xbox 360. So I would like to know if you have any informations about new backwards compatibility update?
And I'm sure that I'm not the only one who think like that (I know a lot of people who think like me).
I please you to read this mail, to listen my request and to answered me.
Excuse me if I speak not good English and I expect that you can understand me.
Thanks,
Noriak - Xbox360france.com
Dear Noriak,
Sorry to hear that you only like Burnout 2.
Yes, it was a great game at the time and we certainly had a great time making it and have fond memories of doing so. That said, times have changed and we like to see Burnout as a series that is always changing and always evolving. If strict old-school time trial racing is your thing, then play B2 by all means.
Burnout 2 will not currently run on Xbox 360, but Burnout 3 now runs on Xbox 360.
As a team, we’re most interested in trying something new and creating new modes. Making each game the same each time would simply not be interesting.
Maybe you should have another crack at B3 or even Revenge. To us, it is STILL all about driving like a maniac and big drifting. It hasn’t become something else, but instead there are a few more ways to play.
Thanks for mailing. Your English was fine. Much better than our French.
The Burnout Team
BLACK MAIL
The question is, when can we expect a sequel to "Black"?
AshCam9746
Dear AshCam 9746,
Thanks for mailing.
Great question.
We ask this of the Black Team all the time. But they always encrypt their responses to our email. They certainly are a mysterious bunch. Most of them are away overseas at the moment. The only postcard we have received from them is marked ‘2900 East Tropicana’ but that is about it.
We will put content relating to Black up on this site starting December 1. Until then, we won’t be answering any questions or posting article about Black.
The Burnout Team
MAKING THE SPLIT
Hello,
I have enjoyed Burnout Takedown and Burnout Revenge on the Xbox.
My wife and I recently wanted to play Burnout Revenge on Xbox Live together on the same Xbox.
We found out the hard way that only one player is supported per Xbox for online play. This is very disappointing because Burnout is one of the very few games she has interest in playing together with me online.
For Burnout 5, please consider allowing a guest player to join the fun on the same Xbox 360 console for Xbox Live! games.
Thanks.
Dear Mr and Mrs Burnout Player,
We’re very pleased that you enjoy playing Burnout together. We’ve found Burnout is one of the few games that female players enjoy as much as male players.
After Burnout 3: Takedown we took the decision to make online play the focus for our multiplayer game modes, rather than split-screen. To continue with split-screen modes would have meant restricting things like the detail of the world, the length of events, the amount of traffic on the roads and the quality of effects. Given that more of our players were interested in online play than in split-screen play we decided to direct our efforts towards providing the best possible online experience.
It’s not quite the same as playing head-to-head against someone in the same room, but online play is still great fun, and it’s probably the only chance you’ll get to play against a member of the Burnout team!
The Burnout Team
REVENGE IS SWEET!
I love the fact that when you race online on Burnout Revenge for the 360 I am told who I have got takedowns on, and who I need to settle a score with.
What I want to know is, for Burnout 5 are you going to be improving this feature, meaning is it going to be possible to view the scoreboards and see how many times you've settled a score with someone or how many times a player has knocked you off of a cliff?
Also I know it is the early days but is Burnout 5 going to be the final products name? Or is it just a title in work?
Thank you for your time,
JJBDude
Dear JJBDude,
Thanks for your words of appreciation! All we can say about Burnout 5 is that we ALWAYS want to improve on what has gone before!
You’ll have to wait until 2007 to find out how, though.
The Burnout Team
PURSUIT WAS HOT
Criterion Game Designers,
First off, thank you so much for your continued work on the outstanding Burnout series. I have had so much fun playing them since I first bought Burnout 2 on a whim years ago.
When I read the Burnout 5 announcement, I was struck with a great idea. I'm sure you hear that all the time and intellectual property laws discourage unsolicited ideas, but I had to share it with you. If you want to incorporate something like this in Burnout or any game please feel free to do so.
Here's my idea:
Remember the Pursuit mode in Burnout 2? I've thought of a great way to bring it back: An all cop racing club in the game. Drivers who qualify could become Paradise City Police and attempt to enforce traffic laws (largely by disrupting races and taking people out).
Imagine setting up a race (I'm not sure how that works in the new version) with 6 racers and, unknown to the racers, 1 Cop waiting for them. Now the race has become a game of 6 on 1 Road Rage.
Cops would have an arrest (or Takedown) quota to meet every so often.
As an added twist, Cops could still race (in their non-police cars) but if they get caught by another Cop they receive a reprimand of some sort.
Anyway, it's just something I think would be cool.
Looking forward to 5,
Sean Finnegan
USA
Dear Sean,
That’s an interesting idea, and thanks for passing it on to us. You’re right that we can’t accept unsolicited ideas for legal reasons, though.
We also have fond memories of Burnout 2’s Pursuit Mode and we often go back to play it, but as to whether it will be revived for Burnout 5, you’ll just have to wait and see!
The Burnout Team
Wii LIVE IN HOPE
Well, a lot of Nintendo gamers would love to see Burnout 5 for the Wii as well.
So if you are, great. If you aren’t...
Well hopefully you will :)
Harly Cheney
Dear Harly,
You can always hope, but the only versions of Burnout 5 that we have announced are for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The Burnout Team
DOWN WITH CHEATS
Hey there,
I would firstly like to say I agree with what 'Vapor' sent in his message.
The part that I’m talking about is what he said about the cheaters. I can think of a lot of cheaters in the top 100 who use the Road Rage trick. This needs to be sorted big time because people just cannot catch them in the top 100 no matter what... But hey what can I say. Cheating is for losers in my opinion.
I play very often on this game online and me and my friends who always race against each other are enjoying it a lot. But I’m getting the feeling that I’m getting slightly bored with game. Maybe you might want to add something else like, for example, tournaments, cars or maybe even one new track.
Anyway that’s all I would like to say and good luck with Burnout 5.
Martin Trick
Dear Martin,
We’re sorry that you’re having a hard time with cheats online. Unfortunately this is often a problem with popular online games like Burnout Revenge. Once the game is released, people wanting to be the best often come up with ways to give that impression, some of which are about tactics, some of which are about ‘rigging’ the game. We try to minimize this as far as possible, but sometimes these players come up with ways around our safeguards. As you say, cheating is for losers. At least you can tell them you have the moral high ground.
We won’t be releasing any new content for Burnout Revenge because, as you will have read, the Burnout team is currently burning the midnight oil making Burnout 5.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop though.
The Burnout Team.
FIGHTING CORRUPTION
Dear Criterion Games,
All of my profiles on Burnout Revenge are damaged. By the way I have been doing the story mode for a long time and have got really far on it. It has all been lost now because of this problem.
I bought this game for a very high price because it had just come out and the game was brand new when i bought it. Also I have just recently bought an Xbox 360 and from both of these I was expecting the best.
Also I cannot save because of my profiles being damaged making the story mode pointless.
I would like to hear from you to tell me what you can do.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Pasha Hassan, United Kingdom
Dear Pasha,
Oh dear! You expect the best and we always strive to provide the best, which is why we have such a large number of skilled QA Technicians who test our games for bugs.
Unfortunately, in all the many hours of testing, and since the game has been released, no-one has ever reported such a serious problem with Burnout Revenge so all we can suggest is that it’s some kind of weird one-off glitch. The best you can do is go to your Xbox 360 Dashboard, delete your Burnout Revenge profile and start again with a fresh one.
It’ll be even better the second time, and no doubt you’ll be nailing those Time Attacks in one go.
The Burnout Team
