Multiplayer and revised, more realistic gameplay are the two main features to look out for in the upcoming Tour de France 2012 for XBOX and Playstation.

That's the conclusion of a PCMFrance-interview with Aitor Roda, the lead designer of the game.

In the interview, Aitor Roda explains how especially the gameplay has changed since the first version was released last year. Time trials are said to have changed dramatically. Players will have more control of riders' lanes (trajectories), and there will be several different methods to get to the line the fastest.

Like in the PC game, the AI is now more likely to consider more tactical stuff. For example, the 2nd placed in a GC is unlikely to help the rider in yellow. "The number of possible combinations and situations is incredible," Aitor Roda says.

It's also mentioned that the control system has changed. The previous one where a lot of commands (e.g. getting refreshments) were hidden in sub-menus is gone and has been replaced with a more intuitive system, Roda explains. That being said, there will be more team commands available.

PCMFrance mentions that this part of the interview is one of two - expect more news next week when the 2nd part of the interview is published.

Over the last 5 nights 21 PCM.Daily members have been battling it out in a battle of epic proportions.

There were (no) breakaways, except for MitchNL doing a break every so often, there were tears as Ste put the presure on the peloton in LBL. There was panic as riders got dropped. BUT we have a winner. Read on to find out more...

As you might expect, Cyanide are currently working on the database for the Pro Cycling Manager 2012 game - and they have contacted us on Twitter looking for any Danish, Norwegian, German or Eastern European helpers to help them on the database.

Their criteria is as follows:
- Can communicate in French or English
- Have a good overall knowledge of the PCM11 game e.g. how the different stats affects the racing
- Good knowledge of the smaller continental teams and lesser known riders
- Follow race results from WorldTour to .2, for this year and previous years

We already know that the game will now be split into WorldTour, ProContinental and Continental divisions with more teams and races - and clearly Cyanide are keen for these new teams to be accurately represented.

If interested, you need to go to the topic on the official forum and then send a message to freire on there.

Several interviews have already been published about Pro Cycling Manager 2012, and while we did know Cyanide planned on a new version of its Tour de France game for XBOX and Playstation, neither of the two games had been officially confirmed by Focus.

Well, that has been changed now.

Both have been confirmed in a press release by Cyanide today. The press kit also comes with the official covers, logos and info sheets of both games. Nothing really new is revealed, but there's five screenshots of the Tour de France game.

It does appear, though, that Cyanide have revealed the new "play mode" they talked about in one interview:

"Brand new multiplayer mode with scheduled competitions to challenge friends online. Assemble your dream team by collecting rider and equipment "cards" and fight for victory in intense multiplayer games!"

You can download the entire press kit here. You can see the five screenshots of Tour de France 2012 right here.

The Nordic supplier of the Pro Cycling Manager games have added a page to their website for PCM12, confirming details for the game that is said to be released on the 29th June.

It contains the details that will presumably be shown on the back of the cover, and many of it is information that we have already learnt will be involved with the game.

For the career mode, more teams and races are included to accomodate the new division added to the game, while work has been done on a season planner, young riders and training camps that allow you to preview major Grand Tour stages.

In the 3D mode, the game interface has been redesigned and improvement have been made to the AI - while it appears that it will now be possible to play National Championships outside of Career mode.

Click Read More to see the full feature list.