Nacon is expanding its involvement in sim racing with its own gear line dubbed Revosim - and a new sim called Endurance Racing Series. We tried both at gamescom 2024.
Plenty of sim racing news emerged from gamescom 2024, with most being focused on hardware. Nacon also followed that trend, but not exclusively - we got to play an optimized version of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, and the very first pre-alpha of Endurance Motorsport Series at Nacon.
In addition to publishing video games, Nacon also designs hardware and took the opportunity to show off their first direct drive 9 Nm wheel base bundle under the Revosim brand. We were also able to try this out, even with Assetto Corsa Competizione, and gained some very exciting insights.
The Revosim hardware mounted at Nacon's booth (as Michel points out), and the info sheet for the gear - you can click on the image to enlarge and read it.
Nacon Revosim First Impressions
Let's start with the hardware before we turn to Endurance Motorsport Series. Nacon wants to be on the market for Christmas 2024 with this direct drive bundle called Revosim Pure and compete with manufacturers like MOZA Racing, Fanatec, and more. With a 9 Nm base, they are aiming at the mid-range segment.The design of the wheel base actually looks like a fusion between the two mentioned manufacturers, and the quick release also looks familiar from MOZA, Simagic or PXN. However, this does not mean that you can use your Moza wheels directly with the Revosim base out of the box. When we asked Nacon, we were told that the chip ensures that compatibility is only possible within their own ecosystem.
To start with, the RS Pure wheel is available with a diameter of 30 cm, artificial leather, 12 buttons, two shift paddles, rotary knob, mini joystick and some LEDs on the top and the sides. The latter can signal the active profile, for example. The whole thing is designed as a wheel hub, so it will be possible to mount other wheel shapes in the future.
In our opinion, the wheel would have benefited from 1 or 2 more rotary encoders, thumb encoders, or dual clutch pedals. However, a cool detail is the smartphone holder, which is mounted to the wheel base via a slot nut, allowing you to transfer telemetry to the Revosim app via Bluetooth and use your phone as a dashboard. This mount is included in the package and is so far the only detail that makes the Revosim product original or unique in this sense. Nacon might also offer this holder as a standalone product.
A look at the rear connection ports of the wheelbase tells us that Revosim will offer other peripherals in addition to pedals in the future. This is where it gets really interesting: Nacon already offers licensed controllers for Xbox and PlayStation. It seems only logical to do the same for simracing hardware, doesn't it?
This leaves us with the RS Pure pedal set with the 100 kg loadcell. With the three red (read: hard) elastomers, I found the braking pressure to be really decent. Especially for sim racing beginners or advanced drivers, this pedal set should be sufficient for a long time and can be expanded later with a clutch pedal.
Image: Nacon
During my first lap in the Assetto Corsa Competizione with the Revosim wheel, I immediately had one thought: Moza R9! I used this wheel as a daily driver for several months in 2023 and the Force Feedback, including slight clipping in ACC, is extremely close with the Revosim 9 Nm. And that is good news, because everything felt very direct, clean and surprisingly final for a pre-release product.
Sim racers should have a real alternative here in the future, especially if Nacon manages to offer this Revosim Pure bundle with 9 Nm base and 100 kg load cell for less than €1000, ideally with console support. Then most people will not even care about the lack of originality.
Endurance Motorsport Series First Impressions
The next big game project in addition to TDU Solar Crown is not lacking in originality, quite the opposite in fact. Endurance Motorsport Series can be seen in our video above in an early version. Sound, handling, car models and graphical details are still far away from the final product, so we cannot give a detailed verdict yet.Nevertheless, we would like to thank Nacon and KT Racing for allowing us to film the screen and tell you a bit about it. The basic idea of the title brings a breath of fresh air to the racing genre, as the approach is based on a team experience with in-depth management aspects during an endurance race. You can take on the role of driver or engineer, switching between the cockpit and the pit wall at any time with the swap button.
If you play alone, the AI takes on the other role. Especially cool: We can also manage two cars at the same time, optionally in different classes. This means that four human players are possible per team. You can either race against an AI grid or - and this is the big vision of Endurance - in a huge online race against other teams.
Nacon told us that realism is paramount, the driver only sees speed, RPM and fuel in their HUD. You will not find things like position or even a track map - just like in real motorsports, you get all additional information from the guys in the pit lane.
When you sit there, you have access to a number of screens that can be easily controlled using the steering wheel and a few buttons. Only here are weather radar, stint planning, car damage overview, managing the AI driving style and more to be found. Similar to F1 Manager, we can instruct our drivers to drive more aggressively or defensively with less risk.
In multiplayer or co-op, you are not limited to one role - instead, you should be able to switch at any time, not just when the car goes into the pits. We have already been able to drive with a steering wheel, so the title is being developed from the ground up - based on the engine of WRC and TDU SC - with steering wheels in mind. Whether it will have a hardcore sim racing feel remains to be seen, as so far, the Force Feedback and driving experience has been rather rudimentary.
The AI was not even close to where it should be in our demo race at Fuji. However, elements like full course yellows or a weather change already worked. The track details, pit stops and lighting also make a good first impression. There is definitely a lot of work to be done before 2025 - the ideas are great, though!
The biggest competition for the sim racing target group is certainly Le Mans Ultimate, which will be hard to beat in terms of handling and physics simulation, and will offer similar cars and tracks. Nacon confirmed to us that Endurance Motorsport Series will include some LMDh and GT3 cars as well as the Nürburgring GP, Spa, Le Mans 24h and Fuji. The Nordschleife is not included yet, but could come later.
Overall, racing fans can be happy that Nacon and KT Racing continue to show their commitment to our genre and are working on exciting projects. We will continue to keep an eye on the hardware and the Endurance Motorsport Series!
What are your impressions of the Nacon Revosim hardware and Endurance Motorsport Series? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
