iRacing? How is that doing in recent years? Let’s look at Wikipedia. Oh, wow, interesting.
20180928/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRacing
So, over the years, people have slashed and deleted content from the iRacing Wikipedia article, significantly shortening the length and removing all pretty pictures. What is the rationale for removing all the pretty pictures? Remove excessive non-free content. Interesting that the editor said that, as anyone in the know of racing sims knows that racing sims are highly visual: using plenty of pictures surely is considered fair use. But that’s just the point: many people have stated that Wikipedia has a tendency to silence minority viewpoints due to “lack of notability.” That being said, it should become clear that racing sims are now considered one such minority in the Wikipedia community. Also, some disgruntled former iRacing users may have helped slashed down the Wikipedia article too. One of the users were named “IRacingIsScam.
20180928/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/IRacingIsScam
Also, this means another thing for the substantiation of the iRacing community. It means their community has shrunk to be so small that they don’t have enough Wikipedia representation to keep the Wikipedia article in shape.
Okay, so now all that said. First of all, let’s search for the disgruntled users’ viewpoint that “iRacing is scam.”
20180928/DuckDuckGo iracing is scam
Wow, this is a very interesting discussion going on here, and very recent too.
20180928/https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/919qq6/honestly_iracing_is_a_scam/
What are the best comments I like? Well, basically the statement that unfortunately, iRacing is a monopoly, so they can overcharge. Sure, there are other games out there, but where are you going to go where there are lots of “clean drivers” that won’t create a “wreckfest,” where the interactions and atmosphere is very friendly, where pro-racers might come to frequent, where the admins take steps to suspend the abusive drivers? And, despit the costs, nevertheless it is still much cheaper than real racing.
Wow, even a pro-racer got suspended from iRacing. What’s interesting about iRacing is that they have a “race steward” that complaints can be filed to, and an appeals and hearing process for disputes, just like real racing. Oh, and this Scott Speed that got suspended? He contributed greatly toward the introduction of the new dirt racing series/circuits in iRacing.
20180928/https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/3/16968222/scott-speed-iracing-suspended
Interesting, here, other sources pointing to iRacing falling apart. Dynamic tracks that build up a racing groove and “marble” the start/finish line as the race proceeds? Although the feature was reported, nobody has really seen signs of it in 2015. Also, the customer support is reportedly of very low quality.
20180928/https://osracing.net/tag/iracing-scam/
This is an older Reddit on the subject.
20180928/https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1v2fhx/am_i_the_only_one_who_is_seriously_dissapointed/
There is a rip-off report on iRacing, it’s not quite as detailed as I would have thought.
20180928/https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/iracingcom-motorsport-simulations-llc/bedford-massachusetts-01730/iracingcom-motorsport-simulations-llc-removes-member-privileges-for-minor-infractions-a-1233127
Indeed, this Valve Steam commentor states that this is not a “fun” game that you might be looking for on Steam. And that is very true by many means, that this game is not for everyone.
20180928/https://steamcommunity.com/app/266410/discussions/0/616198900646692008/
This person was upset at iRacing’s auto-renew taking their money that they didn’t want to pay for, as they decided they didn’t like iRacing.
20180928/http://forums.speedgeezers.net/index.php?showtopic=28858
20180928/https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/iracing
20180928/DuckDuckGo iracing declining
Now this one is really interesting. Indeed, NASCAR fans are declining as average American interest in car culture is declining. The immediate cause-and-effect reasoning is obvious. NASCAR, more so than other Racing series, really tries to place an emphasis that it is “stock car racing,” meaning that “Jimmie Johnson’s Chevy Camaro isn’t much different from the Camaro in their driveway.” Much of the appeal that cars traditionally had is now replaced by the appeal of smartphones. There are some very interesting statistics in this article worth mentioning here:
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“Only 24.5 percent of American 16-year-olds had a driver’s license in 2014 – down from 46.2 percent in 1983, according to a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The decline was notable though less stark among 20- to 24-year-olds over the same span, dropping from 91.8 to 76.7 percent.”
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“NASCAR’s TV ratings for its Cup Series are on a decade-long slide. And race-day attendance has declined so markedly that track owners have razed grandstands to slash seating capacity by 20, 30 and even 50 percent.”
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“Particularly troubling is that NASCAR’s fan base is aging rapidly – more rapidly than any other major sport’s. According to a SportsBusiness Journal analysis of TV audiences, the average age of NASCAR viewers jumped from 49 to 58 between 2006 and 2016. The only sports with older audiences in 2016 were golf – including the PGA Tour with an average age of 64, and the LPGA Tour at 63 – horse racing (63) and men’s tennis (61).”
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“The average age of an esports enthusiast, Coughlin noted, is 23.5. That’s why the race is on to capture their attention.”
Oh yeah, and that does remind me. Younger moviegoers have also been on decline, and you could argue it is for a similar reason: Now they are more interested in watching movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. instead of in a movie theater.
20180928/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/auto-racing/nascar-tries-to-keep-pace-in-todays-ride-share-world/2018/05/25/74e4451e-5f9a-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.49ea82bac611
America’s fading car culture also means that interest in classic cars have dropped dramatically, and that population similarly shows a considerable aging.
20180928/https://web.archive.org/web/20180601005746/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2015/09/02/americas-fading-car-culture/?utm_term=.f24c0372d904