Editing Train simulator (section)

==History==
Train simulators are particularly popular in Japan, [[Rail transport in Japan|where rail transport]] is the primary form of travel for most citizens.<ref name="HG101">{{cite web |last1=Plasket |first1=Michael |title=Super Locomotive |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/super-locomotive/ |website=Hardcore Gaming 101 |date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=5 May 2021}}</ref> Train video games have been developed in Japan since the early 1980s, with [[Sega]]'s [[arcade video game]] ''[[Super Locomotive]]'' (1982) being an early example, before more realistic train simulators emerged, such as Ongakukan's [[Train Simulator (Ongakukan)|''Train Simulator'' series]] (1995 debut) and [[Taito]]'s ''[[Densha de Go]]'' series (1996 debut),<ref name="HG101"/> as well as train business simulations such as the ''[[A-Train]]'' series (1985 debut).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Martin |title=Take the A-Train, or how I fell in love with a hardcore accounting sim |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-03-19-take-the-a-train-or-how-i-fell-in-love-with-a-hardcore-accounting-sim |access-date=5 May 2021 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |date=21 March 2021}}</ref> Non-commercial Japanese sims include the freeware [[BVE Trainsim|BVE]], first released in 1996, which was later remade as the [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]] ''OpenBVE''.

One of the first commercially available train simulators in the West was ''[[Southern Belle (video game)|Southern Belle]]'', released in 1985. The game simulated a journey of the ''[[Brighton Belle|Southern Belle]]'' steam passenger train from [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]] to [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]], while at the same time the player must comply with speed limits, not to go too fast on curves and keep to the schedule. It was followed with ''[[Evening Star (video game)|Evening Star]]'' in 1987. The first two train simulators to achieve large sales in the West, ''[[Microsoft Train Simulator]]'' and ''[[Trainz]]'', arrived within a few months of one another in 2001. These featured differing design philosophies - ''Microsoft Train Simulator'' focused on providing a realistic driving experience, whereas ''Trainz'' focused more on the ability of the user to create their own content such as trains and routes.

The developers behind ''Microsoft Train Simulator'', [[Kuju Entertainment]], later released a spiritual successor called ''[[Rail Simulator]]'', which was later purchased by a separate company and rereleased as ''[[Railworks]]''.