Opinion: Why retro content is the future of sim racing

It can’t have escaped the attention of sim racers that retro-themed content has been doing very well in recent times.

RaceRoom, which has perfected the art of producing historic motorsport, has not only released a series of 1995 DTM cars and tracks this year but also announced the Super Touring Car Pack will be arriving in December.

Gran Turismo 7 regularly adds historic road and racecars in its free monthly updates, with the older cars almost always becoming the most popular (anything is better than yet another Vision GT car, amirite?).

Even Ian Bell’s GTR Revival GTRevival Project Motor Racing is tugging at the heartstrings of middle-aged sim racers everywhere, thanks to frequent GTR 2 references and that Lister Storm.

Old people like old stuff

The reason for this is quite clear, in my opinion: old people like old stuff.

It’s a loose generalisation but it does explain the popularity of historic content in sims. Taking a cursory glance at Traxion’s YouTube channel, I see that over 90% of our audience is male, with more than 60% of that total figure aged between 25 and 54.

In that bracket, it’s fair to assume most will be relatively well-off and have an interest in motorsport. Using rudimentary maths, that’s over 50,000 adults, and that doesn’t include sim racers from other communities across the world. Catering to this large chunk of society is profitable for sims and hardware manufacturers alike.

Much like how some ‘90s JDM vehicles are now worth six figures thanks to the Gran Turismo effect, today’s sim racer welcomes any opportunity to revisit their childhood. Sure, we had licensed racing games back in the day, but the experience can’t compare to a full-fledged sim rig combined with a direct-drive wheelbase.

Those who loved TOCA Touring Car Championship in their teens will appreciate the nostalgia of RaceRoom’s Super Touring Car Pack today. Likewise, it’s no secret that F1 2018, with its diverse range of classic Formula 1 machinery, was more popular than F1 24, Was it all down to middle-aged men re-living their youth? Perhaps.

Much like RaceRoom’s DTM 1995 content caught the imagination of German touring car fans and motorsport nerds like myself, classic content will likely only increase in popularity in the next few years. 

Bleak future

One of the reasons for this is the increased homogenisation of modern motorsport. Cylinder counts have reduced in the name of emissions and racecar (and road car!) design is heavily regulated, making the experience of watching a live race less special.

Do I lust over a four-cylinder, hybridised NGTC Toyota Corolla? Absolutely not, but I’d wade through a lake of boiling treacle to smell the exhaust of a Volvo S40 Super Tourer (that’s normal, right?). 

And this explains why I’d sooner drive the virtual equivalent of the five-potted Swedish saloon than a modern BTCC car: it harks back to an era when the BTCC was a box office event, the cars were high-tec and highly strung and ran on a budget of millions, while the drivers were well-paid superstars with a never-say-die attitude. It was exciting.

So spending a few pounds/dollars/euros to recapture some of those feelings is well worth it.

Anyway, must dash, I’m off to smell a Volvo.