Gran Turismo is a series of driving simulators developed by Polyphony Digital for the PlayStation systems, Gran Turismo simulators are intended to emulate the appearance and performance of a large selection of vehicles, most of which are licensed reproductions of real-world automobiles. Since the franchise's debut in 1997, over 90 million units have been sold worldwide, making it the best selling driving simulator under the PlayStation brand. The series has partnerships with Japan Race Promotion, Brembo, Michelin, Mazda, Toyota Gazoo Racing, BBS, and Fanatec. The series uses data from car companies and real-life races for its car physics simulation. It is also used as a concept car simulator for many car manufacturers. In 2023, a film was made about the series, and it became a sport for the Olympic Esports with the backing of the FIA.
Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from arcade racing-style driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principal objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism.
Driving simulators are used for entertainment as well as in training of driver's education courses taught in educational institutions and private businesses. They are also used for research purposes in the area of human factors and medical research, to monitor driver behavior, performance, and attention and in the car industry to design and evaluate new vehicles or new advanced driver assistance systems.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is a 2003 racing video game developed by Stellar Stone and published by GameMill Publishing. The player controls a semi-trailer truck and races a stationary opponent through checkpoints on US truck routes. Stellar Stone, based in California, outsourced the game's development to Ukraine, and the game was released in an unfinished state on November 20, 2003. Due to a multitude of bugs and lack of proper gameplay, Big Rigs was critically panned, became the worst-rated game on review aggregator websites Metacritic and GameRankings, and has frequently been cited as one of the worst video games of all time by gaming publications.
18 Wheels of Steel is a series of trucking simulators developed by SCS Software and published by ValuSoft from 2002 to 2011, as a spin-off of Hard Truck, with the first game becoming the third Hard Truck game released.
Big Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder is a racing video game developed by Eutechnyx for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the 2002 game Big Mutha Truckers.
MotorStorm is a 2006 racing video game developed by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Announced at E3 2005, the game was released in Japan on 14 December 2006 and worldwide in March 2007. MotorStorm has sold over 3 million units. Two sequels were made, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift in 2008, and MotorStorm: Apocalypse in 2011. Another game was also created, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. As of January 2012, the online multiplayer servers for the game have been permanently shut down.
Big Mutha Truckers is an open world racing video game developed by British studio Eutechnyx and released in 2002. Set in fictional Hick County, the game revolves around completing trips between cities, delivering goods, and competing in races while at the helm of a semi truck. The game is available on GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows. It met with middling critical and commercial reception, due to repetitive gameplay, dated graphics, and lackluster sound. The game uses Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" as its theme song. The game's sequel is Big Mutha Truckers 2. A different game of the same name was developed by Italian company Raylight Studios and released for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
Rig'n'Roll is an open world truck driving simulation and racing video game released on 27 November 2009 in Russia and during 2010 in the rest of the world. It simulates truck driving and management along with associated business strategic activities, and features North American trucks. The game takes place in California and Nevada, in the year 2014.
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles. The main challenge is to master driving and steering the vehicle from the perspective of the pilot or driver, with most games adding another challenge such as racing or fighting rival vehicles. Games are often divided based on realism, with some games including more realistic physics and challenges such as fuel management.
MotorStorm is a racing video game series developed by Evolution Studios, BigBig Studios, Virtuos and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The titles were off-road racing games featuring different types of vehicles with their own strengths and weaknesses and tracks with different terrains which may either hinder the vehicles' handling or improve it.
Need for Speed: The Run is a 2011 racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eighteenth installment in the Need for Speed series and is Black Box's final entry in the series before the studio's closure in April 2013. Following an extensive marketing campaign, the game was released on November 15, 2011, for PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS and Wii.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS and was initially released as open development on 18 October 2012. The game is a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator and it is the fourth video game in the Truck Simulator series.
Assetto Corsa is a sim racing video game developed by the Italian video game developer Kunos Simulazioni. It is designed with an emphasis on a realistic racing experience with support for extensive customization and moddability. The game was first released through the Steam Early Access program on 8 November 2013, and officially left Early Access as final release version on 19 December 2014.
Farming Simulator is a farming simulation video game series developed by GIANTS Software. The locations are based on American and European environments. Players are able to farm, breed livestock, grow crops, and sell assets created from farming.
Truck Simulator is a vehicle simulation game series created by SCS Software. The first title in the series, Euro Truck Simulator, was released on 29 August 2008 for Microsoft Windows and OS X and the first European-truck simulation established gameplay. The sequel to Euro Truck Simulator, Euro Truck Simulator 2, was released on 19 October 2012 for Microsoft Windows and in 2013 for Linux. It is the successor to the developer's previous truck simulation series 18 Wheels of Steel.
American Truck Simulator is a truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software. It was announced as being in development in September 2013 and unveiled at the E3 2015. It was released on 2 February 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS. The game is the parallel sequel to Euro Truck Simulator 2, the spiritual successor of 18 Wheels of Steel, and the fifth installment in the Truck Simulator series. The game is set in a condensed depiction of the United States, featuring American conventional semi-trucks and various locations across the U.S., where players pick up a variety of cargos and deliver them to their destinations.
MudRunner is a 2017 off-roading simulation game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released on October 31, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and is a spin-off/sequel of the 2014 Windows-exclusive Spintires, which was developed by Oovee Game Studios. Similar to Spintires, MudRunner has the player control off-road vehicles as they traverse locations to complete objectives. The game was released in Japan on Nintendo Switch on June 18, 2020. A sequel to MudRunner was released on April 28, 2020 titled SnowRunner.
Scania Truck Driving Simulator: The Game is a truck simulator game developed by SCS Software in association with Scania AB for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It was released as a promotional product for the later-published Euro Truck Simulator 2 on 8 June 2012.
Bus Simulator 18 is a bus simulator game developed by Stillalive Studios and published by Astragon Entertainment. It is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and was released in June 2018 for Windows and in September 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the fifth game in the Bus Simulator franchise and is the direct sequel to Bus Simulator 16. A sequel titled Bus Simulator 21 was released in 2021.
