Fanatec Porsche Turbo S Wheel, Finally FFB on XBox360 and one wheel for all platforms

[jonboy1066]

Anyone else heard of this new wheel?

http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=250&lang=en

I've been avoiding it as I thought that even though we'll finally have a good Force feedback wheel with Clutch and 'H' Pattern Shift on the XBox360 it was looking like it was going to be way too pricey for me to even think about.

Then, I heard that it may be compatible cross platform. I didn't think that was possible so I've done some looking around and a lot of research and discovered that it is indeed compatible with PS3, XBox360 and PC!

Also from all of the reviews I've seen the current Fanatec Porsche wheel (Which is only PS3 compatible) is widely considered to be better than the G25

So I looked further and found that not only is the new S version compatible across platform, it's also been made compatible with the M$ Wireless pedals and the G25 Pedals in case you prefer to use your existing pedal set.

They are selling a limited run of these wheels (10,000) which are being released March next year, there are three different packages that you can buy.

One is the "Pure Edition" wheel only (No Pedals and no Shifters), which requires you do buy the RF Dongle seperately for use with the PS3, @ 149 Euros

Another is the "Porsche 911 Turbo S Wheel" which comes ready to go with Pedals, shifters RF Dongle and a load of other bits and pieces to make it all Cross Platform compatible. @ 249 Euros

And another is the "Clubsport Edition" which has some pedals that look pretty special and some great nice to have features but it comes in @ 400 Euros


I still didn't think owning one of these wheels was within reach, but I mentioned it to my Missus in passing and the next thing I knew while I was cooking a spag bol she called out............."It's Ordered!"

What a great Missus!

Now I've just gotta wait until March for it to arrive, then I'll be able to play, RACE Pro, Forza2, GT5P, & Ferrari Challenge without the mess around of having to switch wheels and seat position every time.

 

[daan]

Also from all of the reviews I've seen the current Fanatec Porsche wheel (Which is only PS3 compatible) is widely considered to be better than the G25

The previous Porsche wheel is PC compatible too. I also wouldn't say it was "widely considered to be better than the G25". I think the general consensus is that the G25 is still the better wheel.

And could you have made that sound less like an advert?

 

[Clark]

Meh, who cares about playing FM2 on it? I ordered a Clubsport Edition, I went the extra mile since I'm a Porsche fan. Now if only release a 917 wheel with layered beech wodd gear stick...

 

[jonboy1066]

The previous Porsche wheel is PC compatible too.

Yeah I know, that's not really remarkable as the DFX,DFP,G25 are all PC compatible and to be honest I don't play games on my PC so forgot about that part, but the clincher for me is the XBox360 compatibility which I never thought possible.

I also wouldn't say it was "widely considered to be better than the G25". I think the general consensus is that the G25 is still the better wheel.

Every review and comparison I've read or watched would say different.

And could you have made that sound less like an advert?

Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like an advert, but how else do you pass on information about something that may be of interest to other forum members, without providing all of the relevant information?
I'm just genuinely excited about this wheel as it solves a lot of problems for me, particulaly the one of feeling let down by the shocking FF wheels available on the market for XBox360. The lack of FF was the only thing that was going to put a dampner on the release of RACE Pro for me, and what kept me coming back to the PS3 occaisionaly was the need for a decent FF fix, now I'm getting one of these wheels there may not be much need to even bother turning the PS3 on for a while, but eventually, once a really good racing game is released for the PS3 I'll have the hardware to play it as well without needing to swap wheels over and adjust my Playseat.

Meh, who cares about playing FM2 on it? I ordered a Clubsport Edition, I went the extra mile since I'm a Porsche fan. Now if only release a 917 wheel with layered beech wodd gear stick...

LOL Hello again Duffers, are you following me around?

TBH if I'm lucky enough to get my hands on this wheel before RACE Pro is released then there's not much choice, other than to Play Forza2 with it, but yeah I'm more eagerly awaiting RACE Pro now

 

[Clark]

I thinks it's also pretty reassuring that thiis wheel passes Porsche quality standards, aka it's bulletproof

 

[Clark]

I've been signed up here a while, not really posted much though. I'm just looking around everywhere for news and discussion on the wheel lately.

 

[Oner]

Every review and comparison I've read or watched would say different.

I could actually say the same about the G25 being better especially when it comes to compatibility as the Fanatec had issues with a previous GT5P update and it took a few days to get it fixed. But to each his own. Me, I prefer to use something that has been tested by thousands of people with great results and unmatched support from a well known World wide company.

 

[jonboy1066]

I could actually say the same about the G25 being better especially when it comes to compatibility as the Fanatec had issues with a previous GT5P update and it took a few days to get it fixed. But to each his own.

Absolutely, to each his own, the comparisons I've seen are from people who have both G25 and the current Fanatec wheel so I think they've been pretty fair comparisons.

And one small compatibility issue with one game that took a few days to sort out doesn't seem too bad to me when you consider the fruitless wait we've all had for GT5 and the problems that arose with Ferrari Challenge.

What I'm most excited about and most importantly for me is the compatibilty cross platform from PS3 to XBox360, especially as the only let down with the 360 of late has been the lack of Force Feedback. Other than that Forza2 has been by far the best and most complete racing sim for any console. GT5P and Ferrari challenge have been OK but the only things that keep me coming back to the PS3 is the chance to use my DFP for some good FFB and racing with my friends.

With the future looking very bright for both consoles what with RACE Pro due out on 360 in just over 2 months, Codies F1 game, Forza 3 on the distant horizon and eventually GT5 may get sorted into a finished game some time this century, it'll be great to have one good FFB wheel for both consoles rather than shelling out for 2.

 

[oqvist]

Yes 360 have a stronger line up then the PS 3 definiatly. Not just because I just don´t like the feel in GT5P . In general but especially regarding racing titles. But as for GT5P polyphony is aware of this wheel now and they will work together so I am not worried about future support issues. Also noticed that there is a porsche 911 wheel entry in the latest Race 07 builds so it´s getting support by the developers for sure. From what I read they work with simbin on Race Pro as well. Logitech is a bigger company for sure so if you are afraid of bank ruptsy they are a safer bet most likely. But well they feel more focused on the mainstream than the hardcore simracers which I think shows by a lot of the design features on the G25 and lack of future upgrades for it.

 

[Biggles]

This begs the question: why was the G25 (& other Logitech wheels) not compatible with the 360? The answers given at the time were:

1) M$ wanted to keep all peripheral sales/profits in-house.

2) Sony insisted that Logitech not make the G25 360 compatible.

I'm not convinced about either of these answers as 1) I'm not sure the M$ wheel would have been that profitable anyway, & 2) I don't believe Sony would have sufficient clout to be able to dictate to Logitech in this way.

Either way, the lack of support for a decent wheel is what decided me against buying a 360/Forza 2 & instead going the PS2/GT4, & then PS3/GT5P route. A new, completely cross-platform wheel would be great & an inducement to consider looking at the 360/Forza 2 & 3 & RacePro.

Just had a good luck at the Fanatec website & I must say I'm impressed by the range of products they have planned. Furthermore, as the prices on the website appear to be the same in US (& CDN) dollars as in Euros, this makes the products a pretty good deal in North America. I'm a bit confused about the different options available, but it seems like you would be able to order just the wheel for $149 & use the rest of the components from a G25.

The Rennsport stand seems like a great idea, allowing for easy (& light) set-up in a living room, rather than a more cumbersome full cockpit. I do wonder, however, whether the stand will be stable enough for hard racing.

 

[jonboy1066]

This begs the question: why was the G25 (& other Logitech wheels) not compatible with the 360? The answers given at the time were:

1) M$ wanted to keep all peripheral sales/profits in-house.

2) Sony insisted that Logitech not make the G25 360 compatible.

I'm not convinced about either of these answers as 1) I'm not sure the M$ wheel would have been that profitable anyway, & 2) I don't believe Sony would have sufficient clout to be able to dictate to Logitech in this way.

As far as I understood (and I'm just a mere Paramedic not a computer genius so although I could fix a heart attack I have no real idea about the black magic that is involved in the making of games and peripherals) in laymans terms, the incompatibility was to do with different ways that the Force Feedback signal was produced and sent to the wheel. One uses something called XID and the other uses HID. Rather than the problem being any particular company's demands (Surely demands from one company to another not make something so that they take the lions share of a market would attract unwanted attention from a monopolies commision).

I guess, with Fanatec making the PWTS ("Porsche Wheel Turbo S") wireless that they somehow get around that incompatibilty issue.

I cpould be wrong so if anyone knows better please feel free to correct me.

I'm a bit confused about the different options available, but it seems like you would be able to order just the wheel for $149 & use the rest of the components from a G25.

You would be right there particularly about the pedals and the same goes for existing Microsoft Wheel owners who want to buy a Force feedback wheel and save money by using their Microsoft pedals with it.

Although I don't think that the G25's stick shift will be compatible with the PWTS

The Rennsport stand seems like a great idea, allowing for easy (& light) set-up in a living room, rather than a more cumbersome full cockpit. I do wonder, however, whether the stand will be stable enough for hard racing.

Yeah that looks great and a good solution to the problem of space for the more casual racer who (Or more likely who's missus LOL) doesn't want the house taken over with seats.

There is a simillar looking proiduct called the "Race Stand Pro" which does pretty much the same thing, I've only heard good things about it and not seen any complaints about stability.

 

[Wolfe]

I cpould be wrong so if anyone knows better please feel free to correct me.

I was actually about to bring up the same point. The official answer, from Logitech's own forum:

There are two answers to this issue.

First, at this point in time, Logitech is not licensed by Microsoft to develop a force feedback steering wheel for Xbox 360 - only corded controllers. The DriveFX wheel is, effectively, an Xbox 360 controller that is shaped like a steering wheel and has a force feedback motor in place of the standard vibration motors.

Second, even if Logitech were licensed to make a force feedback wheel for Xbox 360, there are significant technical limitations which prevent these wheels from functioning on on Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 features controller and force feedback architectures (XID, device-based force feedback playback) that are significantly different from the way our wheels work on PC, PS2, or PS3 (HID, host-based force feedback playback). It is not possible to enable Xbox 360 functionality with a software or firmware update.

Logitech understands that our customers wish to use our steering wheels on multiple gaming platforms. We have made significant efforts to ensure that our PC wheel drivers support our PS2 wheels, and our PS2 force feedback SDK supports our PC wheels. PS3 games that support Logitech force feedback also support the same list of wheels. At this point in time, these are the only three platforms with which it is possible to have a single force feedback wheel be compatible. Were it possible to effect a firmware or software change to enable Xbox 360 compatibility with our existing wheels, we would do so. Unfortunately, however, until Logitech is licensed by Microsoft to design and manufacture force feedback wheels, no Logitech force feedback wheels will function on Xbox 360.

(http://forums.logitech.com/logitech...message.id=2308&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)

 

[Biggles]

Thanks for that Wolfe. However, I admit to still being a bit confused. Why would M$ not license Logitech, but then (apparently) license Fanatec? If there are technical limitations (which I don't fully understand) which stand in the way of implementing FFB on all platforms, how will Fanatec accomplish this?

Like you Jonboy, I use a smaller TV permanently set up (in my home office) with my G25 (but no "cockpit"). MY missus would not appreciate having a dirty big cockpit set up in the living room in front of the 52" Samsung, & moving the thing around does not seem very appealing. But a more compact racing stand like the Rennsport might be a more practical option.

 

[bevo]

I have a stupid question. What does fanatec mean by saying 6+1 shifter? It seems that the 6+1 shifter gets special support of some kind for the 360 only. I'm not sure what they mean by this.

 

[Biggles]

I have a stupid question. What does fanatec mean by saying 6+1 shifter? It seems that the 6+1 shifter gets special support of some kind for the 360 only. I'm not sure what they mean by this.

I'm guessing it means 6 gears = reverse.

 

[speedyK]

The Clubsport version sounds good:

Porsche 911 Turbo S Wheel "Clubsport edition":

* Limited to 2000 units
* All features of the Porsche 911 Turbo S wheel but with Clubsport pedals instead of the standard pedals
* Fully adjustable wired pedals fully made of metal
* Pressure sensitive load cell sensor
* Maximum brake force adjustable
* Contactless magnetic sensors for gas and clutch with unlimited lifetime
* Vibration motor on brake pedal to indicate blocking tires (only in games which support this feature)

I would want to invert the pedals. Looking at the pics, it seems not to be as modular as the G25 pedals. The Fanatec ones all hinge on one tube

– not so easy to configure if you wish to copy a real car's set up (not everyone wants a 911 pedal copy!).

P.S. Anyone know anything about the discount coupons they mention? Seems like you can get a discount somehow – but where, how and how much?

 

[bevo]

The earlier you pre order it, the larger the discount. At first you could have saved 100$, now I think it 80-90$. The longer you wait the less you save.

 

[nissan tuner]

How can they make their only 360 wheel "Limited to 10000 units"?

 

[speedyK]

The earlier you pre order it, the larger the discount. At first you could have saved 100$, now I think it 80-90$. The longer you wait the less you save.

Yes, I realise that – it is quite clear if you go onto the webshop page.

BUT, on that page there is also a box on the left hand side where you can give in a code number from a discount voucher (which presumably would give an additional discount – otherwise it would have no point!).

 

[oqvist]

How can they make their only 360 wheel "Limited to 10000 units"?

Logitech have the same deal though not necessary the exact same amount of course . I guess it´s something about the contract they make with the manufacturer in China they get payed for doing 10000 units then they are free to produce something else.. Cheaper then just laying in orders all the time a way of cutting production costs I assume.

As for the voucher for the previous Fanatec wheel for example the beta testers got to buy one for half the price with help of the voucher system. I guess they will have like adds as well where they can spread out codes as well to promote it

 

[Biggles]

The "limited edition" thing makes no sense to me at all, except if that's all they think they are likely to sell anyway. I guess if it's successful & the demand is there they would just slightly change the look & manufacture a new "edition".

 

[oqvist]

May be wise to start small anyway. Fanatec isn´t that big and it costs having 10000 of units in stock that doesn´t get sold anyway. So make perfect sense to me. As you say hopefully it´s so good and sells so good they can create a new batch identical or improved

 

[speedyK]

As for the voucher for the previous Fanatec wheel for example the beta testers got to buy one for half the price with help of the voucher system. I guess they will have like adds as well where they can spread out codes as well to promote it

Has anyone seen any of these ads with a voucher with a code number to claim a discount – and, if so, where?

 

[Biggles]

May be wise to start small anyway. Fanatec isn´t that big and it costs having 10000 of units in stock that doesn´t get sold anyway. So make perfect sense to me. As you say hopefully it´s so good and sells so good they can create a new batch identical or improved

Well, I can see why they wouldn't want to invest in manufacturing more than the 10,000 units to start with, but why bother calling it a "limited edition"? I don't think that is going to encourage people to buy it, on the contrary, I would think it might make people think Fanatec doesn't have serious commitment to the long-term viability of the product.

 

[Fanatec...]

the decision to make it a limited edition was to increase the demand and this certainly did work if I look at the current sales figures. We developed the electonics completely new and it required a lot of investment. We must be sure that we get back this investment so I prefer to sell 10k for sure instead of "may be" selling more.
If you look at the prices of the old Microsoft sidewinder wheel or the red Momo on ebay you will see the value of our decision.

 

[oqvist]

Wise especially in these harsh times

 

[Biggles]

the decision to make it a limited edition was to increase the demand and this certainly did work if I look at the current sales figures. We developed the electonics completely new and it required a lot of investment. We must be sure that we get back this investment so I prefer to sell 10k for sure instead of "may be" selling more.
If you look at the prices of the old Microsoft sidewinder wheel or the red Momo on ebay you will see the value of our decision.

Mr. Fanatec: far be it from me to argue with you about marketing strategy - in the case of your particular product, you may be right. However, logic dictates that making something a "limited edition" will not, overall, increase the demand, it will only decrease the supply. Ultimately, the demand for the product is going to depend on the quality of the product & how desirable it appears to the consumer. If the demand is there, the interests of Fanatec, & its customers, will presumably be best served by selling as many wheels as possible.

I would have less interest in owning some kind of "collectors" item & more interest in being able to race with a sim wheel that is used by many fellow sim racers. As a consumer, I certainly hope that the new Fanatec wheels turn out to be excellent quality, so that they are a viable alternative to Logitech, & that they sell well, to ensure the long-term availability of the wheel & replacement/update parts. 👍

PS. does anyone (perhaps Fanatec's marketing division) have any idea how many G25s have been sold to date?

 

[oqvist]

G25 is also limited edition you know

 

[Biggles]

G25 is also limited edition you know

No, I wasn't aware of that. But "limited edition" can mean anything. During the "collectibles" plates/figurines etc. boom, they used to put out "limited editions" that were, in practice, limited to whatever they could manage to sell. The "limited edition" was just a marketing gimmick to con people into thinking they were making an "investment" in something that was, in reality, worthless.

In the case of Fanatec, the wheels are not "investment" objets, they're functional items, that people will buy to use for sim-racing. My suspicion is that the "limited edition", as with the G25, has more to do with being limited to what they actually expect to sell. Fanatec's marketing strategy seems to be more based on having timed price increases to encourage pre-sales & to allow them to raise capital in advance to cover their manufacturing costs - which seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

PS. Since posting this I've had a look around online, but although everybody describes the G25 as being "Limited Edition", nobody seems to know what it's limited to! Which is kind of my point...

 

[Fanatec...]

You a right, biggles. It does not increase the demand. But we expect that the demand is much bigger than the supply so it will speed up the sales and this happens at the moment.

Nobody should buy the wheel to earn money by reselling it. I guess at the moment you can get quite good deals in other markets.

We are not only fighting against other wheels. Some users might consider buying a second console or a couple of games so to make the supply limited helps them to make a decision now. One way or the other.

Next week we will assemble the first production prototypes and we will send them to community testers as soon as they are running stable so you get an idea about the quality of the wheel.