<s>
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
is	O
an	O
unreleased	O
sports	O
prototype	O
racing	O
video	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
and	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
published	O
by	O
Studio	O
3DO	B-Device
on	O
a	O
scheduled	O
fall	O
1997	O
release	O
date	O
exclusively	O
for	O
the	O
Panasonic	B-Device
M2	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Had	O
it	O
been	O
released	O
before	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
console	B-Device
was	O
cancelled	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
have	O
become	O
the	O
first	O
officially	O
licensed	O
title	O
by	O
the	O
International	O
Motor	O
Sports	O
Association	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
titles	O
to	O
be	O
launched	O
before	O
the	O
system	O
it	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Directed	O
and	O
designed	O
by	O
Atari	O
veteran	O
Ed	O
Rotberg	O
of	O
Battlezone	B-Application
and	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
fame	O
,	O
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
originated	O
as	O
a	O
demo	O
that	O
was	O
showcased	O
at	O
E3	O
1995	O
and	O
spent	O
two	O
years	O
in	O
development	O
before	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
M2	O
was	O
aborted	O
by	O
Panasonic	O
due	O
to	O
unwillingness	O
in	O
competing	O
against	O
other	O
fifth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
released	O
during	O
the	O
period	O
,	O
leaving	O
the	O
game	O
unpublished	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
never	O
being	O
officially	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
by	O
Studio	O
3DO	B-Device
,	O
an	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
nearly	O
completed	O
game	O
was	O
leaked	O
online	O
in	O
2010	O
with	O
permission	O
from	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
developers	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
by	O
a	O
community	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
3DO	B-Device
Zone	O
forums	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
only	O
M2	O
title	O
intended	O
for	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
as	O
of	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
is	O
a	O
sports	O
prototype	O
racing	O
game	O
similar	O
to	O
Gran	B-Application
Turismo	I-Application
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
maneuver	O
a	O
car	O
to	O
compete	O
against	O
artificially	B-Application
intelligent	I-Application
opponents	O
on	O
various	O
race	O
tracks	O
set	O
across	O
countries	O
such	O
as	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
M2	O
hardware	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
co-designed	O
by	O
Dave	O
Needle	O
and	O
R	O
.	O
J	O
.	O
Mical	O
,	O
was	O
first	O
announced	O
as	O
an	O
add-on	O
chip	O
intended	O
for	O
the	O
3DO	B-Device
Interactive	I-Device
Multiplayer	I-Device
platform	O
using	O
a	O
custom	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
however	O
the	O
project	O
eventually	O
became	O
a	O
standalone	O
console	B-Device
and	O
was	O
exhibited	O
and	O
demonstrated	O
during	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Entertainment	O
Expo	O
1995	O
in	O
May	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
conference	O
,	O
a	O
pre-rendered	O
futuristic	O
racing	O
tech	O
demo	O
created	O
by	O
Team	O
3DO	B-Device
was	O
showcased	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
capabilities	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
press	O
and	O
attendees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Four	O
months	O
later	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
Studio	O
3DO	B-Device
were	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
formula	B-Application
one	I-Application
racing	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
M2	O
,	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
projects	O
to	O
be	O
officially	O
announced	O
for	O
the	O
upcoming	O
system	O
along	O
with	O
ClayFighter	B-Application
63⅓	I-Application
,	O
Descent	B-Application
and	O
Iron	B-Application
&	I-Application
Blood	I-Application
:	I-Application
Warriors	I-Application
of	I-Application
Ravenloft	I-Application
,	O
but	O
not	O
much	O
information	O
was	O
given	O
about	O
the	O
title	O
afterwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
more	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
divulged	O
on	O
magazines	O
such	O
as	O
3DO	B-Device
Magazine	O
,	O
which	O
now	O
listed	O
the	O
game	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
IMSA	O
Racing	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
upcoming	O
launch	O
titles	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
alongside	O
other	O
projects	O
in	O
development	O
such	O
as	O
D2	B-Application
and	O
an	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
game	I-Application
called	O
Power	O
Crystal	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
of	O
revealing	O
that	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
developed	O
from	O
the	O
demo	O
that	O
was	O
previously	O
featured	O
at	O
E3	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Studio	O
3DO	B-Device
were	O
working	O
on	O
several	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
including	O
IMSA	O
Racing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
M2	O
still	O
not	O
having	O
a	O
concrete	O
release	O
date	O
and	O
planned	O
marketing	O
strategy	O
,	O
video	O
game	O
magazines	O
featured	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
a	O
playable	O
state	O
,	O
now	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
World	O
Championship	O
Racing	O
and	O
listed	O
for	O
a	O
Fall	O
1997	O
release	O
date	O
and	O
despite	O
reassurance	O
by	O
Panasonic	O
that	O
the	O
console	B-Device
was	O
still	O
on	O
schedule	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
cancelled	O
the	O
project	O
in	O
mid-1997	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
,	O
in	O
addition	O
of	O
believing	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
been	O
revolutionary	O
against	O
other	O
upcoming	O
consoles	O
were	O
reasons	O
for	O
its	O
discontinuation	O
and	O
left	O
the	O
game	O
unreleased	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
cancellation	O
of	O
the	O
M2	O
,	O
Studio	O
3DO	B-Device
began	O
reworking	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
PC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
creation	O
of	O
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
was	O
spearheaded	O
by	O
lead	O
designer	O
and	O
Atari	O
veteran	O
Ed	O
Rotberg	O
,	O
who	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
multiple	O
arcade	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Battlezone	B-Application
and	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chuck	O
Sommerville	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
also	O
best	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
works	O
such	O
as	O
Snake	B-Application
Byte	I-Application
and	O
Chip	B-Device
's	I-Device
Challenge	I-Device
,	O
acted	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
lead	O
programmer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
BioWare	O
and	O
Pandemic	O
Studios	O
CEO	B-Application
Greg	O
Richardson	O
also	O
acted	O
as	O
producer	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
runs	O
at	O
30	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
visuals	O
are	O
displayed	O
at	O
a	O
640x480	O
resolution	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alex	O
Werner	O
,	O
who	O
worked	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
artists	O
for	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
recounted	O
more	O
about	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
development	O
process	O
in	O
a	O
thread	O
at	O
the	O
3DO	B-Device
Zone	O
forums	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alex	O
explained	O
that	O
both	O
the	O
driving	O
and	O
physics	O
engines	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
derived	O
from	O
Hard	B-Application
Drivin	I-Application
 '	I-Application
,	O
while	O
the	O
graphics	O
engine	O
used	O
was	O
called	O
"	O
Mercury	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
written	O
by	O
an	O
external	O
developer	O
who	O
sold	O
it	O
to	O
The	O
3DO	B-Device
Company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
26	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
a	O
nearly	O
complete	O
build	O
of	O
IMSA	B-Application
World	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
Racing	I-Application
was	O
leaked	O
online	O
by	O
community	O
member	O
NikeX	O
at	O
the	O
3DO	B-Device
Zone	O
forums	O
with	O
permission	O
from	O
artist	O
Alex	O
Werner	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
developers	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
after	O
the	O
previous	O
prototype	O
owner	O
that	O
was	O
originally	O
tasked	O
by	O
Alex	O
to	O
release	O
it	O
,	O
WindowsKiller	O
,	O
refused	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Konami	O
M2	O
arcade	O
system	O
board	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
in	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Battle	B-Application
Tryst	I-Application
and	O
Evil	O
Night	O
,	O
is	O
incompatible	O
as	O
the	O
software	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
hardware	O
intended	O
for	O
home	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
