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Formula E drivers battled simulator pros in a million-dollar e-race
With $1 million on the line, cheering crowds and drivers from the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, the inaugural Visa Vegas e-race did a good job of conveying at least some of the spectacle of a physical motor rally. Held on the final day of CES 2017, the competition saw 30 competitors take to the tracks in a race that was streamed on Twitch, with a live audience numbering in the hundreds. The spectators, a mix of fans and corporate sponsors, cheered, winced and applauded the challengers, which included 20 professional Formula E racers and the world's 10 best simulator drivers.
Taking laps with the Thrustmaster T300RS racing wheel
Let's get this out of the way up front: The market for the Thrustmaster T300RS is incredibly narrow. At $400 (the price of a PlayStation 4!) it's far beyond an impulse buy and demands you're taking every aspect of your living room racing experience Very Seriously. That's something I discovered when the company sent me a demo unit to try. You see, at Casa de Seppala, my couch sits about 6 feet from my 65-inch TV. In between those two are an area rug and a coffee table I got for $75 on Craigslist. It's an awesome setup for movies and every other game I've played, but when it came time to put the T300RS through its paces, I couldn't figure out if the wheel was ill-suited to my space or vice versa.
Thrustmaster unveils Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition and Ferrari gamepad for Xbox 360, we go hands-on
It's been almost a year since Thrustmaster rolled out its first replica Ferrari 458 Italia racing wheel and pedal set for Xbox 360, and the company's finally outed its successor: the Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition. Like its elder, the GT Cockpit has an 11.2-inch replica of the Ferrari 458 Italia's steering wheel, with A,B, X and Y buttons in place of turn signals and an Engine Start button that's actually a d-pad. It also sports brushed metal paddle shifters and 16-bit resolution to ensure a realistic digital driving experience. However, the new wheel is attached to a base sporting a pair of stamped steel pedals via an adjustable steering column. The whole thing has metal underpinnings and weighs 22 pounds to provide stability as you virtually race around Sebring or Laguna Seca. Plus, it's foldable, so you can easily stow it out of the way when you're not doing your best Stig impersonation.%Gallery-162413% In addition to the GT Cockpit, Thrustmaster has also outed the GPX LightBack Ferrari F1 Edition Gamepad. It largely looks like a standard corded 360 controller, with a Ferrari-style white and red paint job (replete with racing sponsor logos), backlit thumbsticks and two rows of LEDs at the top of the controller. The LEDs are programmed to provide visual indicators for engine speed or braking power, and the thumbsticks have been tweaked to be more precise than those on other available 360 gamepads. The F1 gamepad's up for pre-order today for $49.99, and the GT Cockpit can be yours in September for $300. Wanna know more? Check out our hands (and feet)-on impressions after the break.%Gallery-162412%
Who needs feet? SteelSeries Simraceway SRW-S1 steering wheel puts pedals at your fingertips
Time to face the facts -- your tiny apartment just doesn't have room for a fancy wheel and pedal setup, but clunky gamepads aren't getting you any closer to the winners circle. What's a racing fanatic to do? SteelSeries has an idea: keep the wheel, kill the pedals. Boasting enough buttons to make an authentic F1 steering wheel blush, the SteelSeries Simraceway SRW-S1 steering wheel swaps the traditional foot petal peripheral for a quartet of finger ready paddles saddled on the controller's rear. A motion sensor gives the wheel a tinge of Mario Kart flair, and eliminates the bulky, mountable steering column. The SRW-S1 will set you back $120, and score you just enough room for that La-Z-Boy you always wanted. Check out the wheel's official press release and a demo video after the break.
Thrustmaster unveils Ferrari F458 racing wheel and TH8 RS shifter, dares you to get fast and furious
Is that regular ol' Xbox 360 controller leaving you unfulfilled after a marathon session of Forza Motorsport 4? Don't fret, Thrustmaster has announced the launch of its Ferrari 458 (F458) Italia Racing Wheel for Microsoft's gaming console. The 11-inch wheel features a rubberized grip to stay comfy, built-in metal paddle shifters, a Manettino dial for mid-lap adjustments and progressive resistance to keep you on the straight and narrow. Not wanting to leave PS3 and PC racers in its dust, the company also revealed the TH8 RS gear shifter -- which connects to the T500 RS or the outfit's other PC wheel controllers via USB. This bad boy lets you release your inner Michael Schumacher with either H-pattern or sequential configurations plus 360-degree rotation adjustment to tailor the gearbox to your liking. Both the TH8 RS and the aforementioned F458 will be hitting your garage... er, game room in October for $180 and $90, respectively. Check out the full PR for the pair after the break, and make sure you fasten your seatbelt.
Force Dynamics 401cr test drive (video)
If you're old enough to have spent any time in an arcade, surely at some point you splurged an extra couple of quarters to play a game in a seat that moved a bit, shook a bit, made some feeble attempt at making you feel like you're really in the game. Kid's play, that stuff (quite literally), but just like people don't stop gaming as they get older so too such motion simulation tech doesn't have to stay for kiddies. Enter Force Dynamics and enter the 401cr: a full-bore motion simulator that can not only generate over a G of acceleration but can spin you right 'round as many times as you like. We took it for a quite a few spins indeed, plus more than one crash, and we think you'll want to check them out the video below. %Gallery-117507%
Thrustmaster T500 RS review
For a long time -- a long, long time -- Logitech and Gran Turismo have gone together like rubber and asphalt. Like carbon fiber and fender flares. Like drivers' privates and their Nomex underpants. The two were tight, but with GT5 came a changing of the guard. Thrustmaster, a company world-renowned for its high-end flight controls and its giggle-inducing name, stepped in and bought the license. The purpose? To release the decidedly high-end T500 RS wheel, the controller designed to abolish memories of all the plasticy racing controllers that have come before from the company. Does it succeed, and is it worth the pucker-inducing price of $599? These questions and more answered below. %Gallery-117113%
Thrustmaster T500RS, the official Gran Turismo 5 wheel, unboxed and tested (video)
Wondering how Thrustmaster's upcoming$599 T500RS wheel stacks up to the competition from Logitech and Fanatec? Haven't had your daily dose of heavy metal backing music? You'd better click play on the video embedded below. InsideSimRacing has managed to get one of the first wheels in the country and, while we're mildly jealous, we won't stop from passing on their impressions -- which aren't universally positive. The trick flip pedals that go from "F1" to "rally" style? Gimmicky. Rubber instead of leather? C'mon. Price? Astronomical. The rest of the impressions? You'll just have to start streaming to find out. [Thanks, Chris]
