Racing

Racing games typically place the player in the driver's seat of a high-performance vehicle and require the player to race against other drivers or sometimes just time. This genre of games is one of the staples of the computer gaming world and many of the earliest computer games created were part of this genre. Emerging in the late 1970s, this genre is still very popular today and continues to push the envelope in terms of graphics and performance. There are two main sub-genres within racing: arcade and simulation. Arcade racers tend to have exaggerated physics, fantastical settings and course layouts, and unrealistic damage handling. Simulation racers focus more on accurate handling and performance of real-world cars, many times allowing the player to simulate partaking in real-world racing events, such as the Indianapolis 500 or the Dakar Rally. Simulation racers tend to allow the player to alter the performance of the vehicles, from the displacement of the engine to the gear ratios of the transmission, but this has also been applied in a more arcade-style racing game Need For Speed: Underground.
A popular subgenre of the racing game is the kart racing game, which simplifies the vehicle handling and introduces various obstacles and other quirks to the racetrack.

Racing simulators
Simulation style racing games strive to convincingly replicate the handling of an automobile. They often license real cars or racing leagues, but will use fantasy cars built to resemble real ones if unable to acquire them.
Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu. The most common aids are traction control (TC), anti-lock brakes, steering assistance, damage resistance, clutch assistance, automatic gearbox, etc. This softens the learning curve for the difficult handling characteristics of most racing cars.
The Formula One World Championship has a fan base all over the world and is one of the racing series with the most simulation adaptations.
Some of these racing simulators are customizable, as game fans have decoded the tracks, cars and executable files. Large internet communities have grown around the simulators regarded as the most realistic and many websites host internet championships.

Arcade racers
Arcade style racing games put fun and a fast-paced experience above all else, as cars usually compete through odd ways. They often license real cars and leagues, but are equally open to more exotic settings and vehicles. Races take place on highways, windy roads or in cities; they can be multiple-lap circuits or point-to-point, with one or multiple paths (sometimes with checkpoints), or other types of competition, like demolition derby, jumping or testing driving skills. Popular arcade racers are the Daytona USA series, the Rush series, the Cruis'n Series and the classic Out Run.

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