Why Sim Gamers Are Superior To Arcade Gamers

Sure, fantasy routes are fun, but nothing compares to driving a track on which thousands of professionals have raced before. With the introduction of laser scanning technology to accurately replicate real tracks, we’re able to race on thousands of the finest racing miles.

“Unleash the powers of fire and ice while you conquer your opponents!” Really? Isn’t racing supposed to be about beating your opponents with skill? When did special powers and boosts become a part of racing? Sim racing gamers don’t need hokey powers to win. We stick to pure racing where we use real talent to overtake our enemies.

We gladly accept the repercussions that come with running off the track, bumping other cars or slamming into a wall. There is no joy to us in the whimsical way arcade cars glide so easily within their boundaries. Every little detail of damage and wear on our tyres changes the way we drive, and that’s a testament to our skill.

The GT Academy is the best known route for making your way from gamer to a pro racer, but there are so many other ways to make money in virtual racing. Countless leagues operate within all the big name sims, hosting regular tournaments with cash for the winners. Since many simulator games have sponsors to back them, we are often invited to participate in special challenges hosted by the game makers themselves. Winners of these races are awarded with digital content, simulator hardware and cold hard cash.

Let the lap times speak for themselves. We don’t need a virtual hangout area to foster rivalries. All we need is a leader board, and we know exactly who dominates the tracks. It doesn’t matter if our mates or rivals are online, we go racing with the same amount of determination every time.

R3E, rFactor 2 and iRacing fans know what I’m talking about. The skills we learn from these sims relay directly to real life racing. Professional drives and amateurs alike use simulators for more that just memorising the tracks. Sim racers adjust settings to get a feel for different weather conditions, test drive tyre configurations and experiment with overtaking techniques.

Oh, so you have a sliding scale to adjust your steering? That’s cute. We sim racers have dozens of tweaks at our fingertips. Instead of a choice between wet weather tyres and dry weather tyres, most simulators give us the chance to change all sorts of tyre characteristics like the pressure, tread, pliability and composite.