Focus, Firebrand Bringing TrackMania To DS

French publisher Focus has announced that UK developer Firebrand (Race Driver: Create & Race) will be bringing Nadeo's cult racer TrackMania to the Nintendo DS in the fourth quarter of 2008, including a full-featured track editor. Focus says Firebrand, the studio behind Codemasters' recent Race Driver DS title, has already been working on the title for several months, and will bring all of the "incredible tracks made of jumps, loops, turbo boost pads and many other crazy design elements" to the handheld version with both single and multiplayer modes. The company also promises TrackMania DS will include an "amazing track editor that will let you create your own unique and exciting tracks from hundreds of different design blocks, giving the game near-infinite replay value." Said Focus CEO Cédric Lagarrigue, “We are very happy with this partnership with Firebrand. Their technology and background guarantee TrackMania DS will be a solid adaptation of the PC game, while also making the most of unique features of the DS. The fact that some members of the Firebrand team are true TrackMania fans definitely convinced us to trust them, and the first results are spectacular. We believe that the Nintendo DS console is well-suited for more casual games than to realistic simulations, and TrackMania DS, with the fun it brings in solo as well as in multiplayer mode, along with its well-known track editor, should find itself quite a nice place on Nintendo’s handheld.”