Insight from the Fanatec Faithful
A few takeaways from recent reddit post that helped me to understand why Fanatec users choose their products over competitors'.
I went to reddit (r/Fanatec) searching for an answer to the following: Why did you choose Fanatec over other brands? Fanatec is the consumer facing brand of Endor, a German company that makes steering wheels, wheelbases, pedals and accessories for hardcore, sim racing enthusiast.
1) Fanatec Offered High Quality Products for a Reasonable Price
If this exercise proved anything it is that Fanatec sits at the pinnacle of quality and value (at least in the eyes of their users). 27% of responses referenced the quality of Fanatec products and the price that users were paying. Obviously sim racing is expensive so these two factors are relative. On one hand, the majority of Fanatec’s product line is priced well below their higher-end peers and higher than their lower-end competitors, Thrustmaster and Logitech. Many Reddit users cited the Club Sport v2.5 being the best bang for your buck wheel base on the market. Users almost unanimously agreed that while Fanatec was more expensive than low-end manufacturers, the step up in quality and performance well outweighed the costs.
2) I Was Looking for a “Mid-Range” Upgrade
Feeding off of the first response, many users were looking for something nicer than offerings from Logitech or Thrustmaster but did not want to spend the money for higher-end equipment like direct drive wheels. I am loosely defining “Mid-Range” as more than $600 to less than $1500 for wheelbase, steering wheel and pedals. Fanatec is the only real player at this price range1, leaving users with the options of using Fanatec or forking over more cash for high-end hardware. That is unless you are a console player.
3) I Was Looking for Console Compatibility
Being passionate sim racer playing on console is a lonely affair. Many manufacturers and game developers avoid console as there are more limitations to what the gaming systems can handle vs. their purpose built gaming PC cousins (as well as licensing fees and additional costs). Thrustmaster and Logitech are big players in the low-end space for console players, but if you want anything else that is compatible with console, you will have to look to Fanatec. Fanatec wheelbases are cross compatible with PC in addition to console allowing for users to change their platform without needing to buy new hardware.
4) I Really Like the Ecosystem
Being able to upgrade when budgets allow is another attractive feature Fanatec users cherish. Fanatec has built their product offerings around a comprehensive ecosystem which allows users to use any wheel, wheelbase and pedal combination they desire. In addition to these core items, most of the accessories Fanatec offers are compatible with the other products in the ecosystem. This mix and match feature allows players to create different set ups for different games, enhancing the experience.
5) Plug & Play
The final response that I would like to share relates to ease of use. In the world of gaming, accessories that are made by third parties typically take a little “tinkering” to get working right. One of the big draws of Fanatec products is that everything can plugs into the wheelbase. From there, a single USB cord connects to your console or PC. This, combined with software that Fanatec makes available to all customers, helps users minimize the time they are spending making tweaks and adjustments to get hardware to work. Letting players spend more time “racing” instead of making their wheel work is a massive appeal for players. Many games also offer preset settings for Fanatec products further reducing set up time to almost 0.
What Thrustmaster Users are Saying
In an attempt to try and make this survey a little less bias, I asked the same question in the r/Thrustmaster subreddit. This subreddit is much smaller than r/Fanatec (1,500 vs 9,100) and as such I received far less responses. The biggest knock that Thrustmaster users had on Fanatec was the price. Fanatec products are expensive and that price range doesn’t work for everyone. This should come as no surprise as Fanatec brands itself as a premium product in the space. Another user noted that if you dig into a lot of the specs for Thrustmaster products, you get pretty comparable force feedback strength (measured in nm of torque) for a lower price. Strength isn’t the only necessary metric to determine the quality of a wheelbase but it is an interesting takeaway. A few other users noted that Thrustmaster is a better value for quality in some instances, albeit that quality is likely lower.
The final takeaway I had was from a user that commented on Fanatecs lack of supply for many of their products and shipping/import costs. This came up in both the Thrustmaster subreddit and the Fanatec subreddit as there are several parts of the world were getting Fanatc products is very costly/difficult. These regions are primarily parts of Asia, the Middle East and oddly enough Canada. Many reddit users (and management) have noted that due to abnormally high demand for Fanatec products during 2020, many items have been unavailable for long periods of time. I’m not sure how many potential orders were lost due to lack of availability, but it is at least one European Reddit user.
Conclusion
I found this informal survey very helpful in understanding what it really is that draws sim racers to Fanatec. While being the only player in town certainly helps cement their position as the “go to” brand, it is clear that Fanatec sits at the pinnacle of value for many consumers. This combined with the ease of use and flexibility to mix and match products helps to create an enjoyable experience for players.
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If you are interested in seeing the original posts, I have included the link below.
r/Fanatec - Why Did You Choose Fanatec?
r/Thrustmaster - Why Did you Choose Thrustmaster?
If you would like to view a breakdown of the responses, see the below link.
Disclosure: I hold positions in the securities discussed. Nothing written here is intended to be taken as investment advice. Do Your Own Due Diligence.
Thrustmaster does have offerings in this price range so not technically true, but this reflects how users view Fanatec vs. Thrustmaster