With the emergence and rise of video game consoles comes the emergence of racing games. The genre answered the player’s most basic need: that of competing, either against the console or against another player. These games gave players the opportunity to experience different ways of racing, such as racing in space, on water or in the air. But no other could hold a candle to car games. The sub-genre evolved to take on a life of its own, giving the player the possibility to experience what they couldn’t in real life. They enabled the player to leave physical constrictions aside and just give in to their most inner fantasies about what it would be like owning, customizing and driving a car.

Where it all began

Racing games trace their origins back to the ‘70s, when arcades dominated the game world. Back then, Atari launched “Space Race”. The game featured black-and-white graphics and the players were tasked with avoiding comets and meteors all the while competing against each other. It’s not much to talk about by today’s standards, but back then it was the most technology had to offer.

From those humble beginnings, and with the advancements of technology in the video game industry, and especially in the field of home gaming, racing games took off and started carving their own piece of the gaming market by offering players the possibility to compete on land, water, in air or even in space.

The appearance and evolution of video game consoles really took gaming to a whole new level. Now, players didn’t need to leave their homes in order to get the thrill of an arcade game. They could just buy a console, plug it in their own TV and start playing. This eliminated things like waiting for your turn to play or being restricted by the arcade’s operating hours. The only limitations were the games you could find and your own imagination and skills.

Start your gaming engines

Games today are a far cry from what they used to be 30-40 years ago. From graphics to physical engines used to simulate real experiences, from the way multi-player was understood then to what are e-sports now, the gaming experience has come a very long way and it will continue to grow. And car games will grow right along with it.

If the first-generation games had no color, glitchy graphics and almost no similarity to real life driving, today’s games offer a full immersive simulation of competitive driving. In the games that you find today, you have almost endless ways to customize your vehicle, and can do pretty much whatever you want with it on the track. Car games nowadays give you, the player, the possibility to know what it is like to drive Ayrton Senna’s 1989 McLaren MP 4-5 through the tunnel at Monte Carlo or what it’s like to hit a brick wall driving the newest Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Aurum.

This is all thanks to the game engines working behind the finished product. Games like F1 2019, Dirt Rally 2.0 or Grid can be made thanks to such engines. Engines like Unreal 3 or Unity are used to simulate a world within a computer. The driving, as well as the crashing, can be experienced by the player as close to reality as possible, all from the safety of his home. With this power at their disposal, game developers can simulate almost anything they can think of.

Where do we go from here

The evolution of gaming is only limited by the evolution of technology and human imagination. In competitive driving games the sky is the limit. With newer and better technology, come newer, more immersive experiences. Each competition can be reproduced, replayed and reimagined in one’s own way by anyone around the world.

With full-fledged international competitions gathering more and more competitors, the industry is self-sustaining. Big names from real world racing, like Honda, or Ferrari, have understood this new trend and are trying to get a piece of this market as well, by investing in advertising and by letting game developers use their real car specs or trademarks.

Whatever the future holds for the competitive racing game industry it is bright, and it is coming at 200 mph.

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