If iRacing is popular then sim racing as a 'whole' COULD be in BIG trouble.
iRacing may or may not be of higher quality than any other sim. From what I have read I am certainly not convinced it's that much better then anything else out there.
But this is my point - if iRacing is successful at attracting a large percentage of the sim community, including top simmers, the fragmentation will have major effects. Sims like LFS will suffer due to lack of leagues, and drivers.
So, while iRacing grows, the other sims may struggle. The main problem is iRacing's growth is dependent on the already existing sim community. That's where 99% of its sales are going to come from. I certainly can't see iracing, with it's pricing structure, being a noob friendly sim.
the main reason most of us are into sim racing is the LFS demo being free, and most sim software being so cheap and 100% accessible 100% of the time. You could practice ALL the time, and not worry about wasting money on a dumb subscription.
A noob to iRacing will soon get frustrated with a large learning curve and un-subscribe, though I doubt many will subscribe in the first place .
So if iRacing doesn't attract noob simmers, while at the same time destroying every other sim out there we could see a market slow down, and development of new sims with new ideas.
Of course iRacing, and it's community won't be affected and that's fine, and it's all ifs and buts!!
I am just making this observation, and it's just business at the end of the day.
I know for sure I won't be recommending any people to sim racing if iRacing is the only populated one. It's just too pricey and pointless to justify me recommending to someone to make such an investment. Right now it's pretty easy. Get a wheel, graphics card (if needed) and LFS/netKar and your set....FOR LIFE!
But I have to admit iRacing would be just simulating reality -
motorsport is exclusive and way too expensive anyway!
I thought that was the advantage of sims - accessibility- I guess not anymore