A study of more than 800 video games and ten thousand achievements, including high scores, completion times and fastest laps, has found that Finland produces the best virtual drivers.
The analysis was taken on by Pentagon Motor Group, a dealer group from the UK, who studied data from speedrun.com, a website that provides leaderboards and resources for video game speedrunners.
The study found that Finns have logged more high-ranking achievements per capita than any other nation. Indeed, Europe appears to be the epicenter of racing gamers, with 10 of the top 15 countries represented being European.
The top 15 countries are listed below:
1. Finland
2. Estonia
3. New Zealand
4. Australia
5. Switzerland
6. Sweden
7. Lithuania
8. United States of America
9. Denmark
10. Canada
11. Uruguay
12. The Netherlands
13. Bulgaria
14. Hungary
15. United Kingdom
Also Read: Gran Turismo 7 Will Be A Return To The Series’ Classic Games
That said, the list’s order changes depending on what game you’re talking about. Although Finns are the overall leaders, they were only fifth on Mario Kart, with the Dutch being the masters of Nintendo’s karting game.
For Gran Turismo, the English speaking world dominates four of the top five spots. America leads, with Australia, New Zealand, and the UK coming in second, third, and fourth, with Russia in fifth place.
As far as players of the F1 series’ games are concerned, it’s Japan that takes top spot on the podium, with Kiwis and Germans following closely behind.
With so many games represented, it’s no surprise that the study included some less driving-focused games like The Simpson’s Hit and Run (Finland leads) and Grand Theft Auto (Estonia leads). Data was also included from the earliest days of racing, according to Jonathan Lingham, PMG’s marketing director.
“With stay-at-home restrictions having been in place around the world for the best part of a year now, many might have driven more on virtual roads than they have in real life,” said Lingham. “We included games that date all the way back to 1973’s ‘Astro Race’ so have no doubt the rankings are a true reflection of virtual driving skills around the world, and hope they inspire some friendly competition between players while we’re still at home.”