Arcade mode in video racing is a popular way of experiencing virtual racing without getting into too deep with skills and car settings. This is where action is more preferred than real life racing simulation. You can bump and push your opponents as much as you like, without been penalized or damaged.
Many people don’t want to get involved into boring car settings, track planning and fighting to the last millisecond advantage. Some people just like to race for fun while sitting on their sofa. No racing seat simulators, no sophisticated steering wheels. Pure fun and nothing more than a wireless controller in your hand. It is the cheapest way of racing as well.
Serious game racers like myself and many others simply despise this kind of so called video racing, but we are not all the same. If the genre is so popular that means that arcade style races are preferred my many. And maybe they are not so wrong about it. Because they are quite the fun. And you only need the console with the standard controller. PlayStation3 and Xbox360 have both an enormous collection of arcade titles. Even some so called race simulators are simply arcade style racers.