Retro Racing Games That Paved the Way for Modern Sports Simulations

Simulator games aren’t something new. In fact, they’ve been around for decades. Yes, some of these retro games didn’t deliver a lifelike experience, but at least they laid the foundation of modern simulator games.

What makes sports simulation games so exciting? Well, there is something about these games that always sounded appealing to gamers. The idea of becoming something in the game that you cannot in real life, and experience what it is like to be a true athlete.

When it comes to simulation games, we can immediately sense a trend that has been around for decades. Gamers love sports simulator games. Sports like moto racing, horse racing, skiing, football, and others.

So, what are the best retro racing games that created this multi-billion-dollar industry we have today?

Indianapolis 500

First, we have the Indianapolis 500, which was quite a popular game back in 1989. This is a simulation game that brought true racing to PCs, where the attention to detail wowed players.

So, what was the big thing with the Indianapolis 500? Well, this is a game that was one of the first to introduce realistic physics, modeling tire grip, in-depth car setup, and even aerodynamics.

All of these things are now standard in racing games, but back in the day, this was something revolutionary. Unlike arcade races, this game demanded precision, vehicle tuning, and setup tweaking just to get that millisecond advantage.

It kind of laid the foundation of the modern F1 games that we now have.

Gran Trak 10

Not many people know this game, but there is a good reason for that. We are talking about a dinosaur of a game that was released back in 1974. This was one of the first games to hit arcades, making it the first racing game where players could drive cars with a wheel, pedals, and a gear shift.

Now, the graphics and mechanics were terrible, but tha