October will be a big month for racing fans this year, with both Microsoft and Electronic Arts releasing racers only a week apart. Last time we saw two big racing titles released this close together, it seemed to hurt the sales of both titles.

This time around, we will see Microsoft release its new Forza spinoff called Forza Horizon, which will be released in North America on October 23rd and in Europe on October 26th. Next week, we will see EA release the Criterion Games-developed Need for Speed Most Wanted on October 30th in North America and November 2nd in Europe.

Both games are targeting different segments of the racing market, and Forza Horizon will be released only on the Xbox 360, of course. Still, from what we have seen of both titles, they both seem quite interesting and look to be very playable.

The question is whether both titles will be able to survive going head to head in such a close release time frame. Perhaps the best thing going for Forza Horizon is that it is an Xbox 360 exclusive, but the last Criterion-developed Need for Speed was so successful it could lead to players wanting more. We will have to wait till October to see how this one shakes out.