Virtua Racing Deluxe 32x

[Danny Hosford]

Theoriginal arcade game has three circuits, designated into difficulties. Beginner is Big Forest, intermediate is Bay Bridge and expert is Acropolis. Each level has its own special feature, for example the amusement park in "Big Forest", or the "Bay Bridge" itself, or the tight hairpin of "Acropolis". When selecting a car, the player can choose different transmission types.[2] VR introduced the "V.R. View System" by allowing the player to choose one of four views to play the game. This feature was then used in most other Sega arcade racing games (and is mentioned as a feature in the attract mode of games such as Daytona USA).

Virtua Racing was among the highest-grossing arcade games of 1992 in Japan and North America, 1993 in Europe, Australia and worldwide, and it successfully received the award for Most Innovative New Technology from the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA). Virtua Racing is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, for laying the foundations for subsequent 3D racing games and for popularizing 3D polygon graphics among a wider audience. It was later ported to home consoles, starting with the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994.

There was also a Deluxe version, known as the V.R. DX cabinet type, which is also a single-player machine and has a 16:9 aspect-ratio Hantarex monitor (the first use of a widescreen aspect ratio monitor in an arcade game), and 6 airbags (3 on each side) built into the seat that will inflate and "nudge" the player when cornering, and one more airbag on the player's back that inflates under braking. The seat is also adjustable via "forward" and "back" buttons using air pressure. V.R. DX's force-feedback steering also uses two pneumatic cylinders to rotate the steering wheel, which differ from the electric motor-and-clutch system that the upright and twin versions use (which have no inbuilt air system), so the steering feel is quite different.

The Deluxe version was manufactured in Sega's Japanese factories for worldwide markets, while the Twin version in the US was manufactured domestically by Grand Products. The Deluxe version was priced at $2 per play and the Twin version at $0.75 per play. While Sega had previously charged higher for the R360 cabinet, this was the first time that a mass-production arcade game cost $2 per play.[5] In 1992, the cabinet cost 20,000 or $35,000 (equivalent to $76,000 in 2023) to purchase.[6]

Virtua Formula was released in 1993. It was unveiled at the opening of Sega's second arcade amusement park Joypolis, where a whole room with 32 machines was dedicated to the game. Virtua Formula was effectively a "super DX" version of V.R. and the player sat in a full-motion hydraulically actuated Formula One car 'replica' in front of a 50-inch screen. Most of these units were converted into Sega's second-generation Indy car simulator, Indy 500, and are commonly found at larger Sega Gameworks locations in the U.S.

Virtua Racing was developed alongside the Sega Model 1 arcade system, originally called the "CG Board" system prior to completion. The game was directed by Yu Suzuki and designed by Toshihiro Nagoshi.[8]

The origins of Virtua Racing, along with the Model 1, date back to the development of the Mega Drive/Genesis console prior to its launch in 1988. The console was a major leap forward for home video game systems, allowing them to come closer to arcade quality. For Sega's arcade games to remain profitable, they needed to maintain a wide gap between arcade and home video games. At a meeting held during the console's development, Sega decided to begin development on an arcade system capable of producing 3D polygon graphics. This led to the development of the Sega Model 1, along with Virtua Racing, by the early 1990s. They had arcade competitors (Namco and Atari Games) who predated Sega in the use of 3D polygon graphics, displaying up to 2,000 polygons per frame, so Sega increased their Model 1 system's capabilities significantly beyond that to 6,500 polygons per frame.[5]

In 1989, Sega of America's Tom Petit mentioned that Sega was "hiring 400 new engineers to research and develop new technology" and that they "have innovative, revolutionary graphics display systems to come" which would make even Super Monaco GP (their latest arcade racer at the time) "seem like the yesterday of technology."[9] The Sega Model 1 system was developed internally at Sega between 1990 and 1991.[10][11] In 1991, Petit stated that, "next year, you will see a new trend of technology that will be instrumental in providing new vitality for our industry" and that it could "have as much impact on the business as" Hang-On "did to influence our last growth market" back in 1985.[12]

Due to the complexity of the Model 1 board, a home console version seemed unlikely, until 1994 when a cartridge design incorporating the Sega Virtua Processor (SVP) on an extra chip was created to enable a version on the Genesis/Mega Drive. This chip was extremely expensive to manufacture, leading Sega to price the Genesis version of Virtua Racing unusually high: US$100 in the United States[13] and 70 in the United Kingdom.

The game renders 9,000 polygons per second with the SVP chip, significantly higher than what the standard Genesis/Mega Drive hardware is capable of.[14] It also outperformed Nintendo's rival SuperFX chip for the Super NES.[4] The game was incompatible with Majesco Entertainment's re-released Genesis 3 from 1998, and would not work on any Genesis equipped with a Sega 32X.

The Sega 32X version, also known as Virtua Racing Deluxe, was released as launch title for North America in 1994, and then a year later in PAL regions. It was developed by Sega AM2, and published by Sega under the Sega Sports label. It performed much more closely to the original arcade and included two extra cars ("Stock" and "Prototype") as well as two new tracks ("Highland" and "Sand Park").

The Sega Saturn version, previously known by the working title Virtua Racing Saturn, was released in 1995 and developed and published by Time Warner Interactive. As the developers lacked the original source code, they had to create this version based on observation of the arcade game.[15] The Saturn release has the game soundtrack as standard Red Book audio, which can be listened to in any CD player. The Saturn version also includes seven new courses and four new cars, as well as a secret "F-200 Super Car" unlockable via a cheat code, or by placing first in every race with every car.[15] Unlike other versions, it features Grand Prix mode, where players drive a series of cars and the tracks to earn points.

A remake, called Virtua Racing: FlatOut, was released for the PlayStation 2 under the Sega Ages 2500 label. It was released in Japan in 2004 and in North America and Europe in 2005 as part of the Sega Classics Collection titled simply Virtua Racing. It includes three new courses and four new cars.

As part of the Sega Ages series, a port of Virtua Racing for the Nintendo Switch was released digitally in Japan on April 24, 2019, and elsewhere on June 27. Developed by M2, it is a port of the original arcade version with the frame rate increased to 60fps and presented in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Also new to this port is the ability to play online with up to 2 players and offline with up to 8 players on a single system. The game also features online leaderboards with downloadable replays for the top 50 players on each track, an additional easier steering option and a Grand Prix mode that increases the number of laps to 20. Virt McPolygon also cameos in the game upon replaying a Grand Prix race.[16]

The arcade game was a major worldwide commercial success upon release, surpassing Sega's expectations and with high demand exceeding production output. The Deluxe and Twin cabinets were both selling very well, with the expensive Deluxe version selling about a fifth as many units as the less expensive Twin version during 1992.[5] In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their October 15, 1992, issue as the most successful upright/cockpit arcade cabinet of the month.[44] In the United States, it debuted at the top of the RePlay arcade earnings chart for deluxe cabinets in October 1992.[45] It remained at the top for the rest of 1992,[46][47] and much of the following year from February 1993[48][49][50] to July 1993,[51][52][53] until it was dethroned by Sega AM1's Stadium Cross (with Virtua Racing at number two) in August 1993.[54] Virtua Racing remained at number-two in October 1993, below Suzuka 8 Hours.[55] Virtua Racing was America's third top-grossing arcade game during Summer 1993.[56] The game was also a major commercial success in Europe.[5]

Virtua Racing was one of the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1992 in Japan[57] and the United States.[58] The following year, it was the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1993 in Japan,[59] and one of America's top five highest-grossing arcade games of 1993.[60][61]

The arcade game was well received by critics upon release. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it a "racing masterpiece" and said its "lifelike racing sensations are extremely impressive and exciting". They called it "one of the most realistic racing games ever" and concluded that it leaves "all other racing games eating its technological dust".[2] Computer and Video Games reviewed Virtua Formula in early 1994, stating that it is "one of the most exciting" arcade driving games and praising the "hydraulic control" of the cabinet. They concluded that, while its graphics are not as "drop-dead stunning" as the more recent Ridge Racer, Virtua Racing still has a greater "heart-pumping sense of speed".[7] Brazilian magazine Ao Games gave the game 4/4 on all four categories, and called it the most complex racing game on Earth.[62]

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