Why 2015 Was The Best Year For Gamers, And What's Coming In 2016
I can’t help but reminisce on the good times we had last year in the racing game world. These major racing games, along with indie titles, set out with a healthy dose of competition in 2015:
- Forza 6
- F1 2015
- Project CARS
- DiRT Rally
- NFS 2015
- The Crew: Wild Run
- GTA V (remastered and released on PC)
The Crew, Driveclub, Forza Horizon 2 and Assetto Corsa were released at the end of 2014 and kept their popularity through 2015 and there was every type of racing we could imagine.
It’s because of the insane variety last year, that there was a game for every taste. There were road courses, off-road courses, tracks, and open-world roaming to play with our supercars, clunkers, motorcycles and more. Gamers of all levels and interests got their hands on a racing wheel last year. We also saw China lift a 14-year ban on video game consoles, encouraging even more new players in the coming years.
The capabilities of our gaming systems are insane, and it’s absolutely necessary at this point to keep up with our demand for realistic racing. If you could go back in time and explain today’s gaming systems to your younger self, you would blow your own mind. Not only are we living the dream with force feedback wheels, adjustable pedals and hundreds of customisable driver settings, we’ve also gone head first into the world of virtual reality. Now, we can shut out the outside world and truly feel part of the race.
Not only did the new wheels help us get the most out of the latest games, they also let us relive some older titles in a new way. This year, new VR headsets and wheels will emerge, keeping us entertained until the next new game arrival. The new Oculus Rift headsets are shipping out now, and may be the key to keeping the excitement rolling. Forza 6 and Project CARS are already supported on the headsets, while Microsoft pushes to soon make all current Xbox and PC games compatible with the Rift (Gran Turismo Sport will be supported from the day of release).
2016 won’t be the year of a dozen more robust games, but you can keep your heads up for these new releases:
- January: Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO
- March: Trackmania Turbo
- April: Assetto Corsa and DiRT Rally on Xbox One and PS4 for the first time
- Late 2016: Gran Turismo Sport and a possible beta version of GT7
- Sometime 2016: Project CARS 2
- Not likely, but we can hope 2016: DiRT 4
We will likely see just as many major updates, new tracks, new cars and new gameplay modes as we did last year. All the big publishers will continue to compete for your business, and producing new content is the only way to keep their sales on top. In January, Project CARS, Driveclub, The Crew, Assetto Corsa and Forza 6 will all be adding new content. iRacing, RaceRoom and rFactor 2 players, as always, will have new content coming in all year long.
Am I just being overly optimistic, or does the racing game scene in 2016 seem like it will be just as great as it was in 2015? I feel like despite not having a wave of release dates lined up, the improvements to existing games and peripherals will be tremendous. Plus, the prices of last year’s games are already dropping, making them well worth the money.
Comments
Honestly I have no interest on what’s coming for 2016 (Except GTS & NFS 2015 PC) all I want this year.. is this to become a thing https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/genki-is-considering-the-development-for-new-tokyo-xtreme-racer-shutokou-battle.327307/
Shotokou Battle! I remembered spending countless amount of time playing (and suck at) it. The amount of technical detail in 01 is astonishing. Sadly it was outshadowed by GT4.
I really hope they make a sequel for TXRD2. I loved that game so much I bought 3 copies of it before my PS2 broke. RIP my 700 HP Skyline R34 xD
I’ve been searching for a realistic rally sim for ages, and still haven’t found one. Richard Burns Rally still takes the lead with it’s physics engine. Is there anything that comes close? I’ve tried Asetto Corsa and it is amazing, not a rally sim though.
Dirt rally is the best modern game we have. Two of the three biggest areas where it’s lacking are moddable with the impact force feedback mod and a realistic damage mod. There still arent enough stages, nor are they long enough, but the physics engine models weight transfer and actual loose surfaces rather well in my opinion.
Try LFS. But it has few rally tracks.
you do know dirt 4 has been scrapped. its dirt rally now. there is not the demand for doing donuts in a carpark
Im replaing dirt 3 right now and thats exactly the thing I dont like about it
Indeed, gymkhana was fun a few times but they put way too much of it in the game. After only a few hours of playing the game I was already tired of spinning in circles around cones. Dirt 1 was really nice, Dirt 2 was also very nice but in my opinion a bit too much rallycross. Dirt 3 was enjoyable but a bit meh. Dirt rally is one of the most fun games I have played in a long time.
Kelsey!!! You’re still alive!!
There’s also automobilista, there’ll be another dreampack dlc or two, rfactor 2 is getting better by the day and iracing are bringing out a laser scanned circuit de la sarthe, off the top of my head. 2016 will be a good year for sims. Simcade and arcade offerings are looking pretty weak
i hope rfactor 2 gets more cars, its got a lot of nice tracks but it is seriously lacking in core content and it pushes the gen pop from steam away.
BeamNG Drive. Look forward to see more updates.
And I’m still playing Live For Speed. #NotEvenMad
2015 brought us S3 and real time reflections!
LFS is one of those games that never become boring even with a small amount of content.
rFactor? and i heard plenty of guys like f1 challenge with mods
Do you play on the [TC] Citydriving servers?
Assetto Corsa is going to have the P1 GTR. That’s enough for me. http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/assetto-corsa-2015-and-beyond.115468/
Forza horizon 3 will be my most anticipated game next year
Definitely my most anticipated racing game (this year by the way, hard to get used to it, I know ;) ). I am honestly also very excited about Mafia 3 (also with cars by the way) and Mass Effect (even though I’m afraid EA will mess that one up one way or another)
forza = gey