Does being a driver make you better at driving games?

[Kieran76]

I was riding to work today on my new to me sccoter and I was wondering if being a real life rider made me better at bike games than a non-rider? I have Moto GP at home and haven't played it in ages but remember being useless at it.
Thing is I can't drive a car, do you think I would be better at driving game if i did drive or are they totally unrelated?

[martTM]

I think it makes you appreciate them more, specifically the more realistic ones. I don't drive and I can't stand realistic racers like Gran Turismo... bore me to tears. Just give me an accelerator that I can hold down and plenty of opportunities for powersliding. Oh, and the odd power-up and boost pad.

[Welrain]

I get in trouble during my driving lessons for arcade driving.

[VR46]

I rode motorbikes for 8 years before getting Moto GP2 and think it helped, but not enough to make a difference to worry about (same with driving games), although being able to drive helps when using manual gears in games.

[mid]

After years of driving games I found it an absolute nightmare learning to drive, as you don't use your peripheral vision in videogames, just stare out the front screen all the time. Which is why I can't play most games from the internal view now - I want to be able to see out of the sides of my car with a glance, and powersliding on OutRun2 from internal completely does my head in, as I want to see where I'm going, not where my bonnet points.

[Commander Marklar]

Some games can give you a better understand of the physics involved in driving but no, I don't think they make you a better driver.

[Ratso]

I don't drive myself, but my girlfriend always hits the cone gates in PGR2 as she says it's because she's used to sitting over to one side as opposed to dead in the middle, which does make sense.

Also, despite having been in a couple of pretty nasty real-life car accidents and a horrendous head-on double decker bus collision in which she could easily have been killed (NB: None of these were her fault!) she loves playing Burnouts 2 & 3...

[Geoff D]

I don't think so - I've never played a driving game that's emulated real life driving to a believable degree (even the mighty GT)

[MartyG]

I ridden a bike on a track, I've played just about every bike game out there. There might be a small part that let's you understand taking the the right line on a circuit. Apart from that they couldn't be further removed.

Riding a bike around a track at full pelt is bloody scary, you don't hurt yourself when you come off in a video game so the adrenaline rush simply can't compare.

Edit to properly answer the question: From another point of view, you know how you expect a bike to handle in a game, and playing MotoGP3 on PS2 on multi tap, it was amusing to see two of us who are bikers, glide around the first corner and the other two, none bikers, glide effortlessly into the barriers.

[Madbury]

I actually believe the reverse to be true.

Driving games have made me a better driver (fact). I learnt how to cadence brake from playing games (can't remember which one though). That's saved me a number of times in real life (only recently been driving a car with ABS)

Also I taught myself heal-toe techniques and double clutch shifting after watching InitialD (yes I am that sad) although I did do some wider research on the net to read up about what's involved. It's made a huge difference to my driving, giving a much smoother and balanced ride at any speed.

[JibberX]

I learned to flick a football over my head from FIFA, sad but true, needless to say the presentation is good, but the actual execution is terrible.

As for driving games, like martTM, once you can actually drive, "realistic" driving games and Gran Turismo are kinda like, well I could just go and do this myself now, so crazy driving games, such as SanFran and OR2 work for me.

And as MartyG inferred travelling at 150mph in real life evokes other emotions more than what position or time you have.

[Ratso]

And as MartyG inferred travelling at 150mph in real life evokes other emotions more than what position or time you have.

Not so much if you do it all the time I wouldn't imagine; I doubt that Valentino Rossi is thinking, "Wheeeee! I go so fast! I am bloody scared!" as he burns round the track.

[Ian(not Ian)]

MartyG.
I too ride motorbikes (Speed Triple), but I dont drive a car. I think up to now ALL motorbike games haven't come close to reproducing the control, or feel of real-life biking. MOTOGP 1+2 being the worst offender IMO. Riding Spirits 1+2 isn't too bad, but I doubt any biker will ever learn anything from these games.

Cars are different. I think Gran Turismo probably could teach the tin box pilots a thing or two.

[MartyG]

Rossi probably doesn't most of the time, but I'll bet you he's bricking it when he (very occasionally) comes off. And it's also probably the reason I'm not a MotoGP rider.

I'd say that Riding Spirits is more accurate in a simulation sense, but I reckon MotoGP (Xbox) actually gives you more of the feel, and is by far the more enjoyable game for me. Except the pits are wrong on the Donnington circuit.

[winky]

The question asked is not if driving games make you a better driver but if driving makes you better at driving games.

I would have to say no but as mentioned above it does make it more fun, because you can do things you wouldn't normally do ie push a car to its limit and actually smash other cars, do 360s or drive into cones.

Cant wait for GTA SA so I can knock down people on cycles!!!