As terrific as console racing simulators like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsports are, the PC master race prided in the fact that the PC-only sim racing games were so much more dedicated to realism in ways that console hardware simply couldn't deliver. Now, the PC/gaming console line will finally be crossed as the renowned PC title Assetto Corsa is slated to arrive on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on April 22.
“We are also working on porting Assetto Corsa to consoles, which is completely based on the code designed and developed for PC, but instead of freezing the development of the PC version, we brought forward the overall process in parallel, creating a symbiosis that takes advantages from each platform,” stated Kunos Simulazioni Co-founder and Executive Producer Marco Massarutto in the official Assetto Corsa blog. “This has guaranteed a successful process of optimization and a different and improved approach in development that will be beneficial for everyone in future. Therefore, those fans who believe that the porting Assetto Corsa on console has the capacity to ruin the 'magic' of the PC version can rest easy, as we can assure you that this is something that will definitely not happen.”
Massarutto's decision to bring the full PC performance and experience to console is absolute, especially when he considers the level of performance the likes of Gran Turismo and Forza are bringing to the table as well as the high expectations already from the fans.
“Our only chance to compete with those giants is to push forward its strong point, the driving experience it can achieve, because that is the factor that depends solely on our know-how, experience and will and not on the budget at hand. Driving experience means laser-scanned tracks, advanced tyre and dynamic modelling as well as all the attention and care we have reserved to any car present in Assetto Corsa.” Massarutto continued to explain in the Assetto Corsa blog post.
However, it looks like console gamers on Xbox One will still be stuck with the short end of the stick. While the team managed to tune Assetto Corsa to run on full-HD on the Sony PlayStation 4, Massarutto admitted that the Xbox One will only run at a slightly inferior 900p.
“We fought a lot to have full HD also on Xbox One, but there’s no way for us to do it,” Massarutto told Eurogamer. “Forza did a very good job – but they have dedicated libraries. Regardless, they did a really good job. When I played the game, I thought ‘wow’. They’ve done such a good job with the visuals.”
According to critics including Ars Technica, Assetto Corsa isn't as visually beautiful as Drive Club and its career mode is not as immersive as Gran Turismo. That said, Assetto Corsa demonstrates a pure and honest hyper-realistic physics engine that delivers a wonderfully satisfying drive. Assetto Corsa is expected to offer about a 100 different vehicles and a selection of 20 track configurations. Finally, expect DLC's and updates to periodically provide new cars and content.
