View source for TOCA (series)

{{short description|Racing video game series by Codemasters}}
{{About|the video game series|the organisers of the British Touring Car Championship|TOCA}}
{{italic title|string=TOCA}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox VG series
| title                  = TOCA
| image                  = Logo TOCA.png
| caption                = 
| genre                  = [[Racing video game|Racing]]
| developer              = [[Codemasters]]
| publisher              = Codemasters
| platforms              = [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Game Boy Color]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Game Boy Advance]], [[Nintendo DS]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], [[Mobile game|Mobile]], [[PlayStation Portable]], [[OS X]]
| first release version  = ''[[TOCA Touring Car Championship]]''
| first release date     = November 1997
| latest release version = ''[[Race Driver: Create & Race]]''
| latest release date    = 28 September 2007
}}

'''''TOCA''''' (also known as '''''Race Driver''''') is a [[racing video game]] series developed and published by [[Codemasters]]. The series originally focused specifically on [[touring car racing]], but after ''World Touring Cars'', the series expanded to cover a wide variety of [[motorsport]]. The ''TOCA'' series was eventually succeeded by the ''[[Grid (series)|Grid]]'' series of games, with ''[[Race Driver: Grid]]'' released in 2008.

==Games==
{{Video game series reviews
| game1 = [[TOCA Touring Car Championship]]
| mc1 = (PC) 75%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/575372-toca-championship-racing/index.html |title=''TOCA Touring Car Championship'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs|[[GameRankings]] score}}<br>(PS1) 83%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199029-toca-championship-racing/index.html |title=''TOCA Touring Car Championship'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}
| game2 = [[TOCA 2 Touring Cars]]
| mc2 = (PC) 78%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/577423-toca-2-touring-car-challenge/index.html |title=''TOCA 2 Touring Cars'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}<br>(PS1) 79%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/199028-toca-2-touring-car-challenge/index.html |title=''TOCA 2 Touring Cars'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}
| game3 = [[TOCA World Touring Cars]]
| mc3 = (PS1) 80/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/jarrett-and-labonte-stock-car-racing/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation |title=''TOCA World Touring Cars'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>
| game4 = [[TOCA Race Driver]]
| mc4 = (PC) 74/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/pro-race-driver/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=''TOCA Race Driver'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref><br>(PS2) 81/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/pro-race-driver/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2 |title=''TOCA Race Driver'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref><br>(Xbox) 80/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/pro-race-driver/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox |title=''TOCA Race Driver'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>
| game5 = [[TOCA Race Driver 2]]
| mc5 = (PC) 81/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/toca-race-driver-2-the-ultimate-racing-simulator/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=''TOCA Race Driver 2'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=28 December 2024}}</ref><br>(PS2) 83/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/toca-race-driver-2-the-ultimate-racing-simulator/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2 |title=''TOCA Race Driver 2'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref><br>(PSP) 78%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/psp/925185-toca-race-driver-2-the-ultimate-racing-simulator/index.html |title=''TOCA Race Driver 2'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}<br>(Xbox) 83%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/xbox/918891-toca-race-driver-2/index.html |title=''TOCA Race Driver 2'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}
| game6 = [[TOCA Race Driver 3]]
| mc6 = (PC) 84/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/toca-race-driver-3-challenge/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=''TOCA Race Driver 3'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref><br>(PS2) 82/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/toca-race-driver-3-challenge/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2 |title=''TOCA Race Driver 3'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref><br>(PSP) 74%<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/psp/935318-toca-race-driver-3-challenge/index.html |title=''TOCA Race Driver 3'' Reviews |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>{{efn|name=GRs}}<br>(Xbox) 84/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/toca-race-driver-3-challenge/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox |title=''TOCA Race Driver 3'' Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=21 January 2017}}</ref>
| game7 = [[Race Driver 2006]]
| mc7 = 81/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/race-driver-2006/critic-reviews/?platform=psp |title=Race Driver 2006 for PSP Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom (website)|Fandom]] |accessdate=17 August 2015 |archive-date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104125352/http://www.metacritic.com/game/psp/race-driver-2006 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| game8 = [[Race Driver: Create & Race]]
| mc8 = 76/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/race-driver-create-and-race/critic-reviews/?platform=ds |title=Race Driver: Create & Race for DS Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=26 August 2015 |archive-date=7 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107034351/http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/race-driver-create-race |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

===''TOCA Touring Car Championship'' (1997)===
{{Main|TOCA Touring Car Championship}}
The first game of the series was released for Windows and PlayStation platforms in late 1997 in Europe, and in summer 1998 in the United States (as ''TOCA Championship Racing''). Featuring all the licensed cars (not including privateers) and tracks from the 1997 British Touring Car Championship, the game was acclaimed by the European games press, especially on console where it was widely considered the best in its genre until the release of ''[[Gran Turismo (1997 video game)|Gran Turismo]]'' several months later.{{ref?|date=January 2025}}

===''TOCA 2 Touring Cars'' (1998)===
{{Main|TOCA 2 Touring Cars}}
The success of the first ''TOCA'' game saw a sequel arrive a year later in 1998. Whilst mainly an annual franchise update of cars and tracks, the game did add more detailed graphics, physics, multiplayer modes and other minor features. Fictional (but realistic) tracks were added, and support races such as [[Ford Fiesta (fourth generation)|Ford Fiestas]], [[Formula Ford]] and others also arrived. The level of car damage possible during a race was also enhanced, which was a significant selling point compared with the likes of ''Gran Turismo''. It was called ''Touring Car Challenge'' in the USA.

===''TOCA World Touring Cars'' (2000)===
{{Main|TOCA World Touring Cars}}
As the title suggests, the series made a significant advance in featuring various Touring Car championships from around the world, ''TOCA World Touring Cars'', which was released in 2000, but despite carrying the TOCA name, a fully licensed British Touring Car Championship (TOCA) series was not included. The gameplay overall became more "arcadey" and the replacement of qualifying laps with random grid positions together with the omission of penalties for bad driving made the game much more playable for the casual gamer. Unlike the first two titles in the ''TOCA'' series, ''World Touring Cars'' was not released in a Windows version.

===''TOCA Race Driver'' (2002)===
{{Main|TOCA Race Driver}}
The series moved onto the [[History of video game consoles (sixth generation)|6th generation of gaming]] in August 2002, with the release of ''TOCA Race Driver'' (called ''DTM Race Driver'' in Germany, ''Pro Race Driver'' in North America and ''V8 Supercars: Race Driver'' in Australia). The game took the series in a new direction, and introduced a plot centering around fictional race driver Ryan McKane, trying to make a name for himself in a multitude of car championships.

===''TOCA Race Driver 2'' (2004)===
{{Main|TOCA Race Driver 2|Race Driver 2006}}
''Race Driver 2'' was released on Xbox and PC in April 2004, with a PlayStation 2 version following six months later. Two PSP conversions were released in 2005 and 2006, the first being ''[[TOCA Race Driver 2]]'' in Europe and Japan and the second being ''Race Driver 2006'' in the US. The game continued to use a scripted career mode as introduced in the previous ''Race Driver'' game but dropped the Ryan McKane character.

===''TOCA Race Driver 3'' (2006)===
{{Main|TOCA Race Driver 3}}
The third game in the ''TOCA Race Driver'' series was released in February 2006, and continued to expand on the types of motorsport available. [[Open wheel car|Open wheel]], [[Grand tourer|GT]], [[oval racing]], [[rallying]], and [[offroad racing]] were all featured, and can be raced in either a detailed Pro Career mode or an open-ended World Tour. Up to 12 players are supported via Xbox Live and the PlayStation 2 version supports up to 8 online. This series is the only racing simulator that allows PlayStation players to race online before ''[[Gran Turismo 5 Prologue]]''. It received good reviews, frequently being compared favourably to ''[[Gran Turismo 4]]'' and ''[[Forza Motorsport (2005 video game)|Forza Motorsport]]'', in the aspects of cars on track, damage and AI.

===''Race Driver: Create & Race'' (2007)===
{{Main|Race Driver: Create & Race}}
''Race Driver: Create & Race'' was developed by [[Firebrand Games]] exclusively for [[Nintendo DS]]. ''Create and Race'' is the second racing game developed by Firebrand Games to run on the Octane [[game engine]] (after ''[[Cartoon Network Racing]]'').<ref name="octane">{{cite web |last1=Riley |first1=Adam |title=Race Driver: Create and Race (Nintendo DS) Review |url=http://www.cubed3.com/review/520/1/race-driver-create-and-race-nintendo-ds.html |website=Cubed3 |access-date=20 September 2021 |date=10 January 2007 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920233258/http://www.cubed3.com/review/520/1/race-driver-create-and-race-nintendo-ds.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The engine was upgraded to support a [[level editor|track editor]] and Firebrand Games would go on to reuse it for DS versions of ''[[Race Driver: Grid]]''<ref>{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Craig |date=7 August 2008 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/08/07/grid-review |title=GRID Review (NDS) |website=[[IGN]] |access-date=28 August 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930162824/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/08/07/grid-review |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Dirt 2]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bozon |first1=Mark |title=Dirt 2 DS Unveiled |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/06/dirt-2-ds-unveiled |website=IGN |access-date=5 August 2021 |date=6 August 2009 |archive-date=5 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805021725/https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/06/dirt-2-ds-unveiled |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=-group/toca-racing-games}}

{{TOCA series}}
{{Codemasters}}
{{Electronic Arts}}

[[Category:TOCA (series)| ]]
[[Category:Electronic Arts franchises]]
[[Category:Racing video games]]
[[Category:Video game franchises]]
[[Category:Video game franchises introduced in 1997]]