We're not certain whose expectations Bizarre Creations' communications manager, Ben Ward, was referring to in his recent -- and incredibly vague -- statements about supposedly disappointing sales of (equally unspecified) racing games, but they must belong to someone. "I won't name any names, [but] more recent titles that were really good, critically acclaimed and we all played them, they didn't sell as well as can be expected," Ward posited to VideoGamer.com.

It's difficult to argue against Ward, as he doesn't suggest anything concrete, but racing games have been competitive in the sales charts this generation (if that's recent enough). Console exclusives such as MotorStorm, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (a glorified demo!) and Forza 2 all rank among the top 10 bestselling games to date on their respective platforms, and Burnout Paradise has succeeded both at retail and digitally in its lengthy, multiplatform run. Sure, a niche racer like GRID is never going to gain mass appeal (nor is it intended to) and certain staple franchises, like Need For Speed, have dwindled in popularity and quality (hence the reboots), but the racing genre is right where it should be -- at least, in terms of our expectations.

Perhaps Ward and Bizarre just have greater expectations for their upcoming racer, Blur, which we called "a hyper-realistic Mario Kart." That puts Blur in good company, as Mario Kart Wii -- what Ward calls "the exception rather than the rule" -- has sold in excess of 15.4 million units by last count in May. But, really, there's nothing realistic about expecting those kinda numbers.

Blur is a hyper-realistic Mario Kart. There is no sugar coating it.

After being behind the development wheel of realistic racing titles like PGR (well, realistic at least in look), Bizarre Creations has decided to do away with its half-and-half arcade style and create a different kind of racing experience. That experience is Blur, published by (new parent company) Activision.

As we sat down at the (ridiculously loud) Activision booth in the West Hall during E3 2009, we were greeted by an enthusiastic Bizarre employee who explained this was the game the developer always wanted to make. A fun, almost party-game style racer where players jump behind the wheel of powered-up, real-world vehicles. Yes, strangely, Blur features licensed cars -- with unreal abilities.

Car manufacturers are notoriously cranky about letting their autos show damage in racing games. So why will you find bumps and bruises on the cars in Blur but not in Bizarre's other racing title Project Gotham? Apparently, it's all about the make.

Because a game like Blur doesn't have to have companies like Porsche and Ferrari, Bizarre is able to focus on the ones that will let Bizarre beat up its cars. Plus, according to Bizarre's Gareth Wilson, car-crunching games like GRID and DiRT helped to pave the way.

Just out of curiosity, how much does damage modeling matter to you?

After a few weeks of kind of announcing it, Activision finally got around to actually announcing Blur, Bizarre Creations' new title, today. The arcade racer, once described as "Mario Kart meets Forza," is due on PS3, 360 and PC this fall.

With little more than a non-working official site to go off, we still don't have a great sense of how the game will play. At this point, we know it features 20 "photo-realistic" cars battling it out with offensive and defensive power-ups in locales like L.A. and Barcelona. There's also apparently some kind of narrative that evolves as players compete online. ... Yeah, we can't make heads or tails of that either.

For a better take on the game, you -- like us -- are just going to have to wait for E3.

Bizarre Creations and Microsoft used to be BFF. Together, the two produced a number of great racing games, the latest being two racers for the Xbox 360 -- PGR3 and PGR4. In October of 2008, however, Bizarre Creations found itself under the caring wing of mother bird Activision, and creative director Martyn Chudley told Edge that the studio has been better off because of it.

Chudley described Microsoft's presence near the end as "corporate and cocky," attributing most of that to the shift in power between Microsoft and Sony this generation. He added that the company has always been too focused on the Forza games, seemingly neglecting to give the PGR franchise the marketing push and focus Bizarre Creations always felt it deserved.

Enter Activision, which showed a lot of interest, especially considering the lack of a proven racing franchise to call its own. Bizarre Creations hopes to produce such a hit with Blur, its first title following its acqusition by Activision. We expect to see more of the game -- including that franchise potential -- during this year's E3.

As part of Activision's Massive upfront (the same one that announced Modern Warfare 2), we learn that Bizarre is hard at word on an original James Bond game as well as an original racer IP that's being described as a "Mario Kart meets Forza." As is the norm, release details and game specifics were not given.

All said, we're glad to see Bizarre hard at work on new projects, but would like to see some fresh Geometry in 2009. We're proud Geometry addicts.

At a summit held by Massive for in-game advertising, Activision confirmed that Bizarre Creations is working on a new third-person Bond title for release in 2009. According to the Twitter feed of Newsweek's N'Gai Croal (trust us, he's legit), the game is being touted as "racing and driving focused." The executive also mentioned Bizarre's new racing IP, describing it as "Mario Kart meets Forza." It's not much (in fact, it's somewhat paradoxical), but it does hint at a departure from Project Gotham Racing's realism -- relative to Mario Kart!

The executive also reportedly said the next Call of Duty Modern Warfare is due out Fall 2009. We're uncertain if that's confirmation of the next COD's setting or just a glib way of saying "Infinity Ward's COD series." We're reaching out to Activision for clarification on all these statements.

No joke, Bizarre just revealed that over 1 million players (how unique, we're not sure) have logged GeoWars scores since November 2005. It's an amazing accomplishment and something YOU should be a part of. Grab the XBLA good here and here.

Who knew Bizarre Creations had a hit on its hands when it created the original Geometry Wars so many moons ago? I certainly didn't, though that might be due in part to my complete lack of one of those other consoles. Since its original inception on Microsoft soil, the Geometry Wars series has seen a number of different incarnations, a particularly enjoyable one of which is available for everyone's favorite handheld.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies also saw a release on Nintendo's white waggle box, though the infinitely more portable version is what I'll be covering in this week's edition of Gaming to Go. Haven't experienced the geometrical madness yet? Come along and see why playing with shapes on a two-dimensional grid is far more entertaining than it sounds.

Bizarre Creations, hire this man. His name is Matthew McCarthy and he has done something wonderful. Specifically, he's taken his frustrations with Geometry Wars 2 and channeled them into something creative: a song. Entitled "Geometry Wars Will Be the Death of Me," we think that most gamers can relate. So, the next time Geometry Wars 2 gets you down, turn up the volume, listen to the song, and remember that you're not alone.

Seriously, this song is awesome though, and not the new, watered-down version of awesome either. No, this is the original awesome in that it actually inspires awe. This is like Grand Canyon awesome. Watch out Johnathan Coulton.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

Update: This giveaway has since expired. Congratulations goes out to Mat, DiddlyKong and Dustin for winning Geometry Wars 2 goodness and a giant sad face to those who didn't win. :(

Today, thanks to the crew over at Bizarre Creations, we're bringing you a later than usual Fanswag giveaways where we're handing out three copies of Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2. Yes, you can haz Geometry Wars 2! Today's giveaway is going to be quick (entry ends tonight at 11:00PM eastern) and simple (just comment below to enter), because it's Friday and we wanna give out the Geometry Wars 2 goods without all the hassle. To enter, simply:

• Bizarre did a mighty fine job at making Geometry Wars look so darn colorful and beautiful. It's like an intensely lucid acid trip, but without all the bad acid side-effects. So, to enter today's giveaway, simply comment on this post telling us what your favorite color is. Easy!
  
• Only one comment per person will be accepted. Posters of multiple comments will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 11:00PM eastern time today, August 15th, 2008. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec).
  
• Later today, we'll pick three winners via a random drawing.
• Three winners will receive an Xbox Live redemption code to download Geometry Wars 2 worth $10.
  
• Complete giveaway rules can be found here

Bizarre just sent word that the Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 leaderboards are now live over on the official GeoWars website allowing you (or anyone else) to search for where a Gamertag's score ranks in the grand scheme of leaderboard life.

All six gametype leaderboards are searchable where you can also browse the all-time highest ranking scorers in the world. Viewing the record setting scores (1.6 billion in Pacifism, jeebuz!) is, of course, an extremely sobering realization that you really aren't that talented at Geometry Wars. That's why we've posted the record setting high scores after the break. Seeing such crazy high scores is sad, sort of depressing really. But we'll cover up our hurt and lack of confidence by playing the "at least I have a life" card.

Chatting with MTV Multiplayer, developers Stephen Cakebread and Craig Howard from Bizarre Creations discussed everything Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2, from their design decisions all the way through the little 3D debug view that was left in the game. But most interesting is Bizarre's commitment to Geometry Wars in the future, telling MTV Multiplayer that "Geometry Wars is definitely a franchise," and that "we have enough game ideas to do Geometry Wars for probably about 10 games. It depends on what will work." Currently, there's a small team at Bizarre actively working on future Geometry iterations, but specifics regarding what games and on which platforms is very hush-hush. We say, crank out the GeoWars! We want at least ten more games. All exclusive to the 360.

Much like the endless assault of the franchise's squirrely squares, devious diamonds and annoying arrows, Geometry Wars is sure to keep gamers frantically twiddling their thumbsticks for some time to come. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, geometric warlord Stephen Cakebread has assured fans that the creative team hasn't run out of ideas yet.

"We have enough game ideas to do 'Geometry Wars' for probably about 10 games," said Cakebread. "It depends on what will work." Things that didn't work and ended up being removed from Geometry Wars 2: Gimmicky multiplayer modes, such as a a soccer/football-style game that had players shooting objects into gravity-well goals. Things that might work in the future: Developer Bizarre Creations isn't saying, as it might "use them in the future for god knows what."

Things that work in today's industry: Good franchises! "Geometry Wars is definitely a franchise," noted Bizarre manager Craig Howard. "It's not going to stop." Well, not unless you release a bomb.