Racing titles are often judged on the scale of being either a "simulation" or having "arcade" gameplay. The former tries to recreate real cars and racing conditions as realistically as possible, perhaps embodied best by the Gran Tursimo series. The latter typically involves very "twitch," pedal-to-the-metal sort of gameplay where one rarely takes life and limb into account. Among modern games, the Burnout series is about as "arcade" as you get.

While the Burnout series has gotten a lot of mileage out of its crash-tastic gameplay, spawning multiple sequels, which have generally seen minor tweaks in between incarnations, Burnout Paradise was built from the ground up to be different. The structure of the game would change to a more "open world" style, for both single player and mutliplayer action and fans have responded enthusiastically.

We talked with Lincoln Hershberger, Director of Marketing at EA, before he zoomed on back to Paradise City.

Thousands in Paradise City
According to the NPD, Burnout Paradise was the eighth best selling title and twentieth best selling title for Xbox 360 and PS3 in January, respectively. This also made Burnout Paradise the fourth best selling Xbox 360 title and third best selling PS3 title for the month. Burnout Paradise sold roughly 144,100 units on the 360 during the January period.

"Burnout Paradise shipped in January with just a few days left in the month. If it had been out a full month, we think it would have been #1 for January," said Hershberger. "But yes, we were pleased with the first week sales. We are also pleased with the critical response to the game. I think it's safe to say that Burnout Paradise is a bona fide hit. This was a great way to kick off the year for EA."

"Looking at the first month, Burnout Paradise is about 35% ahead of Burnout Revenge which launched on PS2 and Xbox in September 2005," he continued. "Burnout Revenge was also a great game (90 Metacritic) with good sales, so we're really pleased to see sales tracking even better for Paradise."

No shiny, indestructible cars here...
Probably the biggest change that Burnout Paradise introduces to the franchise is an "open world" model. Instead of menus, most of the game choices involve driving up to a stoplight to start a race. The online mode has also been streamlined in a similar way, letting players invite others into the game using "easy drive."

"We're thrilled to see that players are having fun in the open world of Paradise City," commented Hershberger. "During development, some critics speculated that since some other racing games have already done the open world thing, it might not be that innovative. But that was before they got to play the game, explore the world and see just how this open world changes the way the game is played. Now, everyone has a better understanding of what the game designers at Criterion had in mind for Paradise City. I know it's a marketing line, but it really is the ultimate driving playground. There's so much to do in Paradise City and the fact that you're not locked out of parts in the beginning makes exploring the world that much more fun. Whether you want to race, battle or just cruise around and rip off big jumps, the choice is yours."

"In our mind, the online social gameplay was the key innovation in Paradise City," he added. "Some online games have a high barrier to entry. The dev team at Criterion was tired of waiting in lobbies and getting online only to find a select few of the most hardcore gamers dominating the games. So, they set out to create an online experience that made finding friends, and connecting with them much easier. They introduced a deep co-op experience that makes the gameplay much friendlier without sacrificing competition. When I first played Burnout Paradise after it went public, it reminded me a lot of riding BMX with my bros when I was a kid cruising -- around the neighborhood looking for different jumps and things to do. Same thing when I was skateboarding or snowboarding. It's just a lot more fun to ride around in a pack and challenge each other to go big or go home."

Burnout Paradise was notably the first game in the series built from the ground up for the next-gen consoles. While this was reflected in the design of the game, it also noticeably enhanced the graphics as well. Cars glisten (when they aren't crumpling in breathtaking wrecks) and the environment really pops out, and all the while, Burnout Paradise maintains a steady framerate no matter how much chaos is going on.

"The Burnout franchise has been around for a while now and it's always been one of the best looking and playing games out there," beamed Hershberger. "However, we think Paradise has set a new benchmark for visuals and the franchise has become an institution. You can expect the team at Criterion to keep pushing the envelope and looking for new ways to surprise and satisfy gamers no matter what genre or platform you prefer."

One sweet ride, one great looking game

Crash into me, girl
Never ones to let a hot game go under-marketed, EA threw a lot into Burnout Paradise. A primary component of this was the TV campaign, which emphasized the online component of the game accompanied by the Guns 'n Roses classic, Paradise City. There were also more viral efforts taken for the game, which Hershberger describes below.

"We had a great partnership with Sony," described Hershberger. "The PS3 is a great piece of hardware. We felt that Burnout Paradise was going to be a hit on that platform and Sony was committed to helping us make that happen. They included Burnout Paradise in their holiday TV campaign and supported some key retail initiatives such as the pre-order campaign and retail advertising."

"The other aspect of the promotional campaign that stood out was our PR and promotional efforts around Valentine's Day," he continued. "I remember Alex Ward, Creative Director on Burnout Paradise, telling me that the way they planned to use the PlayStation Eye and Xbox Live Vision camera was going to revolutionize online dating! He was half joking, but the Mugshot feature in the game is really fun and a good way to meet people who share the same interests. Because of this, we hosted a celebrity Game with Fame PR event at a swanky club in LA and worked with a creative team called Omelet to create a series of viral videos that spoofed those online dating site ads. We released them on Valentine's Day through Slide and YouTube. Combined with the PR coverage from our event, we were able to keep Burnout Paradise in the spotlight and reach out to a broader audience of more general entertainment consumers."

Burnout is one of EA's most successful franchises, so there's no doubt in our minds that it will return; the only real question right now is what form the sequel will take. The next Burnout title might be coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, just like Burnout Paradise, or it could possibly skid onto the Wii and try and cash in on the system's mainstream success.