“There was a time when Formula One didn’t have YouTube, or Instagram, or Twitch,” Mather said, detailing just how much ground the brand has made up in a short amount of time. F1 was always a fascinating universe, but as the sport became more web-literate, young people were given the tools to discover it on their own terms.
All of this means that Mather is now in charge of a franchise that possesses a player base beyond those who obsess over tire pressure and air resistance. Codemasters has not announced any specific data on “F1 22′s” sales figures, but series publisher Electronic ArtsMather said that his team has prioritized accessibility in the titles for years, long before you could chop it up about the Mercedes-Red Bull rivalry at countless sports bars across the country. Still, it’s been an uphill battle.
Perhaps the largest signifier of F1′s broadening appeal is the introduction of Breaking Point to “F1 2021” — a story-based, single-player mode where you take control of a newcomer driver, rubbing shoulders with the open-wheel elite. With it, Codemasters tapped into the glamour and intrigue that sucked me and so many other Americans into the sport — less fretting over fuel loads, more angry blowups with the pit squad.
“I doubt it’ll have the precise drama of [the show,] but it’s definitely approaching the sport from an angle that I find inherently interesting,” said de Rochefort. Andy Fletcher, game director on “F1 Manager 2022,” told The Post the team has attempted to keep their title airtight for hardcore consumers, while “also giving players [the option] to automate key events … so they can kick back and enjoy the stunning broadcast-experience of the race weekend.
Much better than crap NASCAR