Logitech's $300 G27 racing wheel gives sidelined DUI possessors a taste of the road
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 17th 2009 4:00AM
posted Aug 17th 2009 4:00AM
Logitech Announces Logitech® G27 Racing Wheel
Logitech – Aug. 17, 2009 – Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today announced the Logitech® G27 Racing Wheel. Designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience for the PC and PLAYSTATION®3, the G27 features a powerful, dual-motor force feedback mechanism that smoothly and accurately delivers high-fidelity force effects to the hand-stitched leather wheel, so you can feel traction loss, weight shift, and the surface of the road. The helical gears deliver exceptionally quiet steering action, virtually eliminating noise and unwanted vibration. A six-speed gated shifter lets you choose exactly the right gear for the turn, while new RPM/shift indicator LEDs let you know just when to up- or down-shift. And the clutch pedal makes heel-and-toe downshifting possible, keeping your gear changes quick and your RPMs high all the way around the track. The Logitech G27 Racing Wheel is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in September for a suggested retail price of $299.99 (U.S.). For more information about the G27 visit http://blog.logitech.com/ or www.logitech.com.
Logitech – Aug. 17, 2009 – Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today announced the Logitech® G27 Racing Wheel. Designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience for the PC and PLAYSTATION®3, the G27 features a powerful, dual-motor force feedback mechanism that smoothly and accurately delivers high-fidelity force effects to the hand-stitched leather wheel, so you can feel traction loss, weight shift, and the surface of the road. The helical gears deliver exceptionally quiet steering action, virtually eliminating noise and unwanted vibration. A six-speed gated shifter lets you choose exactly the right gear for the turn, while new RPM/shift indicator LEDs let you know just when to up- or down-shift. And the clutch pedal makes heel-and-toe downshifting possible, keeping your gear changes quick and your RPMs high all the way around the track. The Logitech G27 Racing Wheel is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in September for a suggested retail price of $299.99 (U.S.). For more information about the G27 visit http://blog.logitech.com/ or www.logitech.com.
Product Overview
Replacing and improving upon the venerable G25 Racing Wheel, the Logitech G27 Racing Wheel is designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience. A diagonal-cut, helical gear system creates a smooth and accurate force feedback experience, while more programmable buttons on the wheel and two stainless steel shifter paddles put the functions you need within your reach. With the G27, whether you're sliding sideways around a gravelly curve, or screaming through the streets of Monaco, the world's greatest circuits feel closer than ever.
Key Features
• Powerful, dual-motor force feedback mechanism with helical gearing smoothly and accurately simulates traction loss, weight shift, and road feel, with quiet steering action.
• Six-speed shifter with push-down reverse gear allows you to quickly choose exactly the right gear.
• RPM/shift indicator LEDs integrate with racing game software to indicate when to should shift gears.
• Realistic 11-inch wheel with leather-wrapped rim provides a more comfortable, true-to-life racing experience for hours on end.
• Steel gas, brake, and clutch pedals deliver precise throttle, braking, and shifting control for heightened realism.
Replacing and improving upon the venerable G25 Racing Wheel, the Logitech G27 Racing Wheel is designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience. A diagonal-cut, helical gear system creates a smooth and accurate force feedback experience, while more programmable buttons on the wheel and two stainless steel shifter paddles put the functions you need within your reach. With the G27, whether you're sliding sideways around a gravelly curve, or screaming through the streets of Monaco, the world's greatest circuits feel closer than ever.
Key Features
• Powerful, dual-motor force feedback mechanism with helical gearing smoothly and accurately simulates traction loss, weight shift, and road feel, with quiet steering action.
• Six-speed shifter with push-down reverse gear allows you to quickly choose exactly the right gear.
• RPM/shift indicator LEDs integrate with racing game software to indicate when to should shift gears.
• Realistic 11-inch wheel with leather-wrapped rim provides a more comfortable, true-to-life racing experience for hours on end.
• Steel gas, brake, and clutch pedals deliver precise throttle, braking, and shifting control for heightened realism.
ohhhh... sexy
G25 just got more buttons...
Yep, that's all this update really is. The biggest complaint about the G25 was lack of buttons, so they threw some more on there. Looks a bit uglier now as a result. Thankfully my G25 is still working good as new after 2 years of use :)
Thinking about this with Ps3 slim, GT5 made me jizzed my pants.
ooo.. I want this..
I want one too but the damn thing costs more than I paid for my last car.
Now I'm awaiting for PSAs about drinking and texting while driving car sims.
So we can practice texting and driving.
I never thougth about that! Now I know why I should spend $300 on it
Oh Darren,
You are so silly.
I could buy a netbook for $300.
Well sure, but could you then DRIVE your netbook?
Yeah, I didn't think so. Not without one of these.
G25 (G27) is well worth every penny of its cost if you like driving simulators/can't afford constant restarts of the race after crashing in your roadster.
real leather... now we talking. this should help many get more "into" the game. and decent price point. added to holiday wishlist
omg this is sexy
I can finally be as cool as Buzz!
if I was rich...
why no xbox love? have logitech got beef with microsoft?
It doesn't need a black ring of death.
i just think it has to do with the fact that GT5 is coming out soon for the PS3 and since it is the biggest racing sim franchise and has a huge following. but PGR and Forza also are good and have a big following but nothing close to what GT has achieved.
dan
gran turismo sold well on ps2.. the 150 million ps2 userbase ensured this
on ps3 however it will be a different story... i think gran turismo overall might just pip forza 3 due to its 3 million extra japanese ps3 owners (this game is big in japan), but in north america forza 3 will probable outsell gran turismo, european sales will be interesting. but as for review ratings i think forza will edge it out... forza has been the premier racing game for a while now
logitech... wheres my xbox 360 wheel?
Microsoft doesn't allow any other manufacturers from entering the Xbox wheel market, they want you to buy their wheel. Real pity :(
Seriously. And what about people that have both systems. It'd be much nicer to have one wheel that works with all systems, instead of having to buy one for each.
GT5 prologue sold 4million, which is nearly as much as the entire Forza franchise so far. GT5 will be fine. As for it not supporting the xbox, you can blame microsoft for that. They have some stupid thing with support peripherals that logitech doesn't want to work with.
Have the G25 and love it. Only thing new here i see is the heads-up RPM gague so this is a pass for me.
Can't say enough, there is -no- other wheelset out there that is in this wheel's league. None. Zero.
I recall reading an interview of F1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve (who happens to play a lot of video games), saying that he wished F1 cars were operated by joypad, as it's so much more efficient.
I agree with him as I'm convinced that if you want to score really high at racing games, you're much better off with a joypad than those bulky overpriced wheels.
It's stupid that logitechs wheels arent available for the 360. I hate microsoft
Ummm, the gearshift is on the wrong side. (At least for us Aussies and Japanese)
..and British
On the G25 you can switch it.
its not physically attached to the wheel and can be changed on both models
Its detachable - mount the gear shift on any side of the desk that you like
WTF Logitech, how big of a blunder is to not support the 1st and 2nd Biggest consoles on the market? Talking ofcourse about the Wii and Xbox 360
If it had support for the 360 i would have ordered one right off the bat.
This particular wheel was made in collaberation w/ Polyphony Digital + Logitech. That G25 was anyway (so I'm assuming the same cooperation here). It was made for GT mainly, but it's bound to be locked to Sony machines + PC, for that reason.
Dunno ask Microsoft why they don't support it. The PS3 sees it as a steering, and it works with any game.
@ MS Soldier - Actually, neither of the Forza's have come close to any Worldwide release of GT. Most recently, GT5P (The demo, as people like to call it) breached 4 million physical purchases (And has been available for Download on the PSN for ages, a number which is not tracked). GTA3 sold so well on the PS2, because it was bundled with it, however, the game is still 8 years old. Either way, Forza's got a long ways to go before it can start touching the pedigree of the GT Series. (This isn't to say it doesn't have it's qualities or anything like that...not at all. Sales history, however, show a landslide in the favor of GT).
so u comparing a cheap demo to a full game? also remember that gt prologue was bundled in with ps3's
sales of gran turismo 5 will be vastly lower than its predecessors
sales of forza keep increasing with every version
and if you want to talk about the quality of the gameplay then i can give you a link for a car racing site comparing both forza 2 and gran turismo in great detail... guess which one won?
Shame it doesn't support the 360, i was hoping the G27 would give a good wheel with clutch in time for Forza 3 at a better price than the extreme-priced Fantec wheels
Think i shall just buy the official MS wheel, but it doesn't make sense to me that Turn10 & MS work closely on a game such as Forza 3 & Include a new Clutch function.... yet the MS Wheel doesn't support a clutch
WOW.. just wow.. thank god... good timing, i was planning to buy the G25 next week, didn't know about the G27! Thanks yet again Engadget!!
For Xbox 360 owners - don't forget the Fanatec premium steering wheel which is far better than the Microsoft one:
http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=250&lang=
It doesn't take much to be far better than the MS one.
Oh well, I have the G25, and while it would be cool to get this, I would've just ended up waiting till the price on this one came down (as that is what I did with the G25, excellent wheel btw). If you're into racing games and the immersion of playing with these types of premium controllers do yourself a favor and get one. Unfortunately, no Xbox 360 gamers, which I really don't get, because these are usb peripherals.
Looks like it's the same shifter unit as the G25... not good.
Looks like the gearshift no longer has the option to convert from sequential shift to H-pattern. Strange to remove such a good feature that the G25 has.
All you 360 gamers have only microsoft to blame for lack of support for Logitech wheels. I'm sure Logitech would be eager to sell their products to 360 users if MS allowed it. For MS it's not about you the consumer, it's about the mighty $.
For the ultimate racing experience with the best peripherals you need a PC or PS3.
"All you 360 gamers have only microsoft to blame for lack of support for Logitech wheels. I'm sure Logitech would be eager to sell their products to 360 users if MS allowed it. For MS it's not about you the consumer, it's about the mighty $."
Then how to you explain Fanatec making wheels that support xbox/pc and PS3? MS only cares about money? Microsoft just wants your money, while sony and nintendo care about you? Are you for real?
You seriously think a limited number of $330 wheels is the same as where on PS3 Logitech is allowed to reach the fat part of the market?
MS' peripheral strategy is disaster for the consumer.
DUI processors?
Sounds awesome! I'll take one please!
Did they remove the gear stick clicking noises??
i have the g25 and im sure going to buy this one too =D
Everyone here is giving shit to Microsoft for not letting 3rd party groups make wheels, but that's not true. FANATEC makes 360 wheels, and they're even better than the Logitech ones. They're just not as well known.
Dude, don't even go there. I ordered the FANATEC Forza 3 wheel 3 months ago. The delivery date was to be 3 weeks from order. After I ordered, they changed the delivery date to 4 months away (they still haven't delivered it, they had August on the website but admitted in an email it would be September). Oh, and did I mention they took my money up front? They've had it for over 90 days now so if they don't deliver I can't even get my money back from PayPal.
The pedals are clearly not as good as the Logitech ones, and the shifter looks cheap (it may function well though). I wish I could say more, but since FANATEC are such chumps, I don't have one yet.
Despite allowing a limited number (2,000) of $330 wheels to be sold for Forza 3, they still are holding the rest of the market (including the affordable wheel market) over a barrel. It's not comparable to where on the PS3 you can pretty easily get an affordable, quality wheel from Logitech. Heck, on the PS3 you can even use either wheel you already used on the PS2, whereas MS doesn't support their own USB force feedback wheel they shipped years ago. They only support the awful Wireless Racing Wheel (and seemingly the FANATEC 911 Turbo S wheel) and even that they support poorly.
I do appreciate FANATEC going the extra mile in a few ways, like including a cable with the 911 Turbo S wheel so you can use the Logitech G25 pedals with your wheel.
Wow, without the H-pattern/sequential shifter, it seems kinda half-assed.
I'd love to have more buttons on my G25 wheel though. Logitech, want to sell me a new wheel to go with my current shifter and pedals?
sweet :) now if GT5 will ship already =) i've been waiting for ever.