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Iconic Games of the Past
Most NASCAR fans may have heard of the NASCAR Thunder series produced by EA Sports from the early 2000s. For some, the yearly NASCAR games produced from 1997 to 1999 are equally distinct with the paintball cheat code in NASCAR ‘98 to the nearly realistic commentary by ESPN and ABC announcers Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons.
Likewise, there is an even higher chance that fans recognize that title from their childhood. It either played a huge role in bringing in new fans to NASCAR or played a role in raising awareness about NASCAR.
NASCAR’s popularity has been waning for the last 15 years, and I have a theory as to what it might be.
The lack of a good NASCAR game may be the culprit, much less, the lack of an officially licensed NASCAR game.
NASCAR 21: Ignition
As of press time, the last officially licensed NASCAR console game released was NASCAR 21: Ignition. NASCAR 21: Ignition was hyped as a breath of fresh air from the Unity-powered NASCAR Heat engine.
Also, this game used a mesh of Unreal Engine 4 and the rFactor engine. Instead of producing a breath of fresh air, NASCAR gamers were deprived of fresh air when the game was released.
It was an absolute disaster laden with game-breaking bugs. While the developers scrambled to fix a litany of bugs, consumers voiced their opinions online. The people were not happy and for good reason – they spent sixty dollars.
Some were upset even more so, especially those who purchased the deluxe editions of the game only to receive an unplayable product that lacked basic features to configure controllers and wheels, and brought several bugs that persisted in the rFactor engine over to NASCAR 21: Ignition.
rFactor 2
rFactor 2 is a motorsports simulation game with some of the most satisfying
driving sensations. Also, it is amazing when paired with a lobby of clean racers, which can now be achieved on a consistent basis, thanks to rFactor’s new driver rating system, and official races with purchasable content.
The main problem was that no one really played it online before it had this new system in place to encourage online play. Players wound up resorting to AI racing, one of the lackluster features from the rFactor engine. rFactor 2’s AI never executed oval racing efficiently, compounding this simulation game’s issues, along with random checkups, a limp drafting effect, and the player being nearly 10% faster than 110% AI, among other things.
As one may surmise from NASCAR 21: Ignition’s release, all these problems carried over. In my opinion, they were considerably worse with NASCAR 21: Ignition than rFactor. What followed was a huge amount of backlash from releasing, what seemed to be, an un-play tested and broken mess.
NASCAR 21: Ignition Next-Gen Update
(Photo: Jordan Higgins | The Podium Finish)
After the development team patched up any holes they could, the bleeding did not stop. With the introduction of the NASCAR Next-Gen Cup car in 2022, it had to be included in NASCAR 21: Ignition.
For obvious reasons, it serves as the current NASCAR Cup Series car. So, the developers worked on it and it became available to users on all consoles on Oct. 6, 2022, for free.
Unfortunately, it was only available in testing sessions. When the full 2022 roster was added, what followed was more broken game mechanics and more AI issues at tracks like Gateway and Nashville. Ultimately, consumers were not happy with Motorsports Games.
NASCAR: Rivals – The Only Fully Next-Gen Based NASCAR Game
NASCAR: Rivals, was an updated adaptation of the NASCAR Heat 5 game for the Nintendo Switch. It included the new 2022 Next-Gen cars, the 2022 roster and some tracks raced in the 2022 season.
There is not much to critique about this game as it is quite frankly just NASCAR Heat 5 with a model change repurposed for the Switch. Many pondered why this was not released on all consoles as a handful of gamers in the community believed this game was made solely to meet the minimum criteria to retain the contract with NASCAR.
No one really knows why this was a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
NASCAR Heat 5 Next-Gen Update
This is where the water gets murky as if it was not already murky enough. NASCAR Heat 5 received an update on Thursday, June 22, 2023… for the 2022 season.
Not only was this DLC, which was not free, a year behind, it did not include any new tracks. Upon further inspection of the textures of the models, and the model themselves, they appeared to be the Nintendo Switch models and textures.
Without any new tracks introduced to the game, it was one of the biggest issues with this DLC.
Additionally, fifth gear did not work at Atlanta, or rather, the old, bumpy Atlanta from the 2021 season. This resulted in a broken AI that was several times slower than the player. By putting it in fourth gear, a gamer could lap the field.
Combined with the multiple delays this DLC faced, consumers were, once again, not happy.
The caveat to this NASCAR Heat 5 Update?
For those who did not own the Ultimate Edition of NASCAR Heat 5, the game would no longer launch past the main menu, leaving a good chunk of the player base without a functioning NASCAR game.
Motorsports Games Sells Off NASCAR License
When this news was announced during the Q2 Earnings call for MSG, they had this to say about the NASCAR license.
“Due to the uncertainty surrounding the Company’s ability to raise funding in the form of potential Capital Financing, and in light of its liquidity position and anticipated future funding requirements, the Company has decided to explore strategic alternatives and potential options for its business, including, but not limited to, the sale or licensing of certain of the Company’s assets. For example, the Company is currently in discussions with a third-party for the potential sale of the Company’s NASCAR license. If any such strategic alternative is executed, including the consummation of a sale of the Company’s NASCAR license, it is expected it would help to reduce certain working capital requirements and reduce overhead expenditures, thereby reducing the Company’s expected future cash-burn, and provide some short-term liquidity relief.”
What’s next for NASCAR?
(Photo: Jordan Higgins | The Podium Finish)
With all the Motorsports Games drama dying down, mainly with looking to extradite the license to someone else, that lucky someone was iRacing.
On Oct. 5, 2023, iRacing acquired the console-simulation game license from Motorsports Games Inc. (NASDAQ: MSGM) and will be working towards releasing a game by 2025 on all platforms.
This is the same team responsible for the release of games like the fan-favorite NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season & IndyCar Racing I & II.
Funnily enough, NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season was the game of choice for die-hard fans looking for a good racing experience, which it delivered with physics and AI well ahead of its time. It still competes with modern games in both departments, as well as an active modding community, which is still well off in the current year, creating new cars, new schemes and new tracks constantly.
Recently, a new mobile game is in the works from the same people that make the F1 Manager mobile games.
Hutch Games is working in tandem with NASCAR to create a new mobile experience for users to manage their own race teams and experience the struggle race teams endure through a season.
Earlier this year, a new arcade racer called NASCAR: Arcade Rush was released. In addition, NASCAR worked alongside games like Rocket League, releasing custom NASCAR skins for the game.
NASCAR has busily worked on its reputation in the gaming world since its most recent official console title with real-world drivers since NASCAR 21: Ignition.
In my eyes, these are some great steps in the right direction for NASCAR. As an avid sim-racer myself, I look forward to whatever it is NASCAR has planned for the future of NASCAR console gaming with iRacing.
