The first racing video game was Atari’s Gran Trak 10, an arcade game released in 1974 featuring black-and-white graphics that pitted players in a race against the clock.  Racing games really took off in 1982, when Namco released Pole Position to arcades.  Racing games have come a long way since then in terms of graphics and simulation, but the basic premise of the genre has remained unchanged:  There’s just something fun about spinning a plastic wheel, steering a car that won’t hurt you when it crashes. 

Newer games like Need for Speed: Undercover simulate street races, police chases, and more at 180 mph.  That’s a lot to handle using a simple Nintendo Wii remote.  That’s why the top players prefer the arcade action provided by a realistic racing wheel like the Logitech Speed Force Wireless.  This thing simulates every bump, blowout, and brake, and it makes you wonder just how much more advanced they’re going to make these things.

Will the next generation of racing wheels include turn signals?  I wouldn’t mind mine coming with a couple of cup holders.  And how can crashes truly by simulated with any realism until they start packing airbags into these things?  I know there’s something to be said for matching the Wii’s sleek white design, but I’d feel a lot better about the leather steering wheel cover I wrapped around my Speed Force Wireless if it looked a little more like the wheel of a 1996 Chevy Lumina.