“I wanted a game where you tune up the car, I ended up pitching the first game that turned out to become this big franchise, and I didn’t get to deliver the game I wanted completely in way,” says Dan Greenawalt director of Forza Motorsport 2. In an interview with Xbox Evolved, Greenwalt spilled inside info on the racing game that is poised to challenge Gran Turismo to the finish line.

Not much is known about Forza Motorsport 2. It didn't flash its tail pipe at the last E3 because Greenwalt's crew preferred to work on it, and have the game available on time, rather than hype it. We do know Greenwalt promised Forza Motorsport 2 will not be a crappy upgrade of the franchise. Gamers can can do all kinds of stuff with all the parts, turbo charges, clutches and so on. Also, he says expect over 300 cars in high-def, sixty frames per second burning rubber on more tracks. Greenwalt is confident Forza Motorsport 2 will look at the very least as good as Project Gotham Racing 3.

As for car damage and realism the crew has been working on that, too, for all you hard to please racing-sim fans. "We are making a realistic title so we can’t have unrealistic results if you hit the side of a guard rail at 150mph... though we have a certain amount of respect (to the manufacturers of cars featured in the game) and keep the car damage tactful. After all we want people of all ages to enjoy the game and we can’t have guys crashing through the windshields on fire or anything."

Any parting words? "I’m a long time Gran Turismo fan, way long ago before I was a designer. I don’t know it’s just GT4, and I played it you know, and GTHD I dunno…I don’t want to sound like a Microsoft tool or whatever, but if we did the same thing with Forza, then this game could have been out in a few months and not just a year." Sounds more like figthing words! Check out the mini-trailer and see if Greenwalt's money is where his gas tank is...

Download: [Forza Motorsport 2 Teaser]

Here are the titles which topped the charts of the Xbox Live most played games for the week of 7/3/06, straight from Major Nelson himself;

(Xbox 360) Top Live Games
1) Call of Duty 2
2) Ghost Recon 3
3) Oblivion
4) BFMC
5) Prey Demo
6) Final Fantasy XI
7) EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
8) 2006 FIFA World Cup
9) PGR3
10) Perfect Dark Zero

(Original Xbox) Top Live Games
1) Halo 2
2) Battlefield 2: MC
3) Counter-Strike
4) Splinter Cell Chaos
5) Rainbow Six 3 BA
6) Star Wars: Battlefront 2
7) Pro Evolution Soccer 5
8) Madden NFL 2006
9) Forza Motorsport
10) Splinter Cell Chaos

Mr. Nelson apologized for not being able to give title-specific data, but he did say that if both lists were combined, Halo 2 would be number 1 on the chart (followed by all 360 games).

And after a few days of waiting, here is what's new with one of Xbox 360's highly anticipated game, Forza Motorsport 2. A few months ago, we reported that Microsoft and Turn 10 studios announced their sponsorship of Risi Competizione, a professional race team currently running a Ferrari 430GT in the American Le Mans Series this year.

As development on Forza Motorsport 2 shifts into top gear this coming months, it ain't suprising if they got some needed inspiration in Risi. With that Microsoft Game Studios have put together a batch of official Forza Motorsport 2 wallpapers for your own viewing pleasure taken by Risi's official photographer, Jimmy Sykes. Not only do I want those wallpapers, I want a real Ferrari 430GT although I am not sure if I'll be able to handle it, but I'll think about that when I have one.

Download: [Forza Motorsport 2 Wallpapers]