Farming Simulator propels agriculture into the mainstream

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Only 10 days after its November 2018 release, a farm-based video game sold more than one million copies worldwide, and has now sold more than two million.

Farming Simulator 19 from GIANTS Software offers gamers the opportunity to “become a modern farmer and develop your farm on two huge American and European environments, filled with exciting new farming activities, crops to harvest and animals to tend to.” It offers over 300 vehicles and machines, including John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra, Krone, and Deutz-Fahr

“It’s a pretty niche game,” says Richard Scott Jones, deputy editor at PCGamesN. “It’s not the sort of thing that we, as a video games website, would traditionally cover, but we’re able to see various metrics of success…and it’s really taken off.”

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Jones has a few theories about the level of interest, including that it’s a relaxing experience, and there seems to be a movement towards more relaxed gaming.

“High fidelity simulation games have always had a certain audience among those who are curious about the experience. In the case of Farming Simulator, it’s very zen, and it’s very peaceful,” he says, adding that’s probably nothing like the actual practice of farming.

Overall, Jones says the game gives a sense of the business side of farming, while offering gamers a certain level of escapism.

Do you play Farming Simulator 19 or other farm-related games? Or, after a day of farming, are you ready for your own escape? Let us know. Leave a comment, tweet @realagriculture, or call our listener line at 855.776.6147 .

Categories: Podcasts

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