Daytona USA

The player driving through the beginner course (arcade version).

In Daytona USA, the player drives a stock car known as the Hornet.[1] The player's objectives are to outrun the competing cars and complete the race before time runs out, passing checkpoints to collect more time.[2] Players begin in last place and compete against a field of up to 39 computer-controlled cars, dependent on the course selected.[3][4] Three courses are available for play: Beginner, Advanced, and Expert, also known respectively as Three Seven Speedway, Dinosaur Canyon, and Seaside Street Galaxy.[3] Adaptive difficulty is used; the first lap of each race measures the skill of the player and adjust the difficulty of opponents accordingly. For less skilled players, opposing cars open lanes for the player, while higher skilled players have to deal with opponents that block their path.[1] Additionally the game's physics include realistic driving mechanics, including drifting and power sliding.[1] The steering wheel in the arcade cabinet utlilizes force feedback so players feel collisions and bumps.[3]

Daytona USA's arcade version on the Model 2 is capable of displaying up to 300,000 polygons per second,[5] nearly double that of the previous Model 1.[6] Visually, the game runs at 60 frames per second and utilizes texture filtering, giving the visuals a smooth appearance.[1] The game's camera system presents four different view perspectives from which the game can be played, similar to Virtua Racing, and also includes the ability to view behind the car.[7] The arcade version offers multiplayer and up to eight players can compete depending on the number of cabinets linked together. Linked deluxe cabinets may also include a camera pointing towards the drivers seat, linked to a closed-circuit television to show the player on a separate screen.[1] In multiplayer, only the lead driver needs to reach a checkpoint before time runs out.[8] To keep players involved in multiplayer battles, rubber-banding is in place, ensuring all players stay involved in the race.[3]

The Sega Saturn port does not include multiplayer,[9] but includes an additional "Saturn" mode, which turns off the game's timer and adds more cars from which the player can select.[10] Additional "Endurance" and "Grand Prix" modes are also included, both of which require pit stops.[11] Sustaining damage in a race in these modes will adversely affect the car's performance.[11] The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports included online multiplayer.[12]

In September 1992, Sega announced that it had partnered with the engineering group GE Aerospace to create its new arcade system board, the Model 2. The heads of Sega's regional offices began discussing ideas for games to demonstrate the Model 2's capabilities. Sega's previous board, the Model 1, had debuted in 1992 with Virtua Racing, which was popular in Japan and Europe. Tom Petit, president of Sega's American arcade division Sega Enterprises USA, suggested that NASCAR would be an attractive brand to use for a Model 2 game in the US. Though Sega Europe's Vic Leslie had reservations due to the greater popularity of Formula One in Europe, Sega of Japan executives approved the concept.[1] In the US for a meeting on the Model 2, director and producer Toshihiro Nagoshi was given tickets to a NASCAR race, and recalled how it was a new experience for him because it was not a known style of racing in Japan.[3]

Petit and Sega Enterprises USA chief of finance Masahiro Nakagawa began negotiations with representatives of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway for a license. To lower costs, Sega decided not to negotiate with NASCAR for a license, and so the game does not contain real sponsors, drivers or cars. Development was handed to Sega AM2, a development division headed by Yu Suzuki, who had led development on popular racing games including Hang-On, Out Run, and Virtua Racing. Suzuki served as producer on Daytona USA alongside Nagoshi.[1]

Director and co-producer Toshihiro Nagoshi

Sega mandated that Daytona USA had to be better than Namco's 1993 racing game Ridge Racer.[1][13] Whereas Ridge Racer focused on simulation, Daytona USA instead aimed for "funky entertainment".[3] AM2 split into two teams: one focused on Daytona USA while the other developed Virtua Fighter.[14] Nagoshi read books and watched videos on NASCAR, although he found it difficult to convey the emotions of the sport to his staff in Japan. Game planner Makoto Osaki said he purchased a sports car and watched the NASCAR film Days of Thunder more than 100 times. Programmer Daichi Katagiri was an avid player of arcade racing games at the time and leaned on that experience.[3]

The developers used satellite imagery and sent staff to photograph Daytona International Speedway;[1][5] Nagoshi walked a full lap to get a feel for the banking in the corners.[1] The team also considered Daytona International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway for the game's beginner course. According to Nagoshi, because Daytona USA was not intended to be a simulation game, and because it would be sold in Japan and Europe in addition to North America, the oval and tri-oval designs were rejected as too repetitive. The final design for the beginner circuit, Three Seven Speedway, used the tri-oval layout with a sharper final turn that requires strong braking.[3]

Katagiri said there was no need to develop software for rendering because the Model 2 hardware handled this. The team had difficulty with texture mapping; trial and error was used to find the most effective approach. For camera control and lighting effects, the team drew on its experience developing Virtua Racing.[3] Daytona USA shares some features with Ridge Racer, including a drifting mechanic. Nagoshi initially planned not to include drifting as NASCAR stock cars do not drift, but changed his mind when the team decided not to focus on simulation.[3]

The soundtrack was composed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Mitsuyoshi had no familiarity with stock car racing. He chose to include vocals after hearing Ridge Racer's techno soundtrack and deciding to try a different approach; he recorded his own vocals as the fastest way to get the music into the game.[3] Each course has a corresponding song.[13] "Let's Go Away", the Daytona theme, uses a mixture of rock and funk instrumentals,[15] while "Sky High" leaned on Mitsuyoshi's background in jazz fusion. A hidden track, "Pounding Pavement", was inspired by "Hotel California" by the Eagles.[13] For the arcade version, the songs were sampled onto a Yamaha sound chip, including the drums and Mitsuyoshi's voice, then reconstructed by varying when the tracks would play and loop.[3] Mitsuyoshi said this was the only way to include vocals, due to technical limitations of the Model 2.[1] For the Saturn version, the vocals and instruments were rerecorded with real instruments.[13]

A Daytona USA twin-seat arcade cabinet

Daytona USA was released in Japan in August 1993, and worldwide in March 1994.[1][16] It debuted at the Amusement Machine Show in Tokyo. According to Petit, Sega delayed the worldwide launch to measure reception before investing in other territories. The standard game was released in a twin-seat cabinet and a deluxe cabinet fitted with detailed seats on top of subwoofers; Sega originally planned to use actual car seats. Daytona USA debuted at number two on arcade operator publication RePlay's "Player's Choice" chart and stayed on the list for five years, with 16 months at number one.[1] Daytona USA was rereleased in 1996 in arcades as Daytona USA: Special Edition, designed as a smaller, more affordable cabinet.[17] An enhanced version was released in the arcades in 2010 as Sega Racing Classic,[18] as Sega no longer had rights to use the Daytona name.[3]

Around the time of the worldwide release, Sega announced ports for its Saturn and 32X consoles.[6] In 1995, Sega announced their intention to focus solely on the Saturn.[19] In early 1995, Sega AM2's Saturn division split into three departments, each charged with porting a different arcade game to the Saturn: Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA. Due to slow progress on the Daytona USA port, several members of the Virtua Fighter 2 team were reassigned to Daytona USA.[20][21] AM2 completed the port in April 1995.[20][22] It was a Western launch game for Saturn,[23][24] and also released for Windows.[25]

Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition, a reworked and expanded version of Daytona USA, was released in 1996 for the Saturn.[26] Developed by Sega's consumer software division,[3] it used a modified version of the game engine used for Sega Rally Championship.[27] Another enhanced port was released on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.[12] The Xbox 360 version was made backwards compatible with Xbox One on March 21, 2017.[28]

Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge, an arcade-exclusive sequel using the Sega Model 3 hardware, was released in 1998.[29] It is the only Daytona game that uses no courses or music from the original.[3] Daytona USA 2001, a remake of Daytona USA and Championship Circuit Edition, was released in 2001 for the Dreamcast, with graphical upgrades, online multiplayer, and new courses.[30] Daytona Championship USA, also referred to as Daytona USA 3, debuted in late 2016 as an arcade exclusive; it was the first Daytona arcade game in 18 years.[31]

Daytona USA was popular in arcades.[54] The twin cabinet was one of three 1995 recipients of the American Amusement Machine Association's Diamond Awards, which are based strictly on sales achievements.[55] In a 2002 report, Sega said it was one of the most successful arcade games of all time.[56] Retro Gamer's Nick Thorpe said that though Daytona USA is considered anecdotally one of the most successful arcade games for its multiplayer and longevity, exact figures were difficult to find.[3] In 2015, IGN's Luke Reilly said that the game is "perhaps the most recognisable arcade racing game of all time and the highest-grossing sit-down cabinet ever" and noted the continued presence of Daytona USA cabinets in arcades and bowling alleys.[57]

The original arcade version was critically acclaimed. Rik Skews of Computer and Video Games praised its "state-of-the-art" graphics and sound, said that the gameplay was difficult but "pitched perfect". He called Daytona USA the best arcade game he had played in years.[36] Bob Strauss of Entertainment Weekly gave the game an A and wrote: "Picture yourself watching a sci-fi movie, set in a futuristic arcade, that involves a dizzying car race. 'Wow!' you can imagine saying to yourself, 'How did they do those special effects?' You'll have the same reaction while enjoying Daytona USA."[58] Writing for GamePro, Manny LaMancha commented on the improved graphics and more sensitive steering than Virtua Racing. He stated that Daytona USA is a combination of Virtua Racing's action with Ridge Racer's realism.[59] Electronic Gaming Monthly emphasized the realism graphics and said that "the stakes in the arcade wars have been raised again".[7]

Reception for the Saturn port was mixed, with comparisons to the PlayStation port of Ridge Racer. Two sports reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly found problems with the frame rate and animation, but declared it a good conversion and noted the improvements on the North American version.[37] GamePro reviewer Air Hendrix praised the addition of Saturn mode and mirror mode and the gameplay of the core game. He concluded that though it "paled in comparison" to Ridge Racer, which "takes an early lead with better features, gameplay, and graphics ...Daytona's intense gameplay and breathtaking graphics will exhilarate any racing fan."[60] Maximum criticized the low-resolution texture mapping, clipping, and lack of multiplayer, but praised the challenging course design and realistic game mechanics, particularly the impact of wind resistance.[9] Sega Saturn Magazine found the game graphically impressive aside from the pop-up and had strong arcade-style gameplay.[53] Next Generation wrote: "While Daytona USA suffers from an accumulation of weaknesses, if it's a fast, thrilling racing game you're after, the Saturn conversion has a great deal to recommend."[44] The Saturn version was ported to Windows a year later, and received lower scores for unaddressed problems.[3]

According to aggregator Metacritic, the Xbox 360 version received "generally favorable reviews" and the PlayStation 3 version received "mixed" reviews. Justin Towell of GamesRadar+ wrote of the rerelease that "Daytona USA is a joyous, jubilant celebration of everything that made arcade games so exciting" and that the new survival mode "a brilliant test of memory, logic and dexterity".[43] Eurogamer's Martin Robinson said that "age doesn't seem to have ravaged Daytona USA's core" and noting that it serves as "a fitting epitaph to the genre".[2] 1Up.com's Ray Barnholt praised the port but expressed disappointment at the lack of new features.[12]

Daytona USA is often considered one of the best games of all time. Edge named it the 70th "best game to play today" in 2009.[61] It was named one of the best games of all time by Next Generation in 1996,[62] Computer and Video Games in 2000,[63] Killer List of Videogames,[64] Yahoo! in 2005,[65] Guinness World Records in 2008,[66] Empire in 2009,[67] NowGamer in 2010,[68] and Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1997,[69][70] 2001[71] and 2006.[72] In 2015, IGN named it the sixth most influential racing game,[57] writing that it "remains a shining example of arcade racing done oh so right".[57] Thorpe wrote that Daytona USA "doesn't just stand alongside the likes of Turbo, OutRun, Super Monaco GP and Sega Rally as part of a proud arcade racing heritage, but perhaps defines it".[3]

• Daytona USA at the Killer List of Videogames
• Daytona USA at MobyGames