Project CARS had a major presence at last weekend’s London Motors Show as gamers were invited to try out Project CARS’ Game of Year Edition on Oculus Rift-equipped Vesaro motion rigs.
The setup did not only attract plenty of curious gamers but also plenty of celebrities as Ben Collins, Tiff Needell and Piers Morgan all popped by to give the sim a try. For everyone who wasn’t on site and missed out on the action, Slightly Mad Studios have put together a little recap of the two days.
Last weekend, Slightly Mad Studios celebrated the launch of Project CARS: Game of The Year Edition at London Motor Show. After a long hiatus, the Motor Show was back in England???s capital at Battersea Evolution. It was a baking hot day in Battersea Park, bringing in a ton of car fans, racing fans, families and sim-racers to the show.
Along with all of the awesome cars, tracks and new features in the Game of The Year Edition, it was also a chance for celebrities, pro drivers and the public to experience racing in Oculus Virtual Reality for the first time. The queues for our two Vesaro motion sim-racing rigs were huge all weekend, starting with the VIP evening on Thursday.
Amongst the big names who came to try this experience were journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan, and former Tottenham Hotspur star, French international footballer, David Ginola.
Both of them were thrilled by the experience and at times they couldn???t believe what they were seeing. Several journalists from Autosport Magazine also gave it a try, with one saying ???this is the most amazing thing I???ll see all year.???
During the public days, another Project CARS Handling Consultant, Ben Collins drew big crowds with some spectacular displays of skill. The former Top Gear Stig showed off some of his favourite cars and tracks to the eager audience. In particular, Ben was keen to try his hand at Formula B and LMP1 cars in VR at his beloved Oulton Park and Le Mans.
Even legendary British motoring figure and broadcaster, Tiff Needell was game to experience VR. The Fifth Gear presenter selected the BMW M3 GT at Cadwell Park for his run, screaming and shouting at the AI drivers as he made his way around the course.
Fascinatingly, the Oculus VR was able to trick these pros into believing that they were driving a real car, acting purely on instinct. Both Ben Collins and Tiff Needell had small offs during their VR runs and both of them instinctively went into the brace position to protect themselves. If VR can trick professional racing drivers into believing that they are inside a real car, then it really is a special experience. It just might be the future of sim-racing.
Back on the upstairs rig, our Esports Manager, Joe Barron got into a battle with sim-racing YouTuber, Matt ???Yorkie??? York. The two traded fastest times back and forth until both of them had outpaced Nicolas Hamilton. Yorkie came out on top on day 2, but Joe was back in front by the end of the show.
We had a fantastic time at London Motor Show and it was great to see so much enthusiasm from the public. We had massive queues for both VR rigs all weekend long and everyone loved the experience. Lots of people went away with copies of the Project CARS: Game of The Year Edition and some exclusive merchandise too.
Finally, a huge thank you from everyone at Slightly Mad Studios to the London Motor Show organisers for inviting us to take part and we hope to see you in Battersea Park again in 2017.
More??info on the Project CARS Game of the Year Edition is available here.
