iRacing is overpriced

[Hor-hay]

Coming up to the end of my 3 month sub and I've enjoyed my iRacing time. But got to say it's way overpriced. Yes they provide a good service but compared to other online games it's a rip. I'd be happy to pay a sub but the extra cost for tracks and cars is ridicules. I think at the very least all tracks should be free.

I just hope they get some competition to force them to lower there prices.

 

[xnorb]

It is planned that way the entry level series are free or require very small amount of purchases and combining with the ability to miss 4 of the weeks you can do almost all rookie and D class series with minimal to none purchases.

The iRacing.com guys are no idiots, they know how to reel you in

 

[Fritz Anker]

Really good discussion here, and glad it hasn't gone down the typical internet vitriol sewers. Here there is an obvious bias against iRacing ("other" racing sim) - not sure why, cost can't be the only thing, maybe it's just fun to hate the top player. Not sure. But it's good to hear we all agree:

1) iRacing offers truly accurate simulated racing at all its venues all its cars
2) It's expensive comparing it to any other racing title (including GTA V haha)
3) Once you get past the initial buy in, it brings amazing value to its members.

Now the beauty or curse of iRacing's pricing is how you elect to manage point 3. But it's your choice. For even a smaller price you can even try it out first and see if it fits your style. That is truly how they've refined their business model and still manage to grow and offer amazing quality in both content and service (altho this season has been a bit rocky). I don't know their margins, but it doesn't quite look like they're in Apple, Inc. territory. Seems they make a decent margin to keep growing and investing.

Which is what we all want.

 

[xnorb]

Right,
iRacing plays definitely a very important role in simracing and will hopefully inspire other companies to offer a more "serious" racing experience on top of their regular service. (Like the soft safety rating in AC as a start)

Would still hope that the entry costs were a bit lower because joining the GT3 season right after hitting D class would cost a fortune. But on the other side that means that people usually stay longer with SRF and Mazda?

Still not a fan of regulating progress by monetary ways, but i guess overall it works

 

[Johand]

i just payed 50 bucks for a year to access the iracing forum the game itself is a big let down imo

sounds / graphics / tracks and cars , no rain or night after all these years , i played this game back in 2008 , i see no real improvements.

i played this game with a 980 ti waterforce and altough the fps are high , it is not fluid.

i don't care about the 50 bucks because i only bought it for the osw topics on the iracing forum.

what game shoiuld i buy for a nice v8 supercar experience????

 

[xnorb]

You pay for iRacing to get pretty clean races with well filled grids every hour.
Something no other game or sim offers you.
And come one, weren't you more pumped and excited in an iRacing race than racing in any other sim? I was even little bit shaking in my first 2 races due to high adrenaline

what game shoiuld i buy for a nice v8 supercar experience????

Stock Car Extreme?
And i think there's a mod available for rF2.

 

[Metzger82]

You pay for iRacing to get pretty clean races with well filled grids every hour.
Something no other game or sim offers you.
And come one, weren't you more pumped and excited in an iRacing race than racing in any other sim? I was even little bit shaking in my first 2 races due to high adrenaline


Stock Car Extreme?
And i think there's a mod available for rF2.

If he is disapointed by iRacing graphics, he will puke when try Stock car extreme or RF2

I dont know why people still buy iRacing and expecting cool effects and graphics. You have youtube to check this if you want cool visuals and big wreck fests get pCars.

 

[P4ncak3]

Coming up to the end of my 3 month sub and I've enjoyed my iRacing time. But got to say it's way overpriced. Yes they provide a good service but compared to other online games it's a rip. I'd be happy to pay a sub but the extra cost for tracks and cars is ridicules. I think at the very least all tracks should be free.

I just hope they get some competition to force them to lower there prices.

i totally agree, grossly overpriced, they should remove subscriptions and price it at $60 - $70

 

[BrunoBæ]

40€ vs 219$ with 6 GT3 cars and 15 tracks.
And there are people who don't understand the price argument?

Your compare of the pricing in Raceroom vs iRacing is probably a small eye opening for some.
Eventhough you havent included the small rebate iRacing offer if you buy bulks

Personally I aborted my membership after about 5 years NOT because (the rather high) price cost using iRacings service - but because they still have the most unrealistic tire model of all competing sims(IMO).
A lot of experienced people have described this monstrosity as a socalled "binary" tire model
Now you have grip - now you dont.

In my oppinion this is iRacings real problem.
Because they are doing most of the other things in their 24/7 service very competent.
Which in my oppinion makes offering of this TM monstrosity way more disasterous than if a mediocre racing game was offering the same car behaviour.

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: Its not iRacings fault that in a lot of official races you can experience the same 1st corner carnage and the same kind of wreckers as in other sims open virtual races.

 

[Lokpes]

Your compare of the pricing in Raceroom vs iRacing is probably a small eye opening for some.
Eventhough you havent included the small rebate iRacing offer if you buy bulks

Personally I aborted my membership after about 5 years NOT because (the rather high) price cost using iRacings service - but because they still have the most unrealistic tire model of all competing sims(IMO).
A lot of experienced people have described this monstrosity as a socalled "binary" tire model
Now you have grip - now you dont.

In my oppinion this is iRacings real problem.
Because they are doing most of the other things in their 24/7 service very competent.
Which in my oppinion makes offering of this TM monstrosity way more disasterous than if a mediocre racing game was offering the same car behaviour.

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: Its not iRacings fault that in a lot of official races you can experience the same 1st corner carnage and the same kind of wreckers as in other sims open virtual races.

I just subscribed to I racing 3 months.

What make me crazy is the prices for the cars and tracks.

They could do a pack like mazda open wheel pack for €€. because buy every track in the game it will be really expansive.

What i like it most is the racing system whit qualify, practice.

and a lots of races all the time.

 

[BrunoBæ]

I absolutely dont want to defend iRacings price level - but!!!
But if something (a service and/or some commodity) is rated too expensive then this rating is complete bullocks if it is not rated against some similiar product.
But what is similiar to iRacings 24/7 service?
If it is rated against other more or less casual targeted racing games its absolutely in the expensive end - but!!
If it is rated against what you have to pay a year for being able to enthusiastic and determined participate with similiar people in a sport as often as you want - then the anual payment for the iRacing service could be considered as rather low.

Hehe even if you include a weekly visit on the local pub and ‎gulping a few pint of lager as a pursuit of a sport or hobby

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: I have to admit that when I consider how many hours of committed joy I personally have every week using my prefered racing game (Raceroom at the moment) then I actually think the price for this commodity is too low.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

If it is rated against what you have to pay a year for being able to enthusiastic and determined participate with similiar people in a sport as often as you want - then the anual payment for the iRacing service could be considered as rather low.

yep, but only once you've gotten past the first two years, where paying sth. like 500 - 800 € a year is easily done. For all the fun I got out of it, only one of my other hobbies (running the marathon) gets close to the bucks / hour ratio iRacing can give you if you are in it for the long run (no pun intended). This year I will have paid sth. around 70 euros and gotten two new tracks and one new car plus at least two fun hours of racing each week, which is about all the novelty my system can digest, I'm a slow learner and adapter

 

[BrunoBæ]

From I was 15 to about 45 years old I played badminton on the next highest level (just next level under the Danish pro league).
And because badminton is close to be Denmarks national sport this is badminton on a pretty high and serious level.
And that did cost me about €670-1000 per year (excl transport).

But if I compare it with what I have spend on iRacing in my 5+ years membership - then it was a lot lower per year.
Yeah quite a lot lower!
So....

That is the reason I dont want to compare the anual price of iRacings service with the rather casual attitude of paying for a random racing game and then use it once in a while when you dont know what else to do.

Hehe even when I was an iRacing member it was rather easy to pinpoint members on the track who would be better off spending their money on the mentioned more random racing game - than on iRacings 24/7 service.
Pinpointing from their track behaviour - and often also from their goofy online messages.

 

[Gevatter]

I always saw iRacing as a hobby instead of a game, and a hobby usually comes with some cost, be it gardening, sports, model building or, indeed, simracing. Like you invest money in hardware for your simracing hobby, you also invest in monthly fees and content for your iRacing hobby.

 

[Jason Mullin]

I built and raced high end R/C 1/10 scale road cars for years.
Last build was a $1600 Team Associated TC6, which wrecked out in the 3rd race of the series needing $400 in repairs.
For me, Fanatec and iRacing are dirt cheap compared to other hobbies.

 

[stenovitz]

Come on. iRacing DLC content is way too expensive, nobody can run from that.
Activated an account about 3 weeks ago. I've elevated well through classes but now demands a lot of further expensive DLC material to move further on.
Simracing has been a hobby for me for 35 years. And fine for me to move back to Assetto Corsa, GTR2, rFactor, rF2, Copa Petrobras de Marcas, GT Legends, Grand Prix Legends, STCC, STCC II, STCC10, Race07, RaceOn, Stock Car Extreme, etc. All with tons of free quality mods available and simracing joy for still several decades.

In my naïve thoughts buying the most expensive yearly 'contract' with iRacing through Steam, I would have thought more or less all the official DLC material.

I think I'll still play iRacing once in a while, I think the base sim engine is actually quite better than criticized here, but though I don't pay a fortune for simracing. iRacing should think of an idea to make a package including all their official material, so the real total price will be visible. I think either AM or R3E do have that opportunity, if I'm not mistaken.