In the South Hall you really need a booth that stands out from the rest. Thrustmaster had no such problem. With the DJ spinning the tunes and the two LCD TV’s with racing games being played it sure caught my attention. 

Written By: Skyler

Pictures By: Skyler

For 2012 they were showing off their new F1 style wheel and pedal setups. This is top of the line in performance. From the finely detailed knobs and descriptions that go with them you can really see that they have taken the time with the R&D. The paddle shifters felt great as a pulled the next gear and the downshifts also were crisp and clean. The overall design is probably as close as your going to get unless you walk into Maranello and steal a real F1 steering wheel.

The pedals that are included in the price also feel great. There is a major difference between the clutch, brake and gas pedals as there should be. They don’t feel spongy or soft in any way. The feedback through the pedals felt just like driving a normal car.

What is really nice is once you get the system you can add on pieces as you go. Want to play a bit of Dirt 3 instead of F1 2012? Fine, just attach the GT wheel and be on your way. You can also add a shifter to the configuration and be really disappointed in your driving skills. It really adds that extra dimension of game play that you are not used to. I did run into a problem while playing, sometimes it would get stuck in Neutral but the clutch would be out and the gearstick in gear. Now if this was a problem with GT5 or the setup is yet to be determined. This did not occur with the F1 wheel only on the GT wheel with the shifter option.

Thrustmaster also makes some really slick flight controllers. This are heavy duty to the max. Even lifting them off the shelf was a task. If you have seen the A-10C Warthog sim then you know what these are all about. From the ridiculous detail to the weight of them they really knocked the realism out of the park.