Derby Stallion 04 makes use of middleware
by Kit

Friday, May 14 2004

RenderWare used to develop horse racing game.

Criterion Software is pleased to announce that Enterbrain used RenderWare to develop the Derby Stallion 04 for PlayStation 2.

The latest version of the most popular horseracing simulation game series (which has sold in 8 million total in Japan to date) entered at number one in its first week, selling over 300,000 units on the day of launch. ("Famitsu TOP30" on Weekly Famitsu vol.806) Sales are currently nearly 600,000 and continuing to rise.

Shuji Matsumoto, Director & General Manager, Enterbrain,Inc., responsible for videogame development says, "As with any successful long-standing series, with 'Derby Stallion 04' we were undertaking an enormous creative challenge. Not only did we have to ensure that the experience was as realistic and exciting as the last game, but we had to raise the bar even further. We worked hard on bringing players a huge number of new features, new tracks and horses, as well as finessing the graphic detail of the game further to include weather effects and things such as sweat on the horses themselves. The support and services we have received from the RenderWare team allowed us to realize all of the goals we set ourselves at the start of the project and deliver extremely efficiently."

Hiroyuki Sonobe, Corporate Officer, ParityBit - the originators of Derby Stallion series, adds, "The flexible and open nature of the RenderWare architecture meant that we were quickly and easily able to implement really fine detail into the game adding enormous realism and faithfully replicate the energy of the race experience for players. It was an obvious choice for us to make."

David Lau-Kee, CEO, Criterion adds, "We are delighted that 'Derby Stallion 04' has done so extremely well since its launch. Our success in the Japanese market mirrors our success in other territories, and we are proud to be adding Derby Stallion 4 to our 'chart-topping' list of great games. Successes such as these truly mark Criterion and RenderWare as global names in the development industry and there are plenty more on their way."

--- Kit