Official JR East Train Simulator Releasing on PC for Steam

[arkh]

This is super cool. JR East is releasing it's official Train Simulator on Steam. It looks like it's an Early Access release so, at first, it will only include two routes, but looks like they will be expanding to include more routes after it fully releases (although some of that will be via DLC). Here is the page for the simulator which releases on September 19th:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111630/JR_EAST_Train_Simulator/

From the screenshots, it seems like it will mostly rely on actual video footage of the routes. I'm not the biggest fan of simulators like these, but I find they work okay for train simulation, at least. I wonder how realistic the handling and such will be - hopefully very realistic considering it was originally a training tool. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by arkh

[kuro68000]

Product page here: https://www.jreast.co.jp/simulator/

 

Have you tried it? Looks interesting but I'm not sure my computer will run it, might have to try. Hopefully there is an easy mode for people who just want to see the sights.

[Giugiaro]

@mojo it's a video motion simulator, so it shouldn't be a great deal to run, unlike 3D simulators that can really pain a graphics card, especially if the routes/game engines aren't optimised.

[kuro68000]

Gigazine released some gameplay video of it.

 

 

Looks nice and there is an easy mode. The video is a bit juddery but that's to be expected I guess.

 

[Giugiaro]

The only thing that makes me sad about this simulator is the lack or configurable input methods.

My HOTAS only really has use on Flight Simulator, despite being a great combined throttle/brake handle.

[Zeether]

There's been a bunch of updates and DLC added for this as of recent and they have official support for the new Zuiki controller that was released for Densha De Go on Switch. Been wanting to get it but I'm waiting for a sale.

[ao924]

This game got me into Japanese trains and is the whole reason I'm building my layout now. The base game has been patched and expanded and while the dlc is pricey it's a niche topic and we're lucky to get English support so I think it's worth it. 

[Zeether]

Might have to splurge on it at some point then, I do like Ongakukan making their return to this kind of stuff

[ao924]

If you can hold out a few more days, the steam sale starts June 27th. I am hoping the JR east games are included, but Japanese Rail Sim will almost certainly be. I am looking to pick up the Korean game Hmmsim and Korean Rail driving as well.

[miyakoji]

On 6/25/2024 at 1:04 PM, ao924 said:

If you can hold out a few more days, the steam sale starts June 27th. I am hoping the JR east games are included, but Japanese Rail Sim will almost certainly be. I am looking to pick up the Korean game Hmmsim and Korean Rail driving as well.

Are you going to get anything?  The JR East game and expansions do not appear to be included.  Japanese Rail Sim of the Eizan Line is $15 US.  After trying to get into some video games so I could talk about something with my coworkers, I basically accept the fact that I'm not a gamer, not even train sims.

[ao924]

I'm not much of a gamer myself; I've only played Japanese language games for the last few years because they're great ways to learn vocab and grammar. That said I have really gotten into train sims lately and JR East is what got me into this whole n scale mess I'm in now. 

 

It seems like JR East will not be on sale for the foreseeable future. I had the base game but ended up getting Yamanote and Tokaido lines. 

 

Japanese Rail Sim is more "gamey" in that you are given a score and rating at the end of the run like Densha de Go. It's a cool incentive to play but the video quality is 720p which is disappointing but I think it's the more entertaining of the two games. 

 

Don't forget you can always request a refund so you have nothing to lose trying both. 

[E231-500]

For those who are lucky enough to have either the Zuiki DDG Controller for the Nintendo Switch, or even luckier to have the Master Controller II, this video from 'The Yamanote' has a great guide on how to use both these controllers with JR East Simulator.