E-Motorsports: Virtual Motorsports in 2020
There’s no question about it: electronic sports or ‘e-sports’ are now a part of the mainstream consciousness. No longer are e-sports just a niche form of competition that takes place at local cybercafes, participated only by hardcore gamers. These days, e-sports competitors come from all walks of life and their events happen on the same grand scale as any other sport like soccer or mixed martial arts.
When it comes to major e-sports leagues, their events now have the drawing power to attract whole stadiums full of spectators. These spectators travel from all over the world just to watch their favourite highly-organized and well-managed teams battle it out on their gaming systems live and up close.
There are all sorts of games played competitively. Among them, popular genres include real-time strategy (RTS) games, first-person shooters (FPS) and many more. It’s safe to say that if any particular game has a large enough following, there’s probably an e-sports competition for it happening somewhere!
But what about motorsports and racing games?
Yes! Even though these games might get less attention in the world of e-sports, there are indeed some serious e-motorsports going on in the world! The best part about this is that e-motorsports is bringing together many different worlds. Not only does e-motorsports involve the game development studios that are producing the games and the gamers playing them, but even car companies and real-world racing leagues are also working together!
Popular Racing Game Titles
There are many game titles that are used in competitive e-motorsports. Some are more familiar household names, while others may be a little bit obscure to the regular gamer or everyday car enthusiast.
One of the most popular names in the business is the game Gran Turismo Sport. If you’re a console gamer, you may recognize this classic racing title that’s popular on Playstation 4. If you’re a little older, you may remember growing up playing earlier versions of Gran Turismo on older Playstation platforms, as well.
Aside from that, there are also other games that represent different motorsports genres. Games like iRacing, Project CARS, and TrackMania also are also in the business of e-motorsports, organizing large tournaments and offering huge prizes for winners.
Real-World Affiliations
One thing that makes e-motorsports stand out from other e-sports genres is its close affiliations to real-world industry leaders. What that means is that many of the tournaments taking place in the e-motorsports world are actually done with the approval and participation of major racing organizations in the real world.
For example, when it comes to the game Gran Turismo Sport, there is an e-motorsport championship known as the FIA Gran Turismo Championship. This name comes from the endorsement of FIA or Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The FIA is the organization which organizes racing tournaments worldwide, most notably Formula One racing!
iRacing, on the other hand, is also used in affiliation with NASCAR racing. NASCAR actually hosts what it calls the NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series, an annual video game competition using the iRacing simulation game.
Project CARS mentioned earlier has already become an official sport of its own in the Electronic Sports League which also hosts e-sports competitions worldwide.
These are just some examples of e-motorsports tournaments that have successfully bridged the gap between the world of competitive gaming with that of real-world motorsports!
E-Motorsports in 2020
Right now in 2020, e-motorsports is starting to get lots more attention.
As we move through the first quarter of 2020, we are seeing a lot of countries go into lockdown because of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, that has spread worldwide. This global pandemic has resulted in the cancellation and postponements of many major sporting events, regardless of type of sport is being played. With all of the uncertainty currently surrounding the COVID-19 situation, there is no telling if any scheduled events throughout 2020 will actually take place at all.
To put this into perspective, even the 2020 Olympics in Japan has been postponed!
Sadly, this has also affected the world of motorsports. Formula 1 racing has already been affected, being forced to postpone and cancel several races entirely. These include the races in Australia, Bahrain, Monaco, Vietnam and more!
In a surprise move, organizers have announced that the races will move over to the virtual world instead. Dubbed the ‘Formula 1 e-sports Virtual Grand Prix series’, the race will take place using the official Formula 1 2019 PC game.
Racers will compete online and remotely from wherever they are, while spectators can witness the action through platforms like Youtube, Twitch, Facebook, and directly on F1.com.
This race series is set to be as realistic as possible, though it is only done for entertainment purposes. Some of the actual F1 drivers will be competing themselves, though many recognize that there is a huge difference between racing in a game and racing in real life.
Bridging The Gap
Looking at all of those examples, perhaps you can already see the beauty of e-motorsports. As you can see, e-motorsports creates a very strong connection between the virtual world of competitive gaming with that of real-world competitive motorsports. Thanks to that connection, motorsports automatically becomes much more accessible!
Think about it. In real-world motorsports, it’s not easy for just anyone to become a race car driver. Even for spectators, it can sometimes cost a lot of money to travel to major racing events around the world, and pay for tickets to watch the races!
But when it comes to e-motorsports, however, almost anyone with the right skills can compete with one another in racing tournaments. Not only can spectators witness the races from anywhere in the world, but even racers themselves can also go head-to-head with each other from across the globe!
e-Motorsports is not a substitute for the real thing, of course. Nothing will replace the pure adrenaline rush from being a part of a real race between powerful machines. Still, there’s no denying that virtual racing does allow more people to enjoy the competitive spirit and environment that comes with motorsports! On top of that, it allows people to do so even when there’s a global pandemic going on.
Without a doubt, this is one genre of e-sports that is continually growing. As time goes on, more and more people will get involved in the exciting world of e-motorsports.