Ecclestone lashing puts brakes on F1

Games publisher Psygnosis is expected to miss out on the lucrative Christmas market for its F1 97 title as Bernie Ecclestone, head of the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA), launched a blistering attack on the game.

Psygnosis won an important victory against FOCA in October, after the association tried to obtain an interlocutory injunction to stop the publisher selling the game (PC Dealer, 29 October). The High Court threw out the request.

But Ecclestone has accused Pysgnosis of 'marketing something it does not have the rights to' and claimed 'nothing has changed' over his row with the company and its F1 97 game.

Talking to PC Dealer, Ecclestone also claimed that despite ongoing negotiations he was not informed by the company of the release date. He insisted the original offer was fine but it had been altered by Pysgnosis.

A leading retailer said the game had now been recalled by the distributors rather than just removed from the shelves. Retailers expressed fears that the company was going to miss the Christmas peak. If the game is not released within the next two weeks, retailers will not have the space for it.

The game, which was originally released at the end of September, was Chartrack's top-selling game for the period it was on sale.

Some developers fear that the case will have major implications for companies trying to license sports events for games.

Psygnosis was not available for comment.