Nissan believes that fast gamers can also be fast real-world racers, something its proved with the Nissan GT Academy program created in 2008. Nissan's global motorsport director, Michael Carcamo stated "These guys have gone from the couch to the cockpit and broken the traditional model of how to become a successful racing driver." Now the pendulum has swung the other way. Sony PlayStation in partnership with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile has created the first officially sanctioned online GT Sport Championships.

It may not be quite the real thing but this is an official FIA championship and gives thousands of racers the chance to compete against each other in a highly realistic simulation. This is the first time that the FIA have sanctioned an online eSports event and it may well be the start of a new wave of official eSporting championships. As an additional incentive to compete, top Nissan drivers will win a trip to the Nismo Festival at the Fuji International Speedway in Japan and get a chance to meet the game's developers too. An additional winner from the Nissan GT Sport Cup eRacing competition in Europe will also be selected.

Aside from the Japan trip, the fastest Nissan GT Sport Cup gamer who selects Nissan as their brand will receive Nissan team clothing and coaching from a Nissan/GT Academy mentor at the World Final. Top European gamers in the FIA Manufacturers Series in June, July and August will also receive a spot prize to attend a Nissan training camp at the Silverstone circuit where they will receive real-world driving lessons from mentors. So get those couches warmed up, this is going to get serious.