I think I agree with you on just about everything. I will be very
surprised -- no doubt pleasantly -- if iRacing survives in its current
form for more than a few years... perhaps less if funding is pulled after
any early disappointments. When push comes to shove it is 'just another
sim' no matter how high their hopes of drawing in a wider audience, and
they don't exist in a sim vacuum.

With 40 staff or so to support (judging by interviews given in the past)
that's going to require very significant revenue streams, and I don't see
it coming from the current financial model.

I may be wrong, but once the public release happens they'll finally get
an idea what kind of pent up demand there is for their product. I'm
anticipating some disappointment, though they may have enough funding in
the bank to allow for a very slow & steady (hopefully) build up in
subscribers.

We'll see. It's a brave attempt to break the simming mould, and I'm
increasingly finding myself inclined to keep subscribing until after the
public release (at least) just to keep in touch with how iRacing
responds.

I think there's no alternative to a basic subscription service (with a
premium bolt-on for higher leagues available?), given their aims. However
the subscription price needs to come down to the point where people don't
have to think twice about continuing even if they don't race much. That
would probably involve scaling down their operation and aims, but it
might ensure the project's survival for more than a short time once
Henry's investment money runs out. He can;t have a bottomless wallet.

Andrew McP

PS Currently I believe (from reading the forums) there are between 3 & 4k
subscribers. That's not bad considering its a closed programme. However
so far invites have only gone out to those most likely to subscribe. I'll
be genuinely fascinated to see what happens after the public debut.

   Subscription has nothing to do with it. There is a constamt influx of
youth into the world and also older people who consider sim racing for the
first time later in their life. When either group check out what's
available, they will simply migrate to the best sim that offers what they're
looking for.

   It's just that simple.

   What so many of you are failing to understand also, is that iRacing is
not just a sim - it's a service that offers MUCH more than any sim in a box
ever will. It has been my view for donkeys years that what iRacing is doing
right now is what sim racing has always needed - organised and officially
sactioned sim racing as a sport. They have taken it a step further by making
it a proper training tool for real life racers.

I have one question.

Are you, or have you, ever signed up for iRacing ?

-Larry

This is my theory on the whole Iracing plan.

What is being offered now is just the basic, tip of the iceberg plan.
Iracing is in with Rousch-Fenway racing. EA sports will lose the
license for Nascar games. At that point Iracing (already with their
foot in the door due to their currrent affiliations) will get control
making it an online subscription service.

Americans love their Na$car racing so what a perfect way to boost the
number of subscribers and boost profits. There has not been a good
Nascar game since N2K so why not return the license to the team who
knows how to get it done. This time modern era online, pay as you go
style.

My two cents...

DC

Yesterday, spurred on by learning about the Historix mod for rFactor, I
took a fresh look at LFS and rFactor. And found both of them awful to
drive. Disturbingly unsatisfying.

Back to iRacing and my Skippy (still a slug off the line and in need of a
new 1st gear to enable a little wheel spin) was a pleasure to drive. It's
like GPL all over again, though that awful (ok, 'challenging') Solstice
masks the fact that you're driving quite a revolutionary engine.

Or am I just getting brainwashed? That'd be a shame, because the pound's
sinking like a rock at the moment (probably due to excessive temporary
enthusiasm for the dollar), which means iRacing is getting more expensive
by the day. I could do with some level-headed rationality!

Anyway, after my initial Skippy VIR races, where some truly awful driving
by others marred my experience, I've had three races now in which close,
careful racing at my end of the field has been present, and there have
been fewer hot shots driving routinely beyond their limits. I suppose
that's inevitable as the week wears on and more people find their feet on
the track.

Who knows what's going on in my head... brainwashing, assimilation, or
just the slow, steady, reluctant realisation that this darned sim might
be worth all the money and hassle after all? I've seen enough good racing
now to imagine making it a routine part of my gaming life... which has
been dwindling towards nothing over the last 12 months. It's nice to have
something which is actually persuading me to turn on the games box down
the desk which I built for Crysis (which I still haven't finished).

I need to think about all this... or maybe just stop typing so I don't
seem like such an idiot changing my mind every day? ;-)

What I should probably do is give in to the dark side... buy a whole
year's subscription (giving the maximum iRacing 'cashback' to spend on
cars & tracks) and write it off as a hardware upgrade. After all,
everything we buy for our PCs depreciates to just about nothing very
quickly these days. If I just drive for a year, then give up, it'll be no
worse than buying a decent graphics card and watching it fall in price.

Mmm... except at the end of the year I still have a graphics card. :-)

Andrew McP

PS Of course none of this means iRacing, or my enjoyment, will last
anything like 3 years. Perhaps it's simply a time to forget cynicism and
do the carpe diem thing?