With Papyrus primarily focusing on developing NASCAR games for the PC, EA Sports developed NASCAR 98 as a console video game. This was happening as other sports were beginning to officially license their own video games more frequently.
EA Sports picked up the NASCAR license in 1997, and NASCAR 98 can best be described as a more casual sim-racing experience. While NASCAR Racing and NASCAR Racing 2 were both released on PC and heavily geared towards simulation, NASCAR 98 was a bit more of a casual experience.
It was also more easily accessible given that it was a console game. It is the first EA Sports NASCAR video game, and it definitely shows that given its age. However, the graphics and gameplay were very good for the time.
It was a great first step for EA into NASCAR, and that’s what this game really should be highlighted for. It started what arguably could be called the greatest NASCAR gaming franchise in history.
