''Indy 800'' is an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

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 rac ...

released in 1975 by

Atari Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sun ...

It was distributed in Japan by

Nakamura Seisakusho was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

(Namco).

Technology

The game is housed in a large custom rectangular cabinet that takes up . Each side of the cabinet has two steering wheels and four pedals. The 25 inch monitor is set in to the top face of the cabinet and looked down upon. The game uses a full color RGB display and does not use color overlays. The processing electronics consist of a card cage that includes a "Backplane" or "Motherboard", eight identical car function boards, and three unique, common processing boards that the backplane board supports and interconnects. Each of the eleven boards has its own onboard fixed 5 volt regulator IC. All of the logic circuitry is TTL, and no microprocessors are used. Each game was sold with two spare car boards and one each of the three processing boards, so that the game owner could repair it by simple circuit board substitution. Two "card extender" boards were furnished with each game sold that enabled technicians to probe individual components on suspect boards while they were still operating in the game. A complete set of circuit board logic diagrams was also furnished, as was a set of schematics for the modified GE color monitor. The cabinet also features overhead mirrors to allow spectators to watch the game while it's being played.

Gameplay

Gameplay is a simulation of an

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

style race, in which players compete by racing each other with simulated

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

race cars. The players race blocky cars around a simple track with a top-down overhead view. The player car colors are purple, peach, yellow, green, light blue, white, red and dark blue.

Reception

In March 1976, the first annual ''RePlay'' arcade chart listed ''Indy 800'' as the fourth highest-earning arcade video game of the previous year in the United States, below ''

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

'', ''

Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

'' and ''

Gun Fight ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys armed ...

''. In October 1976, ''RePlay'' listed ''Indy 800'' again as the fourth highest-earning arcade video game of 1976 in the United States, below '' Sea Wolf'', ''Gun Fight'' and ''Wheels''. In Japan, it was the tenth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976.

Legacy

*A clone of the game, bearing the same name, was released by Atari subsidiary

Kee Games Kee Games was an American arcade game manufacturer that released arcade and video games from 1973 to 1978. History Kee was formed by Joe Keenan, a friend and neighbor of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, in September 1973. In reality, Bushnell h ...

. *''Indy 800'' was followed up the following year with a smaller 4 player version entitled Indy 4. *A scaled down version of ''Indy 800'' was a launch title for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...

in 1977, renamed ''

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

''.

References

{{1970s Atari arcade games 1975 video games Arcade video games Atari arcade games Discrete video arcade games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in the United States