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Sim (simulated) racing is the collective term for computer racing games which attempt to accurately simulate race driving, as opposed to "arcade" driving games such as Gran Turismo. In general, sim racing titles such as EA Sports' Formula 1 Challenge and Papyrus' NASCAR 2003 are less popular than arcade style games, mainly because much more skill and practice is required to master them. For simracers, however, the payoff comes from the thrill of feeling like one is actually schussing a Formula 1 car through the streets of Monaco or hurling a NASCAR stock car around the high banks of Daytona.
Sim racing is generally acknowledged to have begun in about 1995 or 1996. It was in fact one of the first examples of networks of people brought together thanks to the Internet, as well as the quick growth of PC games. The dates 1995-96 are particularly important as this was when the Microprose game Grand Prix 2 , designed by Geoff Crammond, was released and quickly gained popularity. GP2 was successful not just for its detailed and thorough simulation of the 1994 Formula 1 season, but also for its amazing customizability. A player could change everything about the game: names, drivers, teams, tracks, graphics, physics, carshapes, and more. As a result, it was quickly realized that by simply setting up common parameters, a group of people could form a league and race each other at an equal setting and truly simulate real motor racing.
The Grand Prix series was started in the early 1990s, but really took off once GP2 was released. It remained the standard-bearer for a good seven years, an extremely long life in the computer business. Eventually, after years of development, Grand Prix 3 was released, which was more modern in terms of its graphics and video engine and featured the same customizable structure of GP2. GP3 was ultimately a bit of a disappointment though, for although it was an improvement it was almost instantly outclassed by similar new racing games, which had even better performance and appearance. The Grand Prix series had and still has one huge advantage though: on account of being the most popular and influential racing series in the world, it is one of essentially just two games that can be guaranteed available in stores everywhere, and which thousands of people will own copies of. The great rival to Microprose is EA Sports, who gradually improved their F1 simulator until, with the release of F12003 , they had by most accounts set the new standard. Grand Prix though remains the choice of most series and drivers, and its popularity has continued since the release of Grand Prix 4 .
GP4 was really the long-awaited update to GP2 that everyone had waited for, as it did feature the graphics and performance lacking from GP3. It also featured a major redesign of the in-game menus and options, in some cases more user friendly but in others a bit more labourious and tedious. GP4 is also a much darker game than the others, using a lot of dark black and brown colours in its menus. It is the on-track performance however that really counts, and GP4 excels in 3D projection, terrain mapping, video performance and especially wet weather. Unlike GP3, GP4 did alter the file structure of the original game, so that players had to decipher a whole new path of files and folders in order to modify the game. It has also been much more difficult to customize, and after two years sim racers are still waiting to see if tracks can in fact be changed. GP4 does remain though the game of choice for most leagues in the world.
One particular feature of sim racing is its emphasis on Formula 1, as opposed to other open-wheel racing series, sports and rally cars, and most of all NASCAR. Largely because of this F1 focus, sim racing tends to be overwhelmingly non- American, which is a reflection of the American interest in NASCAR and uniform technical rules instead of the F1 way that highlights intricate and challenging road tracks and each team responsible for building their own car. There are numerous teams and drivers in sim racing leagues from the United States and Canada, but in general participation usually comes from Mexico, South America, EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se and AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count. There are not too many JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honshese or East AsiaEast Asia is a subregion of Asia. It covers about 6,640,000 km², or 15 percent of the continent. The following countries are located in East Asia: China, except for the province of Qinghai and the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, which may also bns seen either, although their market is ever increasing for Formula 1.