World Driver Championship is an automobile racing video game . It was developed by Boss Game Studios and published for the Nintendo 64 by Midway . It is notable for having especially high quality graphics.
102-523: World Driver Championship is a racing game that features ten locations. Most locations feature six tracks (marked "A", "B", and "C"), three of which are in reverse (marked "R" next to "A", "B", and "C"). The exception is Black Forest, which has only four tracks, two of them being in reverse. These are the ten locations: Hawaii , United States; Les Gets , France; Las Vegas , United States; Auckland , New Zealand; Lisbon , Portugal; Rome , Italy; Sydney , Australia; Zürich , Switzerland; Kyoto , Japan ; and
204-401: A mainframe computer racing game played between TV presenter Raymond Baxter and British two-time Formula One world champion Graham Hill on their 1970 Christmas special, broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1970. The game was written by IBM -employee, Ray Bradshaw, using CALL/360 and required two data centre operators to input the instructions. Atari founder Nolan Bushnell had the idea for
306-434: A racing video game where the player sits on and moves a motorbike replica to control the in-game actions. Hang-On was a Grand Prix style motorbike racer. It used force feedback technology and was also one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and Sega's " Super Scaler " technology that allowed pseudo-3D sprite-scaling at high frame rates . Hang-On became the highest-grossing arcade game of 1986 in
408-483: A radar , to show the rally car's location on the map. In February 1976, Sega released the arcade game Road Race , which was re-worked into a motorbike variant Moto-Cross , also known as Man T.T. (released August 1976). It was then re-branded as Fonz in the US, as a tie-in for the popular sitcom Happy Days . The game featured a three-dimensional perspective view, as well as haptic feedback , which caused
510-423: A steering wheel , a stick shift , and acceleration and brake pedals. Two of the cabinet designs are upright, the larger of which has force feedback in the steering wheel. The other two models are sit-down motion simulator cabinets that resemble the in-game car and use a drive motor to move the main cabinet—turning and shaking according to the onscreen action. Both models feature stereo speakers mounted behind
612-489: A "travesty", and a 37% score from Amstrad Action where the reviewer considered it one of the worst arcade conversions ever. Out Run was followed by various sequels, including three arcade sequels Turbo OutRun (1989), OutRunners (1993) and OutRun 2 (2003), and several non-arcade sequels including Out Run 3-D (1988), Out Run Europa (1991), OutRun 2019 (1993) and later OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (2006). Sega also developed Rad Mobile (1991) which
714-491: A 3D game called Mario Kart 64 , a sequel to Super Mario Kart and has an action so that Lakitu needs to either reverse, rev up your engines to Rocket Start, or rescue players. Mario Kart 64 focused more on the items used. Atari didn't join the 3D craze until 1997, when it introduced San Francisco Rush . In 1997, Gran Turismo was released for the PlayStation , after being in production for five years since 1992. It
816-557: A driving video game in the early 1970s. When he was a college student, he worked at an arcade where he became familiar with EM driving games, watching customers play and helping to maintain the machinery, while learning how it worked and developing his understanding of how the game business operates. When he founded Atari, Bushnell had originally planned to develop a driving video game, influenced by Speedway , but they ended up developing Pong (1972) instead. The earliest rudimentary racing video game to be released dates back to 1972, with
918-416: A game mode in popular vehicular combat franchises such as Twisted Metal , Destruction Derby and Carmageddon . Simulation style racing games strive to convincingly replicate the handling of a real automobile . They often license real cars or racing leagues, but will sometimes use fantasy cars built to resemble real ones if unable to acquire an official license for them. Vehicular behavior physics are
1020-445: A high-speed turn, forcing the player to adopt a proper racing line and believable throttle-to-brake interaction. It includes a garage facility to allow players to enact modifications to their vehicle, including adjustments to the tires, shocks and wings. The damage modelling, while not accurate by today's standards, was capable of producing some spectacular and entertaining pile-ups . Crammond's Formula One Grand Prix in 1992 became
1122-535: A hit in Japan, while Wheels and Wheels II sold 10,000 cabinets in the United States. Its use of vertical scrolling was adopted by Atari's Hi-way (1975), which introduced a sit-down cabinet similar to older electro-mechanical games. In 1977, Atari released Super Bug , a racing game historically significant as "the first game to feature a scrolling playfield" in multiple directions. Sega's Monaco GP (1979)
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#17330851764941224-447: A kart racing game featuring the characters from Crash Bandicoot. It was praised for its controls and courses. Crash Bandicoot and its racing series has continued, with the most recent game being Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (June 2019). The year 1999 also marked a change of games into more "free form" worlds. Midtown Madness for the PC allows the player to explore a simplified version of
1326-412: A key factor in the experience. The rigors of being a professional race driver are usually also included (such as having to deal with a car's tire condition and fuel level). Proper cornering technique and precision racing maneuvers (such as trail braking ) are given priority in simulation racing games. Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it
1428-617: A lamp, which produced colorful graphics projected using mirrors to give a pseudo-3D first-person perspective on a screen, resembling a windscreen view. The gameplay involved players driving down a circular road while dodging cars to avoid crashing, and it resembled a prototypical arcade racing video game, with an upright cabinet, yellow marquee, three-digit scoring, coin box, steering wheel and accelerator pedal. Indy 500 sold over 2,000 arcade cabinets in Japan, while Speedway sold over 10,000 cabinets in North America, becoming one of
1530-418: A personal computer. Accurately replicating the 1989 Indianapolis 500 grid, it offered advanced 3D graphics for its time, setup options, car failures and handling. Unlike most other racing games at the time, Indianapolis 500 attempted to simulate realistic physics and telemetry , such as its portrayal of the relationship between the four contact patches and the pavement, as well as the loss of grip when making
1632-446: A result, Suzuki did most of the programming and planning himself, spending extra hours at the studio to complete development of the game within ten months. He believed that the most difficult part of developing the game was to make it as fun as possible, which he achieved by emphasizing the design elements of wide roads, buildings, and a radio with soundtrack selection. Four cabinet designs were released, all of which are equipped with
1734-486: A semi-realistic driving experience with more detail than most other racing games at the time. Since the mid-1980s, it became a trend for arcade racing games to use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets . The trend was sparked by Sega 's "taikan" games, with "taikan" meaning "body sensation" in Japanese. The "taikan" trend began when Yu Suzuki 's team at Sega (later known as Sega AM2 ) developed Hang-On (1985),
1836-523: A skillful driver in real life would translate to being skillful in the game. They simulated features such as horsepower , torque , gear ratios and tire engineering close to real cars. They also added AI assistance for features that were difficult to control, such as drifting . For the drifting, they added details such as, if the car's tires grip the road surface too closely, the car's handling becomes too twitchy, something that wasn't appreciated in earlier driving games. Out Run ' s original score
1938-433: A surround view. In 2000, Angel Studios (now Rockstar San Diego ) introduced the first free-roaming, or the former "free form", racing game on video game consoles and handheld game consoles with Midnight Club: Street Racing which released on the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance . The game allowed the player to drive anywhere around virtual recreations of London and New York. Instead of using enclosed tracks for races,
2040-446: A type of racing game where players use science fiction vehicles, such as sci-fi cars or other sci-fi vehicles , to race against the clock or other vehicles. A number of futuristic racing games may also feature vehicular combat elements. In the arcades, futuristic racing games date back to the 1980s. The laserdisc games Star Rider (1983) and Cosmos Circuit (1984) featured animated racing, using animated laserdisc video for
2142-424: Is a pseudo-3D driving video game in which the player controls a Ferrari Testarossa convertible from a third-person rear perspective. The camera is placed near the ground, simulating a Ferrari driver's position and limiting the player's view into the distance. The road curves, crests, and dips, which increases the challenge by obscuring upcoming obstacles such as traffic that the player must avoid. The object of
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#17330851764942244-562: Is a competitive two-player game with black and white graphics and controlled with a two-way joystick. The following year, Atari released the first driving video game in the arcades, Gran Trak 10 , which presents an overhead single-screen view of the track in low resolution white-on-black graphics. It inspired the Kee Games clone Formula K , which sold 5,000 arcade cabinets . In late 1974, Taito released Speed Race designed by Tomohiro Nishikado (of Space Invaders fame), in which
2346-502: Is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay , a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi , and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet . The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations before time runs out. The game was designed by Yu Suzuki , who traveled to Europe to gain inspiration for
2448-703: Is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu. The most common aids are traction control (TC), anti-lock brakes (ABS), steering assistance, damage resistance, clutch assistance, and automatic gear changes. Sound plays a crucial role in player feedback in racing games, with the engine and tire sounds communicating what is physically happening to the car. The three main elements of car audio are intake , exhaust, and internal engine sounds. Recorded samples of those elements are implemented in-game by methods such as granular synthesis , loop-based modelling, or physical modeling. Tire sounds modulate loop samples or pitch based on slip angle and deformation to let
2550-585: Is similar to Out Run . Former Sega arcade director Akira Nagai has credited Out Run and similar games for Sega's arcade success in the 1980s. According to Nagai: " Out Run , in particular, was really amazing for its time... Suzuki went on to make After Burner and a number of other games, but Out Run is still talked about with a special kind of wonder. With the taikan games, Sega's arcade business, which had been Sega's lowest performer in sales, gradually started to rise... For me personally, Hang-On and Out Run are my most memorable titles. They helped lift
2652-578: The F-Zero series. The PlayStation game Wipeout (1995) by Psygnosis featured 3D polygon graphics and spawned the Wipeout series. The F-Zero series subsequently made the transition to 3D polygon graphics with F-Zero X (1998) for the Nintendo 64 . The basis for racing video games were arcade driving electro-mechanical games (EM games). The earliest mechanical racing arcade game dates back to 1900, when
2754-460: The Forza Horizon games and DriveClub . According to Jacopo Prisco of Wired UK , the influence of Out Run "is still being felt on consoles, in music, and in movies". Along with its influence on a wide range of racing games from Need for Speed and Gran Turismo to Project Gotham Racing and Forza Horizon , the game's selectable radio music has become commonplace in video games such as
2856-534: The Game Machine charts for upright/cockpit arcade cabinets in November 1986, and remained at the top of the charts in the following month. It was Japan's highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game during the latter half of 1986, and the overall seventh highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game of 1986 . Out Run went on to become Japan's highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 . In North America, it topped
2958-746: The Black Forest in Germany. The game was showcased at E3 1999 . One of the last racing simulations to be released for Nintendo 64, this graphically intensive title uses custom microcode optimization and high polygon count modelling. The development team was able to optimize the usage of the various processors within the N64 to allow a great draw distance (reducing the need for fog or pop-up), highly detailed texturing and models, Doppler effect MP3 audio, and advanced lighting and fog effects for realistic weather conditions. Additionally, unlike many other games of its type on
3060-571: The Grandprix series (Known collectively as GPX to its fanbase), produced what is considered the first attempt at a racing simulator on a home system, REVS , released for the BBC Microcomputer. The game offered an unofficial (and hence with no official team or driver names associated with the series) recreation of British Formula 3. The hardware capabilities limited the depth of the simulation and restricted it (initially) to one track, but it offered
3162-517: The London -based Automatic Sports Company manufactured a mechanical yacht racing game, Yacht Racer . Mechanical car driving games later originated from British amusement arcades in the 1930s. In the United States, International Mutoscope Reel Company adapted these British arcade driving games into the electro-mechanical game Drive Mobile (1941), which had an upright arcade cabinet similar to what arcade video games would later use. A steering wheel
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3264-570: The RePlay dedicated arcade game chart in February 1987, and went on to become the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the game topped London's Electrocoin arcade charts for several months in 1987, from February through June, and was the top arcade game of the year. In Japan, it continued to rank among the annual highest-grossing dedicated arcade games for
3366-447: The best games of all time by Next Generation , Retro Gamer , Stuff , Time , G4 , Killer List of Videogames , Yahoo! , and NowGamer . In 2017, GamesRadar+ ranked the game 31st on their "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time". Writing in 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die , Joao Diniz Sanches praised Out Run ' s "unforgettable design and expertly tuned game balance", describing
3468-568: The motorcycle handlebars to vibrate during a collision with another vehicle. In Spring 1976, the arcade game Nürburgring 1 presented a first-person view. Considered the first "scandalous" arcade game, Exidy 's Death Race (1976) was widely criticized in the media for its violent content, which only served to substantially increase its popularity. Sega released a two-player version of Man T.T. called Twin Course T.T. in January 1977. 1979 saw
3570-425: The 1980s, with over 30,000 arcade cabinets sold worldwide. The same year, Durell released Turbo Esprit , which had an official Lotus license, and working car indicator lights. In 1987, Square released Rad Racer , one of the first stereoscopic 3D games. In the same year, Atari produced RoadBlasters , a driving game that also involved a bit of shooting. One of the last successful pseudo-3D arcade racers
3672-464: The 1980s. By 1994, 30,000 cabinets had been sold worldwide. Sega eventually surpassed OutRun ' s arcade sales with Virtua Fighter (1993) and Virtua Fighter 2 (1994). The 8-bit computer game ports published by U.S. Gold sold over 200,000 copies within two weeks of release in the United Kingdom, and more than 250,000 by Christmas 1987, topping the UK's Christmas 1987 chart. Out Run became
3774-423: The 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games . Usually, arcade -style racing games put fun and a fast-paced experience above all else, as cars usually compete in unique ways. A key feature of arcade-style racers that specifically distinguishes them from simulation racers is their far more liberal physics. Whereas in real racing (and subsequently,
3876-520: The Driver/Team selection menu): Ayrton Senna became "Carlos Sanchez", for example. In 1995, Sega Rally Championship introduced rally racing and featured cooperative gameplay alongside the usual competitive multiplayer. Sega Rally was also the first to feature driving on different surfaces (including asphalt , gravel , and mud ) with different friction properties and the car's handling changing accordingly, making it an important milestone in
3978-449: The Ferrari breaking down or being presented a trophy. During the mid-1980s, Sega experienced success in the arcades with games developed by Yu Suzuki . Hang-On was a good seller and Enduro Racer had been successful enough for Sega to consider a second production run. Both are motorcycle racing games, and Out Run was Suzuki's chance to develop a car racing game. His original concept
4080-545: The Master System version a score of 72%, stating that the Master System version came closest to the original coin-op. Reviewers for Dragon described it as a "refreshing" game "that provides hours of entertainment". Computer Gaming World named it as the year's best arcade translation for Sega. Reactions to the 16-bit versions were generally positive. The Atari ST version (1988) was described by Computer and Video Games as "far from perfect", but that it came closer to
4182-620: The US was too unsafe, and suggested Europe as a safer option. Additionally, Suzuki concluded that the US was too "large and empty" for the game's design. He scouted Europe for two weeks in a BMW 520 for ideas. This tour included Frankfurt , Monaco , Rome, the Swiss Alps , the French Riviera , Florence , and Milan . While in Monaco, Suzuki was inspired to use the Ferrari Testarossa as
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4284-414: The United States, and one of the year's highest-grossing arcade games in Japan and London. Suzuki's team at Sega followed it with hydraulic motion simulator cockpit cabinets for later racing games, notably Out Run (1986). It was one of the most graphically impressive games of its time, known for its pseudo-3D sprite-based driving engine, and it became an instant classic that spawned many sequels. It
4386-779: The all-formats chart in November 1990, and the Commodore 64 version was at number two on the all-formats chart in March 1991. It also topped the PC Engine charts during January–February 1991. In 2020, Out Run became the second best-selling Sega Ages title in overseas markets outside of Japan (after Sonic the Hedgehog ), especially in Europe. As of 2021, the game's various home conversions have sold millions of copies worldwide. Out Run ' s arcade release received positive reviews and became one of
4488-408: The arcade industry out of its slump, and created entirely new genres". The game's title has been adopted as a name for the synthwave music genre, which is also known as "outrun" music, inspired by the game's soundtrack which is selectable in-game as well as the game's 1980s aesthetic. French musician Kavinsky named his debut album OutRun (2013) after the game. The game has been listed among
4590-468: The arcade original than the other ports. The 1991 Sega Genesis version also received positive reviews, scoring 90% from French gaming magazines Joypad and Joystick , as well as an 85% from Swedish magazine Svenska Hemdatornytt . The reception for the 8-bit personal computer ports by U.S. Gold was mixed. The ZX Spectrum version received positive scores from Your Sinclair and Sinclair User . Some reviewers at Crash expressed disappointment at
4692-466: The backgrounds. Alpha Denshi 's Splendor Blast (1985) combined Pole Position style racing with Zaxxon style sci-fi vehicles, space settings and shoot 'em up elements. STUN Runner (1989) by Atari Games featured 3D polygon graphics and allowed players to blast other vehicles. On home consoles, futuristic racing games were defined by Nintendo 's F-Zero (1990) for the SNES, which spawned
4794-438: The biggest arcade hits of the 1960s. Taito 's similar 1970 rear-projection driving game Super Road 7 involved driving a car down an endlessly scrolling road while having to dodge cars, which formed the basis for Taito's 1974 racing video game Speed Race . One of the last successful electro-mechanical arcade games was F-1 , a racing game developed and released by Namco in 1976, and distributed in North America by Atari
4896-530: The city of Chicago using a variety of vehicles and any path that they desire. In the arcade world, Sega introduced Crazy Taxi , a sandbox racing game where you are a taxi driver that needed to get the client to the destination in the shortest amount of time. A similar game also from Sega is Emergency Call Ambulance , with almost the same gameplay (pick up patient, drop off at hospital, as fast as possible). Games are becoming more and more realistic visually. Some arcade games are now featuring 3 screens to provide
4998-732: The competition between racers by adding weapons that can be used against opponents to slow them down or otherwise impede their progress so they can be passed. This is a staple feature in kart racing games such as the Mario Kart series, but this kind of game mechanic also appears in standard, car-based racing games as well. Weapons can range from projectile attacks to traps as well as non-combative items like speed boosts. Weapon-based racing games include games such as Full Auto , Rumble Racing , Grip: Combat Racing , Re-Volt and Blur . There are also Vehicular combat games that employ racing games elements: for example, racing has been featured as
5100-584: The driver's head. The arcade system board made specifically for the game is the Sega OutRun , based on the Sega System 16 . Suzuki said that he was often unable to make games based on existing hardware and that Sega would have to create a new board. He said that his "designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On . I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to 2D . So I
5202-466: The drivers of "wacky" vehicles. Kart racing games are a more arcade-like experience than other racing games and usually offer modes in which player characters can shoot projectiles at one another or collect power-ups . Typically, in such games, vehicles move more alike go-karts , lacking anything along the lines of a gear stick and clutch pedal . While car combat elements date back to earlier titles such as Taito 's Crashing Race in 1976,
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#17330851764945304-503: The element of danger in the gameplay as well as the hydraulic motion simulator cabinet. Top Score newsletter called it "the most enjoyable" and "realistic driving video game ever created" while praising its innovative simulator cabinet, detailed visuals and stereo soundtrack. A review in Commodore User described it as "a great game for driving enthusiasts" and awarded it a score of 9 out of 10. Gary Penn, writing for Crash called
5406-527: The fastest-selling and best-selling computer game in the UK that year. By early March 1988, it had sold over 350,000 copies, becoming the UK's all-time fastest-selling game up until then. In May 1988, the Atari ST version of Out Run became the first ST title to top the UK all-formats chart. The Atari ST version had sold over 25,000 copies in the UK by mid-1988. Out Run remained on the UK charts for several years. The budget price re-release from Kixx topped
5508-573: The first arcade racing game with 3D graphics (it was predated by Winning Run , Hard Drivin' and Stunts ), it was able to combine the best features of games at the time, along with multiplayer machine linking and clean 3D graphics to produce a game that was above and beyond the arcade market standard of its time, laying the foundations for subsequent 3D racing games. It improved on earlier 3D racing games with more complex 3D models and backdrops, higher frame rate, and switchable camera angles including chase-cam and first-person views. IGN considers it
5610-407: The first third-person racing video game (it was predated by Sega's Turbo ), Pole Position established the conventions of the genre and its success inspired numerous imitators. According to Electronic Games , for "the first time in the amusement parlors, a first-person racing game gives a higher reward for passing cars and finishing among the leaders rather than just for keeping all four wheels on
5712-411: The footage is played. These early EM driving games consisted of only the player vehicle on the road, with no rival cars to race against. EM driving games later evolved in Japan, with Kasco's 1968 racing game Indy 500 , which was licensed by Chicago Coin for release in North America as Speedway in 1969. It had a circular racetrack with rival cars painted on individual rotating discs illuminated by
5814-495: The game "highly polished" and praised the attention to detail. In Your Sinclair , Peter Shaw praised its realism and described it as "the most frighteningly fast road race game" he had played. Out Run was ported to numerous home consoles and computers. Computer and Video Games praised the Master System release, with the writers concluding that it had "all the thrill power of the arcade version". The Games Machine gave
5916-494: The game as " the consummate exhibit in an oversubscribed genre" and "one of the purest and most joyous experiences in video gaming". In 2015, Out Run appeared at 4th place on IGN 's list of The Top 10 Most Influential Racing Games Ever, behind Pole Position , Gran Turismo and Virtua Racing . According to Luke Reilly, traces of Out Run DNA can be found in series like Test Drive , Need for Speed , Project Gotham Racing and Burnout as well as modern racers like
6018-421: The game is to reach the finish line against a timer. The game world is divided into multiple stages that each end in a checkpoint, and reaching the end of a stage provides more time. Near the end of each stage, the track forks to give the player a choice of routes leading to five final destinations. The destinations represent different difficulty levels and each conclude with their own ending scene , among them
6120-445: The game uses various checkpoints on the free roam map as the pathway of the race, giving the player the option to take various shortcuts or any other route to the checkpoints of the race. In 2001 Namco released Wangan Midnight to the arcade and later released an upgrade called Wangan Midnight R. Wangan Midnight R was also ported to the PlayStation 2 by Genki as just Wangan Midnight. In 2003, Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club II
6222-437: The game will be difficult to master for arcade racing fans. Racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition . They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in
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#17330851764946324-416: The game's stages. Suzuki had a small team and only ten months to program the game, leaving him to do most of the work himself. The game was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 worldwide as well as Sega's most successful arcade cabinet of the 1980s. It was ported to numerous video game consoles and home computers, becoming one of the best-selling video games at
6426-415: The genre. During the early-to-mid-1990s, Sega and Namco largely had a monopoly on high-end arcade racing games with realistic 3D visuals. In 1996, a number of competitors attempted to challenge their dominance in the field, including Atari Games with San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing , Gaelco with Speed Up , Jaleco with Super GT 24h , and Konami with Winding Heat . In 1996, Nintendo created
6528-558: The kart racing subgenre was popularized by Nintendo 's Super Mario Kart in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which spawned the Mario Kart series. The game was slower than other racing games of the time due to hardware limitations, prompting the developers to use a go-kart theme for the game. Since then, over 50 kart racing games have been released, featuring characters ranging from Nicktoons to South Park . Futuristic racing games are
6630-515: The look and feel of driving or riding a vehicle. For example, a motorbike that the player sits on and moves around to control the on-screen action, or a car-like cabinet (with seats, steering wheel, pedals and gear stick) that moves around in sync with the on-screen action. This has been especially common for arcade racing games from Sega since the 1980s. However, this can typically only be found in arcade racing games for amusement arcades, rather than arcade-style racing games for home systems. During
6732-519: The low quality in contrast to the arcade original. The Games Machine gave the Spectrum version a score of 61%, noting the machine's technical limitations in comparison to the Master System and Commodore systems. The Commodore versions received positive to average reviews, though Computer and Video Games described the Commodore 64 port as "rushed". The Amstrad CPC port received a score of 8 out of 40 from Computer and Video Games , which described it as
6834-478: The master ROM chips failing, and the glitch was not noticed until Sega was preparing a soundtrack box-set for the game's 20th anniversary. The correct files were recovered from an 8-inch floppy disk , and subsequent re-releases of the game use the fixed data. Cassette tapes of the arcade soundtrack were distributed in the United Kingdom during December 1987, both with the home computer conversions and with Computer and Video Games magazine. The Mega Drive port has
6936-591: The mid-late 2000s there was a trend of new street racing ; imitating the import scene , one can tune sports compacts and sports cars and race them on the streets. The most widely known ones are the Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the Midnight Club series, certain entries in the Need for Speed and Test Drive series, Initial D series, the Juiced series and FlatOut 2 . Some arcade-style racing games increase
7038-469: The most important racing game ever made." It was an evolution of Namco's earlier racing electro-mechanical games , notably F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on Pole Position . Pole Position was the first video game to be based on a real racing circuit, and the first with a qualifying lap, where the player needs to complete a time trial before they can compete in Grand Prix races. While not
7140-505: The most popular arcade games of the year. The game won the 1987 Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year, as well as for Arcade Game of the Year. It also won "Best Visual Enhancement in a Video Game" at the 1986 Amusement Players Association's Players Choice Awards. Clare Edgeley reviewed the arcade game in both Computer and Video Games and in Sinclair User , praising the graphics and
7242-674: The music tracks from the arcade, along with one exclusive new track titled "Step On Beat" composed by Masayoshi Ishi. Out Run was released for the Master System in 1987, and the Genesis in 1991. Out Run was ported to the Amstrad CPC , Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computers for the European market. A conversion of Out Run was under development by Hertz for the Sharp X68000 but according to former Hertz employee Tsunetomo Sugawara, it
7344-543: The new champion of sim racing, until the release of Papyrus' IndyCar Racing the following year. Formula One Grand Prix boasted detail that was unparalleled for a computer game at the time as well as a full recreation of the drivers, cars and circuits of the 1991 Formula One World Championship. However, the U.S. version (known as World Circuit ) was not granted an official license by the FIA, so teams and drivers were renamed (though all could be changed back to their real names using
7446-589: The next several years, ranking number three in 1988 , number five in 1989 , and number seven in 1990 . In Europe, Out Run was the most popular arcade game during the late 1980s. Sega had sold 18,000 Out Run arcade machines worldwide by early 1987, including 3,500 units in Japan, 8,000 units in the United States, and 6,500 units in Europe and Southeast Asia. By late 1987, Out Run had sold 20,000 units worldwide, earning Sega over $ 100 million ( $ 280 million adjusted for inflation) in arcade machine sales, and becoming Sega's best-selling arcade cabinet of
7548-426: The platform, the game runs high resolution at a smooth pace. The soundtrack, consisting of original rock and heavy metal tunes, was composed by musician Zack Ohren. Although World Driver Championship received generally positive reviews from critics, it suffered from intense competition at the time. While the game was an improvement in nearly every way compared to Boss's similar earlier effort, Top Gear Rally , it
7650-406: The playable car in the game, so when he returned to Japan he arranged for his team to find and photograph one. They took many photos of the car from every side and recorded the sound of the engine. A small team of four programmers, a sound creator, and five graphic designers developed Out Run . Suzuki had to use only personnel that were available and not assigned to other projects at the time. As
7752-422: The player drives down a straight track dodging other cars. The game used vertical scrolling , inspired by two older electro-mechanical games : Kasco's Mini Drive and Taito's Super Road 7 . Speed Race was re-branded as Wheels by Midway Games for release in North America and was influential on later racing games. Midway also released another version, Racer , with a sit-down cabinet. Speed Race became
7854-819: The player know the limit of grip. The best sounding games effectively integrate the sound model with the vehicle and tire simulation models. Some of these racing simulators are customizable, as game fans have decoded the tracks, cars, and executable files. Internet communities have grown around the simulators regarded as the most realistic and many websites host internet championships. Some of these racing simulators consist of Forza Motorsport , Gran Turismo , GTR2 , Assetto Corsa , iRacing , Project CARS , Automobilista 2 and many more. Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, unusual track designs and various action elements. Kart racers are also known to cast characters known from various platform games or cartoon television series as
7956-899: The precision and rigor required from the simulation experience and focus strictly on the racing element itself. They often license real cars and leagues, but are equally open to more exotic settings and vehicles. Races take place on highways, windy roads, or in cities; they can be multiple-lap circuits or point-to-point sprints, with one or multiple paths sometimes with checkpoints, or other types of competition, like demolition derby , jumping, or testing driving skills. Popular arcade-style racing franchises include Battle Gear , Out Run , Ridge Racer , Daytona USA , Need for Speed , Sega Rally , Cruis'n , Burnout , Rush , Midnight Club , Project Gotham Racing , TrackMania , MotorStorm and Forza Horizon . Conversely, many arcade racing games in amusement arcades frequently use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets that simulate
8058-421: The release of Vectorbeam 's Speed Freak , a three-dimensional vector racing game, which Killer List of Videogames calls "very impressive and ahead of their time". Turbo , released by Sega in 1981, was the first racing game to use sprite scaling with full-color graphics. Pole Position , developed by Namco and released by Atari in North America, was released in 1982. It is considered "arguably
8160-572: The release of the first video game console , the Magnavox Odyssey . It included a game called Wipeout , where the player moves a dot around a race track that is outlined by an overlay placed on the television screen. It required the use of physical items to play, including a race game board, screen overlay, car tokens and pit stop cards. In 1973, Atari released Space Race , an arcade video game where players control spaceships that race against opposing ships, while avoiding comets and meteors. It
8262-473: The road". According to IGN , it also "introduced checkpoints," and its success, as "the highest-grossing arcade game of 1983 in North America, cemented the genre in place for decades to come and inspired a horde of other racing games". It sold over 21,000 arcade cabinets in the US by 1983, and again became the highest-grossing arcade game of 1984 in the US. Taito's Laser Grand Prix , introduced in July 1983,
8364-466: The rules and rescue racers from falling down. In 1988, Namco released Winning Run , which used 3D polygon graphics . It became the second highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan. In 1989, Atari released Hard Drivin' , another arcade driving game that used 3D polygon graphics. It uses force feedback, where the wheel fights the player during aggressive turns, and a crash replay camera view. Sega produced Virtua Racing in 1992. While not
8466-408: The same year. The gameplay is viewed from the perspective of the driver's viewpoint, which is displayed on the screen using a projector system. It was Japan's highest-grossing arcade game for two years in a row, in 1976 and 1977. F-1 is believed to have been influenced by Indy 500 , and would in turn be influential on Namco's racing video games in the 1980s. Another notable EM game from the 1970s
8568-485: The second-most successful racing game franchise of all time, selling over 80 million units worldwide as of April 2018. By 1997, the typical PC was capable of matching an arcade machine in terms of graphical quality, mainly due to the introduction of first generation 3D accelerators such as 3DFX Voodoo. The faster CPUs were capable of simulating increasingly realistic physics, car control, and graphics. Colin McRae Rally
8670-439: The simulation equivalents) the driver must reduce their speed significantly to take most turns, arcade-style racing games generally encourage the player to "powerslide" the car to allow the player to keep up their speed by drifting through a turn. Collisions with other racers, track obstacles , or traffic vehicles is usually much more exaggerated than simulation racers as well. For the most part, arcade-style racers simply remove
8772-438: The third most influential racing game of all time. In 1993, Namco released Ridge Racer . Its 3D polygon graphics stood out for the use of Gouraud shading and texture mapping . And thus began the polygon war of driving games. Sega later released Daytona USA , which featured 3D polygon graphics with texture filtering . The following year, Electronic Arts produced The Need for Speed , which would later spawn one of
8874-424: The time and selling millions of copies worldwide, and it spawned a number of sequels. Out Run is considered one of the most influential and greatest games ever made , cited as an influence upon numerous later video games, playing a role in the arcade video game industry's recovery, and providing the name for a popular music genre . It spawned a series and a sequel was released, Turbo OutRun in 1989. Out Run
8976-434: The world's most successful racing game series and one of the most successful video game series. In the same year, Midway introduced Crusin' USA . The now defunct Papyrus Design Group produced their first attempt at a racing simulator in 1989, the critically acclaimed Indianapolis 500: The Simulation , designed by David Kaemmer and Omar Khudari. The game is generally regarded as the first true auto racing simulation on
9078-422: Was The Driver , a racing- action game released by Kasco (Kansai Seiki Seisakusho Co.) that used 16 mm film to project full motion video on screen, though its gameplay had limited interaction, requiring the player to match their steering wheel , accelerator and brakes with movements shown on screen, much like the sequences in later LaserDisc games . The BBC television program Tomorrow's World broadcast
9180-474: Was Sega's Super Monaco GP (1989), a simulation of the Monaco Grand Prix . It was the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan, and again the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1990 in Japan. In 1992, Nintendo released Super Mario Kart , but it was known that it was pseudo-3D racing. Here it has items to affect players from racing and the referee, Lakitu will help you out to know
9282-420: Was also notable for giving the player the non-linear choice of which route to take through the game and the choice of soundtrack to listen to while driving, represented as radio stations. The game has up to five endings depending on the route taken, and each one was an ending sequence rather than a simple "Congratulations" as was common in game endings at the time. It became Sega's best-selling arcade cabinet of
9384-484: Was always thinking in 3D". The game achieves its 3D effects using a sprite-scaling technique called Super Scaler technology, as used one year earlier in Hang-On . Released in September 1986, Out Run ' s fast sprite-scaling and 3D motion provide a smoother experience than other contemporary arcade games. Suzuki also set about simulating car features that were previously lacking in earlier driving games, so that being
9486-432: Was composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi , who had previously composed soundtracks for other games designed by Suzuki, including Hang-On . The soundtrack is similar in style to Latin and Caribbean music . Three selectable tracks are featured: "Passing Breeze", "Splash Wave", and "Magical Sound Shower". An additional track, "Last Wave", plays at the final score screen. Some of the game's audio samples were corrupted due to one of
9588-421: Was considered the most realistic racing simulation game in its time, combined with playability, enabling players of all skill levels to play. It offered a wealth of meticulous tuning options and introduced an open-ended career mode where players had to undertake driving tests to acquire driving licenses , earn their way into races and choose their own career path. The Gran Turismo series has since become
9690-466: Was introduced in 1998 to the PC world, and was a successful semi-simulation of the world of rally driving, previously only available in the less serious Sega Rally Championship . Motorhead , a PC game, was later adapted back to arcade. In the same year, Sega releases Daytona USA 2 (Battle On The Edge and Power Edition), which is one of the first racing games to feature realistic crashes and graphics . The year 1999 introduced Crash Team Racing ,
9792-482: Was never released due to company management cancelling its development. A 32X version was also reportedly under development by Sega, but was never released. Ports of the arcade game were released for Game Boy Advance via Sega Arcade Gallery , for Nintendo 3DS via the 3D Classics series on 12 March 2015, and for Nintendo Switch as part of the Sega Ages line on 9 January 2019. In Japan, Out Run topped
9894-472: Was one of the most successful traditional 2D racing games, becoming the most popular arcade driving game in the US in 1981 , and among the highest-grossing games that year, while making a record number of appearances on the RePlay arcade charts through 1987. In 1980, Namco 's overhead-view driving game Rally-X was one of the first games to have background music , and allowed scrolling in multiple directions, both vertical and horizontal . It also uses
9996-429: Was the first racing laserdisc game , using pre-recorded live-action footage. In 1984, several other racing laserdisc games followed, including Sega's GP World with live-action footage and Universal 's Top Gear featuring 3D animated race car driving. The same year, Irem 's The Battle-Road was a vehicle combat racing game with branching paths and up to 32 possible routes. Geoff Crammond , who later developed
10098-653: Was the first racing game to feature both playable cars and playable motorcycles. Namco released a sort of sequel to Wangan Midnight R called Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune . There is a wide gamut of driving games ranging from simple action-arcade racers like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch ) and Nicktoon Racers to ultra-realistic simulators like Grand Prix Legends , iRacing , Virtual Grand Prix 3 , Live for Speed , NetKar Pro , Assetto Corsa , GT Legends , GTR2 , rFactor , X Motor Racing , CarX Street , and iPad 3D racer Exhilarace . Out Run Out Run (also stylized as OutRun )
10200-483: Was to base the game on the American film The Cannonball Run , of which he was a fan. He disliked racing games where cars exploded on impact, and wanted gamers to enjoy the experience of driving and to feel "superior". Suzuki initially conceived the game's setting across the United States, and he requested to scout various locations there. According to Suzuki's boss, Youji Ishii, Sega president Hayao Nakayama believed
10302-464: Was up against the impressive new Gran Turismo series and other new racers. Complaints included a somewhat unconvincing driving physics model, non-licensed cars, and poor sound effects and music quality. The dislike for the physics model often stems from the beginning cars being difficult to drive and offering a "sloppy" feeling of control. Next Generation praised the graphics, gameplay, cars, and tracks, but noted that due to its driving physics model
10404-439: Was used to control a model car over a road painted on a metal drum , with the goal being to keep the car centered as the road shifts left and right. Kasco introduced this type of driving game to Japan as Mini Drive in 1958. Capitol Projector's 1954 machine Auto Test was a driving test simulation that used film reel to project pre-recorded driving video footage, awarding the player points for making correct decisions as
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