The Need for Speed gaming franchise has been around for a long time. Starting with “The Need for Speed” in 1994 for the 3DO, Sony Playstation, and Sega Saturn gaming consoles, they’ve released 15 installments since then. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2 was my favorite; still one of the best racing games ever made. After that game, Need for Speed: Underground changed the overall direction to a more “Fast & Furious”-type game with lots of tuner import cars, all races at night for an illegal street-race feel, and a focus on that lifestyle.

But now, the NFS team has truly outdone themselves with an all-new simulation racer - Need for Speed: Shift.

This racer, based on the screenshots and preview video I’ve seen, looks photo-realistic as if you’re really there. During development, the NFS team focused on realism and mapped every one of the 70 available cars down to the last detail, including the interiors for a real-life driving experience. 15 real-world locations including Willow Springs and Laguna Seca have been mapped to the closest detail… Continue Reading…

Ferrari released some info on their F430 Force Feedback Racing Wheel for the PC, which is a precise life-size replica of the real steering wheel on the Ferrari F430. The “Engine Start” button serves as a directional pad for the games, and the Manettino switch - which in the real car selects driving dynamics such as traction control, steering, and brake force - does the same in the video game car, as long as your playing Ferrari’s own Ferrari Virtual Race game for the PC.

Ferrari Virtual Race is - as you can tell from the name - a racing simulator that was just released. Currently you can drive the 599 GTB Fiorano, 612 Scaglietti and 430 Scuderia, but they will be adding more cars soon, such as the California, F430 or F430 Spider and possibly (hopefully) more.

If you’re more of a console gamer like me but still want to drive Ferraris, you can pick up the official (and inexpensive) Ferrari Challenge game for PS3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, or PS2, which lets you drive almost any Ferrari you can think of, classic and new.

I’m a big fan of making racing games as realistic as possible, so I think this F430 racing wheel is great. It’s made from high-quality metal and rubber (not plastic,) and is a replica of the real F430’s wheel so you can be assured that the ergonomic and comfort aspect of the wheel will be spot-on. The included pedals are made from metal as well, and have magnetic resistance for a more realistic feel. The steering axle and ball bearings are also made of metal, ensuring the feel of fluidity and precision.

Now, if they’d just make one with a clutch and shift knob.

Chris sent this to me this AM … Chris, like I, has a bad Jones for racing games, racing sims, and, although I’ve never asked, I bet Chris likes flight sims and other games as well.

What is pictured here, he found on eBay. It’s an all-in-one racing deal. Not only does it have a wheel and pedal controller, but also a 42″ Panasonic Plasma TV, speakers (including a subwoofer) as well as a built in PS2 and on board computer system with PC games such as the F-1, GT Racing, Le Mans, etc.

All for the low low price of US $9,800.00. If you buy it now!

Now I can’t vouch for this system myself, never having used one. I personally own a Hyperstimulator, which is all folded away, nice and neat in my garage (since I got really pissed an Bill Gates and his PC platform and said “Screw games on the PC!!!” one day). And although the owners/posters (perhaps the builders?) claim that the Virtual GT Racing Simulator is ” … by far the best simulator available under $20K.” I’d say it’d be hard pressed to beat the hyper unit for wheel & pedal feel.

Anyway, that’d be up to you and your money.

And room. You’d need lots of room, ideally a spare room, to keep his guy in. It seems to be about 7 feet by 4 feet by 5 feet. No exact figures are given, and I bet it also weighs a ton.

C’mon, one of you guys out there has to buy this thing.

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It’s funny how even video games follow trends in the automotive world. Back when import tuning became popular due mostly to the movie Fast and the Furious, games such as Need for Speed: Underground became insanely popular with the new tuning crowd.

Video games since then have evolved quite a bit, and appeal to a much wider range of car (and game) enthusiast. The new Midnight Club: Los Angeles, for example, has a wide range of available cars - tuners, muscle cars, exotics, luxury cars, and motorcycles - and all of them are customizable to your heart’s extent, if you so choose.

Being a racing game fan, I got a copy of Midnight Club: Los Angeles and have been playing the hell out of it so I could let you know if it’s worth picking up… Continue Reading…

Amazon Gold Box is selling Midnight Club: Los Angeles for Xbox 360 for only $39.98 with free shipping for today only. Amazon Gold Box sells one item per day at a heavily discounted rate. In this case, it’s 33.3% off MSRP.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a street racing video game that was just released in October. I’m in the process of playing this game right now, so expect a review on it soon. It’s a very fun game, and I would certainly buy it for $40.

I highly recommend picking this up if you like racing games, specifically older Midnight Club games, or the Need for Speed series. Set in downtown Los Angeles, this game starts you off in a beat-up Nissan 240SX, and you must prove your racing skills to the locals and move your way up through the ranks by earning Rep. As with other racing games, you get money the more races you win, and upgrade your car with a wide choice of performance parts and aesthetic changes such as body kits, neons, decals, etc. Eventually, you can buy other cars or win more cars through races. Pick this game up if you like this type of racer; you won’t find it this cheap again.

Buy Midnight Club: Los Angeles for only $40 with Free Shipping

Check out a trailer after the jump: Continue Reading…

I just about lost it when I came across this poking around on Craig’s List last night.

Here’s the entirety of the guys entry:

“Mid 1960’s, world’s first race car simulator. ‘based around an actual Lotus 31 Formula 3 car…made from standard manufacturing parts’

Featured in the Dead Man’s Treasure episode of The Avengers in 1967, this one is not as shocking as Steed’s drive. Have copy of episode, very cool.

‘Lotus had designed the unit to run very much along the lines of the leading flight-sims of the day’…AutoSimSport

This one comes with modern electrical components for use with recent racing sims such as Grand Prix Legends - a simulation of racing from the same era as this original car.

None other like it outside of England, own a unique piece of history. Race green to your heart’s content ‘virtually’ around the world without using a drop of gasoline.

Or enjoy it as art - whether you stand it on end - as some ex F1 drivers did with their cars, mount it on the ceiling or wall, or just leave it on its tires, it’s a grand piece of art - the simple lines of the 60’s race cars are nothing short of elegant. ”

Now, I’m a pretty big sim guy, and the Big Boss Man here at AutoMoBlog, Chris, well knows. I’ve spent thousands on controllers and cockpits and what not, and normally seeing something like this would have piqued my interest, but it was this part that almost had me jumping out of my seat: “Featured in the Dead Man’s Treasure episode of The Avengers in 1967, this one is not as shocking as Steed’s drive. Have copy of episode, very cool.”

I remember seeing that episode on TV when it was first broadcast, I remember my dad & brothers trying to figure out what kind of car it was. We could all tell that the track was Brands Hatch though.

I remember thinking at the time just how cool it was and boy wouldn’t it be neat to have something like THAT one day.

Well that day came and went many years ago. The processing power we have and the software that’s out there is uunbelievable from the perspective of The Avengers in the 1960s.

But still, how cool would it be to own this rig?

There’s pictures of how it currently looks after the jump.

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