You have to applaud O-Games for its relentless drive to get Superstars V8 Racing into gamers’ hands as cheaply as humanly possible. First, the decision was made to drop its full-priced multi-platform retail release in favor of a $20 digital download release exclusively for PS3. And then a contest used free copies of Gran Turismo 5 to lure in new drivers. But apparently PS3 racing enthusiasts are still far too busy with Sony’s ‘Real Driving Simulator’ to bother with Superstars V8 Racing, because in another desperate move to attract customers, O-Games has slashed the already amazing price of $19.99 to the astoundingly low price of only $9.99.

“We are pleased to be offering such an amazing racing game at a new and equally amazing price to customers in time for the holidays,” said Greg Lanz, general manager of O-Games, Inc. “This is the ultimate gift to buy for the speed demon on your shopping list, and at just $9.99, it’s the perfect racing solution for players looking for a premium title at a non-premium price!”

Seriously, folks. I don’t think the game is going to get any cheaper than this, and I don’t think O-Games can possibly do anything more to make you want to buy it. So go download it already. It’s a great racer, for real.

O-Games has been using Gran Turismo 5 a lot in its marketing for Superstars V8 Racing, the once retail, multi-platform racing sim turned PS3-exclusive downloadable game. Initially, their taking shots at GT5‘s delays and exhaust pipe measuring bravado in hyping V8 as a $20 budget racer with as much quality and content as the leading $60 racers was good fun. Now, though, they are beginning to look very desperate.

Instead of continuing to poke fun at GT5 and attempting to take it on as a rival racer, O-Games is now using the popularity of Polyphony Digital’s “real driving simulator” to sell Superstars V8 Racing. Over the next 10 weeks, O-Games will be hosting weekly leaderboard competitions within Superstars V8 Racing, and the winner of each week’s challenge will receive a brand new copy of GT5 — which we now know will ship on November 24th. Follow the game on Facebook for additional details.

So yeah, O-Games is basically saying, “buy and play our game for a chance to win an even better game from a different publisher.” That’s pretty desperate — but it’s probably a smart marketing ploy at the same time.

It’s kind of sad that O-Games has to result to shameless marketing like this, though. I’m just getting started with Superstars V8 Racing, and so far it definitely strikes me as a game with enough content and quality to be able sell itself.

O-Games is getting pretty brave in its efforts to take on PS3 uber-exclusive Gran Turismo 5 with its own racing sim, Superstars V8 Racing, coming exclusively to PS3 as a $20 PSN download on October 26th. Last month the publisher released a features list and specifically called out GT5 (among other racers) as a competitor it intends to challenge head on. Today the friendly rivalry gets even more interesting, as O-Games decided to issue a press release re-confirming Superstars V8 Racing‘s launch date for no other reason than to rib GT5 for its latest delay.

Here’s a snippet from the press release, the highlighted words emphasized by O-Games.

Punctuality. We’re doing it right. Going against today’s trend in racing games of repeated delays and pushed release dates, O-Games announced today that Superstars V8 Racing is STILL headed exclusively to PlayStation® Network on October 26th, 2010 for $19.99. Superstars V8 Racing is one of the first full retail games to be exclusively released in a digital format on the PlayStation Network, and more importantly, it’s the biggest and most punctual racing game on the platform.

Secretly, underneath all this bravado, O-Games is probably letting out a huge sigh of relief, because with GT5 no longer shipping the week after Superstars V8 Racing the game will probably pull in more sales from starving sim racers and jilted GT fans. Superstars V8 Racing looks like it’ll be a great game. But come on, GT5 is GT5.

O-Games, previously planning to release Superstars V8 Racing as a multi-platform retail game, recently decided to scale the game’s launch back to a PS3-exclusive release via PSN download with an amazing $20 price tag. That budget price looks even more amazing now, as O-Games and developer Milestone s.r.l. have confirmed the game’s “triple-A” feature set, going so far as to specifically namedrop Gran Turismo 5, F1 2010, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as high profile racers they are gunning for this fall.

Here’s a quick checklist of what Superstars V8 Racing will offer when it burns rubber on PSN in October.

– Options for arcade and simulation racing styles
– Officially licensed cars from manufacturers like Audi, Jaguar, and BMW
– Officially licensed Superstar Championship drivers
– 10 officially licensed European Superstar Championship tracks recreated in hyper-realistic detail
– Five single-player modes
– 12-player online races
– Trophy support

Pretty impressive lineup of features for a $20 game, no? Sexy graphics too, see?

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