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Speed Race

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Not to be confused with Speed Racer.
Speed Race
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Tomohiro Nishikado
SeriesSpeed Race
Platform(s)Arcade
ReleaseSpeed Race
Racer
Wheels
Wheels II
Speed Race Twin
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player
Two-player (Wheels II, Twin)

Speed Race[a] is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito, and released under the titles Racer and Wheels in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score points by driving past other cars without colliding with them; more points are awarded for driving faster. Players must do this under a 90-second time limit, which ends the game when it runs out. The gameplay concepts were adapted from two earlier electro-mechanical games: Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's Super Road 7 (1970).

The original Speed Race and Wheels had an upright arcade cabinet, while Midway's Racer introduced a sit-down cabinet.[4] Two-player versions later followed with Midway's Wheels II and Taito's Speed Race Twin.[5] Speed Race was a hit in Japan, while Wheels and Wheels II sold 10,000 arcade cabinets in the United States, making it the best-selling arcade game of 1975. The game's use of vertical scrolling was also influential on later games.

Gameplay

Speed Race is a one or two-player racing video game where players controls a race car along a constantly-scrolling vertical road. The player uses a steering wheel to move the car left or right, and an accelerator to make it move faster. The objective of the game is to drive past other cars that scroll past the players under a 90-second time limit without colliding into them. The time limit and the player's score are displayed on an LCD panel placed above the monitor. Points are earned by driving past cars, with additional points being awarded based on how fast the car is moving. Colliding with a car resets the player's speed and starts them at the beginning of the track. The game ends when the time limit runs out, though the timer can be extended by earning a certain number of points. Two difficulty modes are available that increase the speed of the cars and the number of cars on the track.[6]

Development

Following the release of Atari's Gran Trak 10 earlier in 1974, Taito employee Tomohiro Nishikado decided to develop his own racing video game the same year; he did not enjoy Gran Trak 10, due to its twisting tracks and complex controls. Nishikado looked to two older electro-mechanical games for inspiration: Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's 1970 rear-projection driving game Super Road 7, the latter in turn similar to Kasco's Indy 500 (1968) and Chicago Coin's Speedway (1969). Mini Drive and Super Road 7 involved driving a car down an endlessly scrolling road, with Super Road 7 also having the need to dodge cars in front of the player. Nishikado adapted these gameplay concepts into a video game called Speed Race. In order to simulate the scrolling effect and give the illusion of a moving background, he animated a background road image and modulated the speed of oncoming computer-controlled cars based on the player's speed.[7]

Reception

Due to the complexity of the hardware, Taito released Speed Race in Japan at a price point of 100 yen per play, compared to the standard 50 yen per play up until then. Despite this, the game became a major hit in Japan, establishing 100 yen as the standard price point for arcade games in Japan over the next several decades.[7]

The game also became a hit in North America when it was released by Midway there in 1975.[7] Wheels sold 7,000 arcade cabinets and Wheels II sold 3,000 for a combined 10,000 sold in the United States, making it the best-selling arcade game of 1975, according to sales figures provided by Ralph H. Baer.[8] In March 1976, the first annual RePlay arcade chart listed Wheels and Wheels II as the second top-grossing arcade game of the previous year in the United States, in terms of coin drop earnings (below Atari's Tank and Tank II), while the Racer version was the year's eight highest-earning arcade video game.[9] In October 1976, RePlay listed Wheels as the third highest-earning arcade video game of 1976 in the United States, below Sea Wolf and Gun Fight (both manufactured by Midway).[10]

Legacy

The game's use of vertical scrolling was influential on later games. One of the games it influenced was Atari's Hi-way (1975), which added a sit-down cockpit cabinet like older electro-mechanical games.[11]

Series

Speed Race spawned numerous variations and sequels released by Taito and Midway.[3]

  • Speed Race — Taito — November 1974
  • Racer — Midway — February 1975
  • Wheels — Midway — March 1975
  • Speed Race DX — Taito — August 1975
  • Wheels II — Taito — August 1975
  • Speed Race Twin — Taito — April 1976
  • Super Speed Race — Taito — December 1977
  • T.T. Speed Race — Taito — June 1978
  • Super Speed Race V — Taito — July 1978
  • T.T. Speed Race CL — Taito — October 1978
  • Speed Race CL-5 — Taito — October 1978
  • Super Speed Race — Midway — November 1979
  • Super Speed Race GP V — Taito — December 1979
  • Super Speed Race Jr. — Taito — June 1985
  • Super Speed Race 64 — Taito — May 1998[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: スピードレース, Hepburn: Supīdo Rēsu

References

  1. ^ a b "Video Game Flyers: Speed Race, Taito (EU)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Video Game Flyers: Speed Race, Leisure & Allied Industries (AU)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 40–1, 124. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  4. ^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond. ABC-CLIO. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7.
  5. ^ Smith, Alexander (19 November 2019). They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I: 1971-1982. CRC Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-429-75261-2.
  6. ^ a b Speed Race Operating and Maintenance Manual, p. 3
  7. ^ a b c Smith, Alexander (19 November 2019). They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I: 1971-1982. CRC Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-429-75261-2.
  8. ^ Baer, Ralph H. (2005). Videogames: In the Beginning. Rolenta Press. pp. 10–3. ISBN 978-0-9643848-1-1.
  9. ^ "The Nation's Top Arcade Games". RePlay. March 1976.
  10. ^ "Profit Chart". RePlay. October 1976.
  11. ^ Barton, Matt (8 May 2019). Vintage Games 2.0: An Insider Look at the Most Influential Games of All Time. CRC Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-000-00092-4.
  12. ^ "スーパースピードレース 64". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 2 May 2021.

Bibliography

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