With the Green Hell for Assetto Corsa Competizione around the corner, the hype is high. Having the Nordschleife in racing games used to be an even bigger deal, though.
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
For the longest time, having the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Assetto Corsa Competizione was unthinkable. Then, the 24-hour race at the ‘Ring became part of the IGTC schedule starting in 2024, opening the door for the most-requested track to finally be added to ACC. The wait will be over on April 1, as we recently found out and developer Kunos Simulazioni subsequently confirmed.
Many sim racers cannot wait – and rightfully so. Generally considered to be the premier GT3 simulator, ACC having the Nordschleife means bringing together what should be together for many. Rewinding the clock 20 to 25 years, however, and any game having the track was a much bigger deal.
Now, how to cram this monster of a circuit into a turn-of-the-century video game? Image credit: racingcircuits.info
And it has to be said: The iconic circuit is still a challenge to create for a sim racing title as well. Just ask Kunos' Executive Manager Marco Massarutto, whose reaction to the unexpected license materializing for Assetto Corsa Competizione was "oh my god, not now, not now".
These days, the Nordschleife is a bit like a seal of quality for racing simulators. No matter what series or era a title covers, one of the first questions that pops up seems to be “Does it have Nordschleife, though?”. The 20+-kilometer behemoth is regarded as one of the biggest challenges in sim racing, much like in real racing.
Naturally, that meant that if there was any chance of having a virtual Nordschleife, it would have had to be on PC. Enter Grand Prix Legends: The 1998 cult classic portrayed the 1967 Formula One season, which, of course, included the German Grand Prix in the picturesque Eifel mountains. Not only did the game feature realistic driving physics, but also a full-length Nordschleife as it would have been in 1967. As accurate as 1998 allowed, of course.
This marked the first time that the track made an appearance via an accurate representation, full length and all, in a racing game. GPL required a high-end PC of the time to run properly, obviously, but it laid the groundwork for this. Considering the driving physics and the track itself, the game was likely the ultimate challenge in racing games at the time.
The first game to include a full version of the Green Hell on consoles was one that tends to get overlooked these days. Project Gotham Racing 2 led the way in this regard on Xbox, having been released in 2003. The Nordschleife in PGR 2 was not super accurate, being wider in most places, with some of the elevation changes being off as well. But it did what seemed impossible just a few years earlier.
However, the console Nordschleife most seem to remember came to PlayStation 2 instead, courtesy of Gran Turismo 4. The game released in late 2004 in Japan and early 2005 in North America and Europe, and the arrival of the Nordschleife on PS2 was one of its main draws at the time. It was much more accurate than the PGR version, and a very impressive recreation of the infamous circuit for the time.
Gran Turismo 4featured the first accurate representation of the Nordschleife on PlayStation 2. Image credit: Polyphony Digital / IGDB
Today, any sim that is not focused on a single series feels incomplete to many if it does not have the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in it. As one of the most popular sims out there today, ACC joining the ranks of those titles that have it certainly is a big deal – and possibly the most eagerly anticipated DLC release of 2024.
When did you first encounter the Nordschleife in a racing game or sim? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
For the longest time, having the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Assetto Corsa Competizione was unthinkable. Then, the 24-hour race at the ‘Ring became part of the IGTC schedule starting in 2024, opening the door for the most-requested track to finally be added to ACC. The wait will be over on April 1, as we recently found out and developer Kunos Simulazioni subsequently confirmed.
Many sim racers cannot wait – and rightfully so. Generally considered to be the premier GT3 simulator, ACC having the Nordschleife means bringing together what should be together for many. Rewinding the clock 20 to 25 years, however, and any game having the track was a much bigger deal.
And it has to be said: The iconic circuit is still a challenge to create for a sim racing title as well. Just ask Kunos' Executive Manager Marco Massarutto, whose reaction to the unexpected license materializing for Assetto Corsa Competizione was "oh my god, not now, not now".
These days, the Nordschleife is a bit like a seal of quality for racing simulators. No matter what series or era a title covers, one of the first questions that pops up seems to be “Does it have Nordschleife, though?”. The 20+-kilometer behemoth is regarded as one of the biggest challenges in sim racing, much like in real racing.
Nordschleife in Racing Games: Grand Prix Legends Pulls It Off In ’98
In the late 1990s, however, this was quite different. Getting a track of this length into a game was an immense challenge with the hardware available at the time. Remember 2000’s Le Mans 24 Hours on the original PlayStation? That had a shortened version of the Circuit de La Sarthe in it, even though that was about 7 kilometers shorter than the Nordschleife.Naturally, that meant that if there was any chance of having a virtual Nordschleife, it would have had to be on PC. Enter Grand Prix Legends: The 1998 cult classic portrayed the 1967 Formula One season, which, of course, included the German Grand Prix in the picturesque Eifel mountains. Not only did the game feature realistic driving physics, but also a full-length Nordschleife as it would have been in 1967. As accurate as 1998 allowed, of course.
This marked the first time that the track made an appearance via an accurate representation, full length and all, in a racing game. GPL required a high-end PC of the time to run properly, obviously, but it laid the groundwork for this. Considering the driving physics and the track itself, the game was likely the ultimate challenge in racing games at the time.
PS2 & Xbox Make Console Versions Possible
Just a few years later, consoles were catching up. Both the PlayStation 2 and the all-new Xbox upped the game in terms of performance, making it possible to have the Nordschleife on much more accessible systems.The first game to include a full version of the Green Hell on consoles was one that tends to get overlooked these days. Project Gotham Racing 2 led the way in this regard on Xbox, having been released in 2003. The Nordschleife in PGR 2 was not super accurate, being wider in most places, with some of the elevation changes being off as well. But it did what seemed impossible just a few years earlier.
However, the console Nordschleife most seem to remember came to PlayStation 2 instead, courtesy of Gran Turismo 4. The game released in late 2004 in Japan and early 2005 in North America and Europe, and the arrival of the Nordschleife on PS2 was one of its main draws at the time. It was much more accurate than the PGR version, and a very impressive recreation of the infamous circuit for the time.
Gran Turismo 4featured the first accurate representation of the Nordschleife on PlayStation 2. Image credit: Polyphony Digital / IGDB
Nordschleife in Racing Games: Countless Examples Available
Since then, countless other games and simulations have followed suit. Many of them feature the ‘Ring as first-party content, but modded versions are available for seemingly every PC title. rFactor, GTR2, F1 Challenge 99-02, even BeamNG.drive have or had versions available, just to name a few.Today, any sim that is not focused on a single series feels incomplete to many if it does not have the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in it. As one of the most popular sims out there today, ACC joining the ranks of those titles that have it certainly is a big deal – and possibly the most eagerly anticipated DLC release of 2024.
When did you first encounter the Nordschleife in a racing game or sim? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
