''LeMans'' is a single-player race game created 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 Sunny ...

in 1976. It was distributed in Japan by

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, 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, Na ...

. It is the successor to the ''

Gran Trak 10 ''Gran Trak 10'' is an arcade driving video game developed by Atari through its subsidiary Cyan Engineering, and released by Atari in May 1974. In the game, a single player drives a car along a race track, viewed from above, avoiding walls of py ...

'' and ''Gran Track 20'' video games.

Gameplay

''LeMans'' is a single-player

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 ...

in which the player drives along a race track shown in top-down view. The player controls the car using a steering wheel, accelerator and brake peddles and a four-position

gear stick A gear stick (rarely spelled ''gearstick''), gear lever (both UK English), gearshift or shifter (both U.S. English), more formally known as a transmission lever, is a metal lever attached to the transmission of an automobile. The term ''gear sti ...

. The objective is to drive against a

time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...

around a series of race tracks, while avoiding oil slicks and the walls. There are six tracks based on real world

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

s (

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

, Sebring,

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho La ...

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

and

Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Da ...

) and four "mystery tracks", two of which will be chosen at random if the player manages to complete the first six tracks within the time limit.

Reception

In the United States, it was listed by ''

Play Meter ''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...

'' as the fourth highest-grossing arcade game of 1977, and by ''RePlay'' as one of the year's top 35 arcade games. It was later among America's top 30 highest-grossing arcade video games of 1979, according to ''

''. ''LeMans'' was a commercial success for Namco in Japan. On the first annual '' Game Machine'' arcade chart, ''Breakout'' was the sixth highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 in Japan. It was the third highest arcade racing game on the list, below Namco's

electro-mechanical In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...

game '' F-1'' and Taito's video game ''Speed Race DX'' (''Wheels'').

References

;Notes ;Sources *

External links

* * * 1976 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Atari arcade games Namco arcade games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in the United States {{arcade-stub