Iracing steam

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Saw this on Facebook today, looks to me like iracing is sending out a plea to get the game green lit and passed on to steam......from the comments it doesn't look too good.

A quote from the interview that I might be looking a bit to deep into, alarmed me but doesn't surprise me as the iracing community in the grand scheme of things really isn't that big with only 40k members from start up
Why is steam a good thing for iracing
" draws a bigger base of gamers, which will allow us to continue future development "
Take it how you want
How I see it is the development has got to be pretty pricey to have official content and as much as we all bitch about the price once the hardcores have all the content there's really not much income coming in after that and what turns off the new comers is the price.
I understand why there doing this it has it's ups and downs
Bigger audience means more cash and hopefully more content and faster development
On the down side there's gonna be a massive increase of bad racers which could tarnish there reputation but in all fairness we were all rookies at one point!
I read everyday about people freaking out over $2 cars for RE3 I can't wait to see the reaction when they have $12 cars $15 tracks and need 8 to run a season.
Iam curious if it goes to steam if they will ditch the membership fee, price chop or have an offline mode?
Personally I am not for steam but I do support iracing and hope they continue to produce more content but with my racing experience to date with steam has not been great as it's managed to screw up the racing titles in some shape or form.
I see iracing as a high end niche product that just doesn't fit in an arcade based system but will just have to see?

[smokey]

plus there will be a massive influx of racers that really don't understand that its a content & keep paying game I have seen this a fair bit on oculus forums where guys know oculus works there then realize theres no offline, want something better than Xbox controller, have to basically buy everything etc then they realize ya its hard too lol then a lot of them get pissed off about it all. I think iRacing is more word of mouth type of thing more hardcore

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Sure they will make some quick money from the timmies with there parents credit cards, but will the increase of bad drivers turn the dedicated core users off?
My .02 is that those looking for a hardcore sim have already got into iracing and I doubt moving to steam will increase there overall dedicated users....I believe will see a lot of comers and goers.
What they should focus on to gain more members and money is focus on advertising and reevaluate there pricing.
How I see it if they go to steam there direct competition will be RE3 due to there purchase content plan....not comparing physics and overall layout but if I was a noob looking for a good racing game available on steam and these two are infront of me it would be hard to deny RE3 isn't the better deal
$2 cars multiple cars per class tons of tracks ($4)no annual fee, offline single player mode better graphics and sound with annual sales vs $12 cars $15 tracks and an annual fee with no single player
Iracing is a luxury sim for those wanting the most and can afford it.....it's like buying a car pretty much everyone can afford a honda but those with the cash would buy a high end....both do the same thing just ones fancier and if hope of increased funds is the main reason for this the honda will always gain more revenue
The only way I can see it being successful is if they re work there whole system and basically sell out.
It's would be unfortunate but I today's business world it's pretty much pointless running a business if the profits aren't there. Simbin is going the same route, a few months back they were bought out by klause Wolfsomething the owner of k&w springs which is the sponsor for most euro based racing series and when the supporters asked why they choose there current direction the response was simply " there's no money in hardcore sims and the community is quit small, we need to create a top notch game that catters to all skill levels so we can attract a bigger crowd and help them develop into quality racers" currently there's no quality race games that offer a full blown assisted intro level to a decent no assist sim level...or seperates them in online races. So I guess you can look at it as some what selling out or building for the future to gain more followers which essentially pretty smart
More racers, more money, more future products and licenses for there titles

[zero7159]

I have no problem with iRacing increasing its user base, including via Steam. iRacing has grown exponentially since it started up in 2008. It now has over 40,000 members and an impressive content list. What it lacks in number of cars it more than makes up for with track selection and types of racing. It will never boast the number of cars we see in GT5 or Forza 4, but it currently has 60 tracks, with more coming in the near future, including Auto Club Speedway and Bathurst. iRacing clearly has the market cornered in oval racing. Its NASCAR offerings are unparalleled. Nothing comes close. With the completion of Auto Club Speedway, and the addition of new Nationwide and Late Model cars, it will go to an even higher level.

Where iRacing is lacking, however, is on the road side. ISR's recent interview with Tony Gardner was very instructive as to the future of iRacing, and sim racing in general. Tony made it pretty clear that iRacing needs to increase its user base in order to fund future development. It also is clear that the lion's share of the development will be on the road side. iRacing's F1 car, the Williams, is getting old and they eventually will need to offer a new F1 car. In response to Shaun's question about the F1 car, Tony said that a new F1 car will come eventually. iRacing also needs to add more F1 tracks. It has some, including Spa and Silverstone, but it is missing many, including Nurburgring, COTA and Catalunya. COTA was recently scanned, but who knows how long it will take to release it. iRacing also needs to add a new IndyCar, as well as more Indy tracks, including Long Beach. iRacing also needs to add more GT cars. The current offerings are great, but there is not enough variety.

What all of this tells me is that iRacing is not resting on its laurels. Rather, it is thinking big and working on becoming the best sim out there across the board, including on the road side. That won't happen without an increase in its user base. I do not see iRacing radically changing its pricing structure. It is a hardcore sim and such precision and structure costs $$$. Tony did mention that possibility of an iRacing Lite product, and he noted that the new consoles are an attractive possibility. It would not surprise me if we see an iRacing Lite product on the PS4 and Xbox One in the next five years.

The less hardcore racers are already part of iRacing. I consider myself to be one of them. I rarely win any racers, I largely do it to enjoy the experience of racing cars that I will never race, let alone see in person, in my real life. Fixed series racing has become very popular in iRacing and guess what, iRacing is doing just fine. There is plenty of room at the table for a wide variety of skill levels, hence the genius of the splits in the online official races. iRacing is the only sim I have ever played where I can regularly race those at my skill level. That hardly ever occurred in Forza and GT, nor does it occur very often in rFactor. I have over 200 top 5 finishes in iRacing oval and road official races, which does not count league racing, where I have dozens more. In 2Old4Forza events, I can count on one hand the number of top 5 finishes I had. Same goes for GBR rFactor races.