Back in the days of PGR3 we had Gotham TV; a service which allowed you to watch online races live, as they happened. This was one of the big new elements in PGR3, and it certainly was incredibly popular when the game launched. Thousands of people used Gotham TV to learn new tricks, make new friends, and be humbled by the best racers in the world. However, as the game got older people started to use Gotham TV less and less. When only the pros were left, they tend to race the same kind of races over and over... in this case it was F50GTs around Tokyo until the end of time. That's not the most enjoyable thing to watch as a spectator, and thus Gotham TV lost some of its sparkle.

With PGR4, we wanted to keep everything that was great about Gotham TV - the sense of community, the TV style presentation, and cutting edge tech running it all - but the objective was really to make it more accessible for everyone. How could we let people watch what they wanted, whenever they wanted? Besides, our guys couldn't resist taking advantage of some brand new technology for PGR4 (hey, it's Bizarre!). Taking into account all of these factors, PGR On Demand was born!

It's a brand new service which allows you to upload and download a variety of content including ghosts, replays, and photos. You access it directly through the main menu of the game (just pick "PGR On Demand"), but it also pops up from time to time in other places too.

The service itself is run by a new technology called the "Content Server". PGR4 is the first and only game to use it so far, but considering the tech is now part of the overall Xbox Live spec you can bet that other titles will follow our lead in the future (just like you saw with Photo Mode uploads, Gotham TV, online tournaments, etc.). The content server itself allows players to upload and sort various pieces of content, and then recall them in a way they see fit. For example, want to see a replay of Enzo Ferraris racing in Macau? No problem? Want to see a photo of a Kawasaki in a snowstorm? Just search for it.

PGR On Demand also allows you to vote on public photos, meaning that we will finally be able to see who's photo grabbing skills are truly the best in the world. Voting is easy... just browse the content server and hit the "vote" button when you're ready. Random photos are also pulled into picture frames in your garage, and voting is available here too. When the racing gets too much for you it's possible to just wander around checking out your vehicles, inspect your trophies, and even vote on a couple of photos on the wall.

Overall we're hoping that PGR On Demand, as well as the updated Photo Mode, provides the community with some much more effective tools to demonstrate your creativity and skill. Ultimately though, the success of the service depends entirely on the content you all provide for it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!