In recent weeks over here at Traxion Towers, we have been debating the importance of fun in racing games.

Racing games sit on a spectrum between arcade and simulation. So the lazy assumption is that arcade racing games should focus on fun, and simulation titles should focus on realism.

There’s more to it than that in my opinion - this isn’t a zero-sum game, a pin-point, physics-based simulation can also be fun.

Whilst sim racing is a simulation of sport, sport is inherently, on paper, at a surface level… pointless. So fun is perhaps the essential ingredient required in order to avoid total futility in our industry.

What’s the point in having the world’s best tyre model if there’s nothing fun to do with it?

Fun is of course subjective. One gamer’s idea of fun might be hot-lapping the same car/track combination until mastery is achieved whilst another gamer might prefer just a handful of laps in each car/track combination in order to experience more.

Either way, fun is subjective - a matter of opinion. And it’s that opinion that Sony want to hear in their recent gamer survey:

The genre giant seems to be focusing on all the right things.

The questions, received by our illustrious Editor-In-Chief, Thomas Harrison-Lord, illustrate a healthy prioritisation between fun, progression mechanics and what the marketing team might call “stickiness”.

If you had to surmise what the architects of Gran Turismo 7 (and maybe 8?) are trying to work out here it might be as so:

What’s fun about it? What is rewarding about it? What keeps you coming back?

They didn’t ask about the handling model, the tyre physics, the force feedback or the actual on-track racing.

What can we glean from this? Maybe nothing, but it wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that this survey perhaps shows that Polyphony Digital is more interested in how we handle the game as opposed to how the cars handle themselves?

It could also, to dust off the crystal ball for a moment, suggest that the game modes and single player campaign and progression system in Gran Turismo 8 is not yet a final concept…? Exciting!

So, bye, bye miss American Pie, took the CD to the disc drive but the disc drive has died, and them good old old boys buying physical copies, singing this’ll be the day that I die… this’ll be the day that I….

I may need to go back to bed…

I can’t see a consequence for racing games specifically here, I suppose the collectors among us (looking at you Martin Bigg, Senior Editor at reputable news outlet Traxion.gg), will have to convince themselves that a game case with a QR code inside feels the same as your copy of TOCA 2 on PlayStation with a shiny CD-ROM inside…

Perhaps we’ll see a resurgence in physical gaming media in the 2030’s similar to that experienced by vinyls in the noughties?

Simagic is a brand that exists.

That’s been my residing opinion of them until recently.

I had Simagic’s Alpha wheelbase for a few years and thought it was decent, its wheel rims were fine. Its range was solid but uninteresting, crucially the range was undersold by their marketing and branding efforts.

Then in steps the Zeus range.

Resident hardware aficionado and volunteer Knockhill ambassador, Ross McGregor, has done a full review of the new range, so I’ll resist the urge to regurgitate his hot takes here.

Its range has matured, the brand is more defined and they seem to have solved its leadership issues. With a strong sense of direction, I’m optimistic that we have another major player on the market.

Simagic is one to watch… again.

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If you’ve ever read a Traxion.gg article, you’ll know that the writers over here all have very distinct voices and opinions. It’s this character and sound that I think makes Traxion special.

Human creation is becoming a rare commodity with which the media seem to trade less and less. But not at Traxion. We don’t use AI to write our articles on the website, and I pledge to you, that I will never use AI to write this newsletter.