is a

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 ...

developed by Sega and AM1 and released in Japan, Europe, and North America in 1992. It constitutes the third release in the arcade ''

OutRun (also stylized as ''OutRun'') 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, a ...

'' series and was ported to the

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

in 1994.

Description

''OutRunners'' is the fourth game in the ''Out Run'' series, following ''

Battle Out Run ''Battle Out Run'' is a 1989 video game released by Sega on the Master System. Despite being part of the ''Out Run'' series, this game plays little like its namesake and more like ''Chase H.Q. is a vehicular combat racing game, originally r ...

'' and ''

Turbo Outrun ''Turbo OutRun'' (ターボアウトラン) is a 1989 arcade racing game released by Sega. A follow-up to 1986's ''Out Run'', it was released as a dedicated game, as well as an upgrade kit for the original ''Out Run'' board. Like its predecessor ...

''. After ''Turbo Outrun'''s departure from ''Out Run'''s laid-back, charming atmosphere, fans wanted a game that captured the spirit of the original. ''OutRunners'' succeeded in doing this; it brought back the ability to take different paths through forks in the road, returned to a lighthearted atmosphere, and distanced itself well from the "serious" ''Turbo Outrun''. The game featured head-to-head support, and with enough cabinets, up to eight players could challenge each other. It was also the only game in the ''Out Run'' series to feature various selectable cars and multiple endings until ''

OutRun 2 , usually stylized as ''OutRun2'', is a 2003 racing game released by Sega for the arcades. Gameplay ''OutRun 2'' stays true to the race format from the 1986 original, in which the player is behind the steering wheel of a Ferrari sports car with ...

''. ''OutRunners'' was the most successful game released for Sega's System Multi 32 hardware, and one of the last successful 2D games released by Sega. ''OutRunners'' was also known for having some of the best looking graphics seen at the time, thanks to creative sprite design and a very skillful use of

parallax scrolling Parallax scrolling is a technique in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene of distance. The technique grew out of the multiplane camera tec ...

, similar to that found in ''

Power Drift is a kart racing game released in arcades by Sega in 1988. More technologically advanced than Sega's earlier 2.5D racing games, like '' Hang-On'' (1985) and ''Out Run'' (1986), in ''Power Drift'' the entire world and track consist of sprites. ...

'', released four years earlier. The game holds up very well today, and plays very similarly to a modern polygon based 3D racer, something not common in a racing game that uses 2D graphics. Some routes are accessible on more than one route combination like in the original Out Run. After the initial starting stage, the player has the option of either turning east or west. West leads through San Francisco, through the Easter Islands, into Asia and either into Africa or Europe. East goes through the Grand Canyon, South America or

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, across the Atlantic Ocean, into Europe and either into Asia or Australia. An anthropomorphic

broad bean ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

character is featured on billboards and the start of the game called "Broad Bean", a parody of

Bibendum Bibendum (), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 w ...

(the Michelin man), presumably the mascot of the fictional company sponsoring the race, Sam Spree. In the

version, both Sonic and Tails may fly by in a pair of Tornados and sprinkle the Sega logo onto the screen. Sonic can also be seen on various billboards in the first stage. All of the selectable cars in ''OutRunners'' are fictional

convertibles A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

, but bear resemblance to real automobiles. Notably, the Speed Buster closely resembles the

Ferrari Testarossa The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...

featured in the original ''

''. Each car has its own set of a driver and passenger character, and have their own unique ending vignette if the player makes it to a goal. Each character set also has their own way of acting when their car crashes (flying through the air, bouncing like balls, running after the car, etc.), but unlike their ''OutRun'' counterparts, they always land right back in the car and keep going without stopping.

Development

''OutRunners'' features all four of the songs from the original ''OutRun'' by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, as well as various new tracks composed by

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi is a Japanese composer of video game music, singer, and video game voice actor. He has composed music for various games produced by Sega, including ''Virtua Fighter 2'' and ''Shenmue''. He first gained major recognition after the release of '' ...

and

Takayuki Nakamura is a Japanese video game music composer and musician, who has contributed to '' Virtua Fighter'', ''Tobal 2'', ''Ehrgeiz'', the ''Lumines'' series, and ''Rodea the Sky Soldier is an action-adventure game developed by Prope for the Wii and ...

, along with contributions from Kawaguchi.

Release

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

of the game was released for the

by Sega and for the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The A ...

. It featured a forced split-screen in single player modes, where one screen focused on the player and the other on the AI. Though the graphics were merely an adaptation of the arcade version, all other features of this version were kept intact, such as the original arcade soundtrack featuring four songs from the original ''

Outrun (also stylized as ''OutRun'') 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, a ...

''. Andy Dyer wrote in ''Mega'' that it was "the most embarrassing driving game to appear on the Mega Drive". In October 1993,

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...

filed a lawsuit against Sega for an alleged infringement of a patent originally created by Atari Corp. in the 1980s, with the former seeking a preliminary injunction to stop manufacturing, usage and sales of hardware and software for both Sega Genesis and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

. On September 28, 1994, both parties reached a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

in which it involved a

cross-licensing A cross-licensing agreement is a contract between two or more parties where each party grants rights to their intellectual property to the other parties. Patent law In patent law, a cross-licensing agreement is an agreement according to which two ...

agreement to publish up to five titles each year across their systems until 2001. The Genesis version of ''OutRunners'' was one of the first five titles approved from the deal by Sega to be converted for the

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...

, but it was never released.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''OutRunners'' on their July 1, 1993, issue as being the most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month. It went on to be Japan's fourth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1994, and tenth highest of 1995. In North America, ''

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. ...

'' listed it to be the seventh most-popular arcade game in October 1993, and then the top-grossing deluxe arcade game in November 1993. It ended the year as one of America's top seven best-selling arcade games of 1993, for which it received a Gold award in sales achievement from the

American Amusement Machine Association An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade ...

(AAMA).

Online version

In May 1993,

Sega of Japan is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

demonstrated an online game version of ''OutRunners'', allowing up to eight players to play the game across two different cities in Japan. It was the first online arcade game to be demonstrated, with two separate ''OutRunner'' four-player cabinets connected in Tokyo and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

connected online via an

Integrated Services Digital Network Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Work ...

(ISDN) operated by

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone , commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked 55th in ''Fortune'' Global 500, NTT is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue, as well as the third la ...

(NTT). Sega announced plans for a Japanese release in July 1993. A month later in June 1993,

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

announced plans with

Sega of America is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

to introduce a similar

online console gaming Online console gaming involves connecting a console to a network over the Internet for services. Through this connection, it provides users the ability to play games with other users online, in addition to other online services. The three most c ...

system for the Sega Genesis.

Notes

References

External links

''OutRunners''
at

Killer List of Videogames Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...