Fanatec Confirms Partnership with Gran Turismo

Fanatec Gran Turismo Partnership 001.jpg
Sim hardware developer Fanatec has announced it will partner with Gran Turismo to “see the two entities work together to develop new racing peripherals that will use advanced force-feedback technology.”

Continuing their run of exciting news in the sim racing world, Fanatec has now confirmed it will be developing hardware for the Gran Turismo series in partnership with PlayStation Studios and game developer Polyphony Digital.


The partnership announcement comes not far removed from the pre-sales of the much-anticipated CSL DD wheel based from Fanatec. The €349 direct drive wheelbase has caused a lot of stir in the sim racing community with its aggressive pricing. The details of the hardware Fanatec intends to provide as part of the Gran Turismo partnership is not known yet, but a Playstation compatible version of the CSL DD seems the most likely candidate.

The news could pose a challenge to one of Fanatec’s hardware rivals, Thrustmaster. Thrustmaster has been the official hardware supplier for the FIA Gran Turismo Championship series in recent years, with contestants using their T-GT wheel and pedal set. In late June of this year, Thrustmaster announced their T-GT II wheel and pedal set, which once again carried the Gran Turismo logo and looked to be the leading candidate for Gran Turismo 7’s official competition wheel on the Playstation 5. It remains to be seen whether developer Polyphone Digital will choose Fanatec or Thrustmaster hardware for future tournaments.

The news came to us via an official press release from Fanatec and their social media channels. The statement was brief, but Fanatec declared their "aim to reduce the distinction between sim racing and real-world racing." No release date was given as part of the announcement.

Gran Turismo Sport is the most recent release in the GT series. Despite nearing 5 years in age, the title still enjoys enormous popularity, with concurrent player counts still close to 200,000. GT Sport was released in 2017 and should be succeeded by Gran Turismo 7 in 2022. The next title in the series is expected to be released on both the Playstation 4 and Playstation 5 consoles.

What do you think of this announcement? Would a comparatively inexpensive direct drive wheel for Playstation interest you? Let us know in the comments below.
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About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Premium
Sadly no that's a real Package. it looks hideous
It looks too similar to Thrustmaster's wheel. Polyphony had their hands all over the design process. I bet there is someone at Fanatec who is glad as hell the project is signed off. Sheesh!


And that is another reason that officially endorsed wheels sucks eggs! To make it special Fanatec had to toss in the rotating LED display to save this mess.

Edit. That big "GT" is just a logo. The tuning display is just above the logo. The rotating LED is not on this wheel.
 
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It's not about elitism, it's about the fact that this game doesn't need a steering wheel.

Be less sensitive, I didn't mean to hurt you.
No race game needs a steering wheel to be played. Thats why it is a game and not reality. Most kids confuse these two with each other.
 
Come on, no - only the last post is negative and only because I'm trying to make the information as simple and accessible as possible. Everything else is an opinion which you may or may not agree with, but trying to change mind based on the fact that someone thinks you are wrong - is a frankly absurd idea.

If I was trying to convince someone that RF2 is a great simulator, my fingers would be wiped off the keyboard by now.

But in any case, I heard your recommendation. :thumbsup:
Nah dude, since your first comment in this thread you've just been really rude and negative, just let others enjoy what they want to do or are you just so insecure about your own interests that you have to **** all over everyone else's? These news are good for sim racing as a whole so why not just be happy for our little community instead of just starting **** here that no one wants to read.
 
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Nah dude, since your first comment in this thread you've just been really rude and negative, just let others enjoy what they want to do or are you just so insecure about your own interests that you have to **** all over everyone else's? These news are good for sim racing as a whole so why not just be happy for our little community instead of just starting **** here that no one wants to read.
You do not want to read my posts, but took the time to voice your dissatisfaction? That may sound insulting to you, but there is a function to ignore the message. Also, don't forget to add those who liked my first post to ignore, in case you thought they were negative people too.
 
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I am beginning to look at Fanatec as the "Amazon" of the sim community. Looking to dominate and then push everyone to adhere to their "vision".
 
Statement from the competitor:

1626334801096.png


Great compliment for Thomas & Co.

Ooh and congratz to Polyphony Digital with Fanatec as your preferred partner! Great choice!
 
If Fanatec will release a PS-compatible DD wheel with GT branding, I'll wait to purchase until they come out. As long as it isn't $1,000 or something.
 
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I guess, take the price if a CSL DD and either the McLaren rim or, the WRC rim, and add $50? And that is at either power supply price point.
 
Statement from the competitor:

View attachment 488054

Great compliment for Thomas & Co.

Ooh and congratz to Polyphony Digital with Fanatec as your preferred partner! Great choice!
Good news, competition is good for us customers. For sure, the guys at Thrustmaster need to defend before they can attack and it's not an easy proposition when Fanatec already has products it can sell. I was expecting Thrustmaster to give us hints of their DD wheel as soon as Fanatec announced the CSL DD but they didn't, which means they weren't ready and that they need to rush now.
 
Good news, competition is good for us customers. For sure, the guys at Thrustmaster need to defend before they can attack and it's not an easy proposition when Fanatec already has products it can sell. I was expecting Thrustmaster to give us hints of their DD wheel as soon as Fanatec announced the CSL DD but they didn't, which means they weren't ready and that they need to rush now.
But what says that Thrustmaster will bring out a DD?
 
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But what says that Thrustmaster will bring out a DD?
Well, their statement says "later this year we will reveal new products which will cover the different desires of the different sim racing communities". I don't know what that exactly means but for sure it means they will offer something to cover at least the mid-range wheel segment if not the high-end. What could that be? With Fanatec bringing the Direct Drive technology to mid-range wheels i don't see much choice.
There is a difference between "revealing" and selling though, so who knows when their wheels will be available. Of course they could just buy a company like Simagic and rebrand their wheels, that maybe is quick to do.
 
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i don't think its so easy. First they (Thrustmaster) need a new QR system with maybe conversion parts for exiting rims and a wireless receiver and power bridge on the base side. Without the possibility to reuse their very widespread rim base, they would be totally newcomers as simagic or other small DD manufacturers. Why then anybody should buy a thrustmaster DD when using the old rims isn't possible. The current QRs are definitely not useful for DD's
 
Premium
Well, we know Thrustmaster will be showing something, and they are not taking a step back... What ever that means. Maybe they are saying, they are never going to give you up? Cause I really felt that I was being Rick Rolled when I read that blurb. That's time I am not going to get back, and I learned a bunch of nothing from reading it. Oh well. I look forward to a BT LED Display that's ecosystem agnostic and that works on PC.
 
Statement from the competitor:

View attachment 488054

Great compliment for Thomas & Co.

Ooh and congratz to Polyphony Digital with Fanatec as your preferred partner! Great choice!

Sounds like corporate robot speak to me. We'll have to wait and see what they have to offer. The draw of TM products is that they work very closely with retail stores and for folks like me not in the USA, getting fanatec after-sales support is literal hell. If they are working with polyphony it means they will have to make their product accessible to the normie simracer market and hopefully that means becoming more accessible outside the states.

TM better up their game because the TGT-II just won't cut it, it is not going to entice existing sim-racers to upgrade at that kind of price knowing what it actually is. And it is too expensive for the casual market to choose over a T300RS GT Edition. If Fanatec can get their product to more people and have better support globally, I think TM is really going to be in hot soup.
 
You do not want to read my posts, but took the time to voice your dissatisfaction? That may sound insulting to you, but there is a function to ignore the message. Also, don't forget to add those who liked my first post to ignore, in case you thought they were negative people too.
I'm just saying that you don't have to be so negative and rude to others for being excited about something they're passionate about, it's uncalled for.
 
Premium
There appears to be differences on the GT DD Pro wheel base when compared to the CSL DD base and prototypes. The CSL DD has a square(ish) shape while the GT DD Pro seems to be rounded. There's also a different front plate for the GT DD Pro, compared to the CSL DD. I hope these changes don't land on the CSL DD, cause it is a rather ugly looking wheel base. It's like the wet cat version of the CSL DD.

I'd post a link, but the bing image URL is 2 paragraphs long. So you'll have to find additional leaked images on your own. At least until I can update this post once I get home.

Edit. Here's the image. I am sure this thing made the rounds.


GT-DD-Pro-788x1057.jpg
 
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