Have Your Say - Do You, Or Will You, Race Sims on Consoles?

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With two major sim racing releases scheduled for release in the next three weeks, we want to hear whether PlayStation, Xbox and Switch have sold you yet on getting your racing fix on console.

Much of the sim racing world centers around PCs. Multiple hardware inputs, triple screens, mods, and a number of PC-only racing titles have given an advantage to those not gaming on consoles. But that advantage could be diminishing.

In our latest Have Your Say article, we want to read your responses in the comments below on this topic. Are you currently sim racing on console, or do you plan to in the near future?

February 24th is the scheduled release date for the 9th generation console edition of Assetto Corsa Competizione. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners will be treated to the well-loved GT3 and GT4 sim at up to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second. Pair that performance with the newest console-compatible sim hardware, and the gap to the PC experience is significantly narrowed.

Not long after ACC gets its 9th gen update, Polyphony Digital will be releasing another installment of the massive Gran Turismo franchise. Gran Turismo 7 will be released on PlayStation 4 and 5 exclusively. If history teaches us anything about the GT series, GT7 won't please the purists in our sim racing community, though it's sure to make significant waves in the racing game world.

Let us know your thoughts on console sim racing in the comments below. Are the aforementioned reasons why PC reigns supreme in sim racing world sway you away from racing on the console, or are there advantages you've seen in the PlayStation, Xbox and Switch world that are calling your name?
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

Wilko Jones
Premium
No thanks. I'll take the cost of getting a new console and put it towards a new graphics card, once they come down in price. If GT7 comes to PC, I'll bite. But I'm not getting a PS5, and new wheelbase just to play 1 game.
 
trichens
Premium
Have never had any desire to do any gaming on a console, despite friends and family using them.
A console is never - well probably never - going to provide the flexibility of a PC.
A quick count-up shows I'm using 14 USB ports, two sound cards and four monitors - what console is going to give me that?
And how many of us use SimHub?
Or Crew Chief?
Or one of the other little add-ons that are available?
 
G
Of course not.

I don't understand the console attention on racedepartment too?

Besides being on an extreme budget(GPU market is indeed crazy now), there is zero reason to chose an console for sim racing. GT7 is the only title that's not available for PC but it's probably not even close to the PC sim racing titles, from what I see in the video's it's not more then a arcade/simcade racer at best. So zero reason, besides financials, to chose for an consolve over PC.
 
Hal Burns
With the price of PC equipment so high and MS Flight Sim available on XBOX, I would consider an XBOX Series X if I could get one! Not as good as a PC for racing, and no AMS2, but there are still some good titles for us less fanatical drivers with lower equipment ( TMX-Pro).
 
mantasisg
Better question is why consoles still exist as consoles and not just as actual gaming specialized computers that are designed to be plugged to TV or a monitor ? Why they still artificially maintain the market. I get it is because people participate in it. But consoles simply could just be PCs, just built differently.

Consoles as we knew them in the past probably should have been ruled out by advancement of technology already.

Consoles are basically these modern coffee machines, of which whole point is to have those capsules that only fits in them.
 
Q
I'm a die hard PC guy but with hardware pricing and availability getting out of reach I can understand the appeal of them. I just don't think I could ever let my pc be pulled from my cold dead hands though.:)
 
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S
I mostly play GT Sport on PS4 Pro, so I'm already on console. Excited for GT7.

I have GT Legends and GTR2 on my PC, but it can't really run the more modern sims. I want to give iRacing a go at some point but I don't quite meet min specs so it could be touch and go.

I did think about getting a new PC, but GPUs these days are so insanely expensive where I am that I couldn't really justify it.

I also have the problem of living in New Zealand where your options for multiplayer are limited due to the small player base out here. The good thing about GT Sport is there are still plenty of players in this region. For PC sims, I've been told that iRacing is pretty much the only one with a decent player base out this ways.
 
O
If GT7 has full VR support, then I will get a PS5 and any accessories required, otherwise, no.

I only bought Playstations for the GT games, 2 years ago I bought a PC for AC and VR, and haven't touched my PS4 since (I do own ACC, RF2, R3E, PC2 and AMS2 but mainly play AC).

What I miss is the great online racing of GT Sport, nothing I've tried on PC comes close.
 
Terry Rock
Never investigated or touched a console.
I'd imagine you cannot install modded content on one...so no.
No consoles for me.
 
stickdeath1980
Love it or Hate it we all started some where Consoles where a main factor in my up bringing but still PC gamed though the 90s now i enjoy both :D
 
rallysmo
maybe a decade ago when i still "race" at 60fps, now cant even imagine to do a single lap under 120fps, also why i have to pay for play in multiplayer
 
J
I own sim racing titles on PC. I also own sim racing titles on PS4 Pro. What having and playing both gives me is the flexibility to choose the best and/or most convenient deal for me for any given game. Gran Turismo Sport and 7 are PS exclusives, so obviously I want the PS4 for that. Dirt Rally 2.0 was once a PS Plus freebie, so I have that on console.

By contrast, Assetto Corsa Competizione is far more optimised for PC compared to eighth gen consoles, so I own that on PC. F1 2021 was available for the same price recently on both platforms, but my friends own the game on PC, so that too was one I picked up on PC.

Even if I have a PC capable of doing what my PS4 does, I don't regret buying the latter. Looking beyond the racing game genre, some games I'd like to play are still exclusive to console even with all the recent ports, and the second hand game market sometimes lets you snipe a great deal, but only on console.
 
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RoyalFranzYT
I often did when i hadn't been able to buy a PC powerful enough to run Assetto Corsa, the experience is no different at all and it's obvious that modding games on console is impossible. People like me have the right to enjoy sim racing on console as much as we enjoy sim racing on PC. But hey, it's my opinion and it not the usual tantrum thrown by the majority of the extremist purist community.
 
Last edited:
Skinny McLean
rallysmo said:
maybe a decade ago when i still "race" at 60fps, now cant even imagine to do a single lap under 120fps, also why i have to pay for play in multiplayer
Click to expand...
120 FPS? How dare you call that "racing?" Anything under 4K@360 FPS is nothing but a pixelated slide-show only enjoyable by the lowest rung of the badly educated and foul-smelling proletariat.
 

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