(jeffareid) wrote:

> My guess is about 3 years

I think I agree with you on just about everything. I will be very
surprised -- no doubt pleasantly -- if iRacing survives in its current
form for more than a few years... perhaps less if funding is pulled after
any early disappointments. When push comes to shove it is 'just another
sim' no matter how high their hopes of drawing in a wider audience, and
they don't exist in a sim vacuum.

With 40 staff or so to support (judging by interviews given in the past)
that's going to require very significant revenue streams, and I don't see
it coming from the current financial model.

I may be wrong, but once the public release happens they'll finally get
an idea what kind of pent up demand there is for their product. I'm
anticipating some disappointment, though they may have enough funding in
the bank to allow for a very slow & steady (hopefully) build up in
subscribers.

We'll see. It's a brave attempt to break the simming mould, and I'm
increasingly finding myself inclined to keep subscribing until after the
public release (at least) just to keep in touch with how iRacing
responds.

> If iRacing were to cease being a subscription service
> and converted into a purchaseable game, what would
> players be willing to pay for it?

I think there's no alternative to a basic subscription service (with a
premium bolt-on for higher leagues available?), given their aims. However
the subscription price needs to come down to the point where people don't
have to think twice about continuing even if they don't race much. That
would probably involve scaling down their operation and aims, but it
might ensure the project's survival for more than a short time once
Henry's investment money runs out. He can;t have a bottomless wallet.

Andrew McP

PS Currently I believe (from reading the forums) there are between 3 & 4k
subscribers. That's not bad considering its a closed programme. However
so far invites have only gone out to those most likely to subscribe. I'll
be genuinely fascinated to see what happens after the public debut.