Happy 20th Birthday Daytona USA - Still going strong after 20 years in arcades

[parallaxscroll]

This year marks the 20th Birthday of Daytona USA's worldwide release in arcades.




Sega's legendary arcade racing game Daytona USA hits 20 and is still going strong in arcades after all these years. Here's why!

This year see’s the 20th anniversary of probably one of the finest arcade racing games ever made. The game is Daytona USA and it’s still going strong today which is testament to its quality which in gaming terms is as old as the dinosaurs.

If you haven’t been to an arcade in the past 20 years then don’t worry, I’ll explain a bit more about it now. Developed by Sega’s mighty arcade development arm AM2 (the people behind OutRun, Afterburner, Virtua Fighter and more) the game has three tracks, Beginner, Advanced and Expert which are either oval or street based courses and the player can either play against the computer with up to 40 cars in a race in signle player.

You can also go head-to-head with other people in the arcade as the machines could be linked up with up to eight players jostling for first place.

This social multi-player element is something that many feel made the game such a hit. Yes it has very vibrant and colourful graphics thanks to the powerful (for 1994) Model 2 arcade hardware it runs on but as we know today anyone can make a game look pretty, its what’s underneath that counts!

Although the look of the game was ground breaking and this on its own help extract coins from pockets to coin-op slots all on its own it along with the ‘Daaaaaaaytona!’ attract mode music that is so catchy it stays in your head for the rest of the day like the last song you heard on the radio.

It was also the promise of people racing against each other that drew the crowds in and I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more satisfying than side-swiping an opponent in to the wall and hearing the exasperated cries of frustration along with the promise of revenge, that is, if they can catch up you before the timer runs out.

With everyone against the clock as well as each other the first place player is required to hit the checkpoints to keep the game going for everyone, giving equal time to everyone no matter the skill set.

So apart from the sociable multi-player element, the graphics, the growling engine sounds and commentary from your pit master, the force feedback steering and the satisfying ability to drift round the track when you select manual transmission,thanks to some great physics. You're even able to choose how you view the car with different viewpoints which was first seen in Virtua Racing, another AM2 developed arcade racer.

So what is it that has kept the game in arcades when most are just full of gambling machines? Well, to be honest its all of the above!

If you haven’t had the chance to play it then the next time you see one go spend a bit of change on it as being 20 years old means it won’t be around forever as the hardware gets older and the spare parts inevitably run out,

There are home versions with the Xbox Live Arcade and PS3 network both have the arcade game in full available for it and its also available on the Sega Saturn and the Sega Dreamcast and while they can’t offer the same experience as battling it out on dedicated arcade hardware they are still fun and worth a try if you get the chance as this is Sega at its best and is a impressive reminder of the heyday of arcade gaming.

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/01/28/segas-daytona-usa-still-going-strong-after-20-years-in-arcades/



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Man, this winter has been a bitter one in the USA, yet I know spring is comin', and around the middle of this year, so is Kickstarter funded 'The 90's Arcade Racer' slated to be released on (among other platforms):

http://i.imgur.com/mJynGkT.png?1


So, Bru Bru Skies, I'll see.

[Leo_A]

That likely will be my first non Virtual Console Wii U eShop purchase. :)

I wonder why it isn't coming to XBLA and PSN for current generation systems? I think the stock 360 pad is a pretty good pairing with arcade racers like Outrun Online Arcade and the Daytona USA port.

I saw a Sega Racing Classic cabinet recently which was the HD arcade conversion of Daytona USA from a few years ago that was then ported to the 360 & PS3 with the Daytona USA licensing restored to the game. First time I've seen one of those.

[parallaxscroll]

That likely will be my first non Virtual Console Wii U eShop purchase. :)

I wonder why it isn't coming to XBLA and PSN for current generation systems? I think the stock 360 pad is a pretty good pairing with arcade racers like Outrun Online Arcade and the Daytona USA port.



The 90's Arcade Racer is finally going to make me to buy a Wii U. Was so close to getting Wii U at launch in 2012 but saved my money for the PS4 instead.

I do hope it gets released on XBLA for 360 and/or PSN for PS3, given those console's huge installed bases.

It's hard to believe a Kickstarter-funded game inspired by three of Sega's racers from the 1990s is the game that will get me to purchase Nintendo's console, but it's true. By then I'll benefit from Nintendo's Wii U games that I'm interested in, such as Kart 8 as well as the next mainline Zelda game which could be revealed at E3 even if it does not come out until fall of next year or sometime in 2015.

Anyway, if The 90's Arcade Racer does well enough, and that's a big IF, I can only hope Sega takes notice and decide to, at long last, bring both Scud Race / Sega Super GT and Daytona USA 2 Battle On The Edge & Power Edition home, to whatever generation of platforms it sees fit, even if they have to slightly modify the games to work around licencing issues as they did with Sega Racing Classic.

[Leo_A]

Hopefully but I assume that Daytona USA didn't quite meet sales expectations judging by the lack of a comparable follow on.

[parallaxscroll]

Hopefully but I assume that Daytona USA didn't quite meet sales expectations judging by the lack of a comparable follow on.


That's true..

[Greg2600]

They made Daytona USA 2, but the license was probably very hefty from NASCAR. In fact by the early 2000's, there were other NASCAR licensed arcade games, most of which stunk.

[Leo_A]

I doubt it was that expensive.

Plus, it never had a NASCAR license. There are no NASCAR properties in Daytona USA. The only interaction Sega ever had with NASCAR in regard to the Daytona USA franchise was because the ISC rights to the tracks at that time were handled by NASCAR Properties to simplify matters so videogame publishers for instance that wanted to create a NASCAR game could go to one central source for licensing. That's why NASCAR Properties is referenced on the back of the case inserts for the home ports back in the day.

Daytona USA was only the name of Daytona International Speedway's defunct visitor's attraction center with arcade games, simultators, a IMAX theater, etc (In fact, that name didn't even exist before Sega created it so Sega likely only licensed "Daytona" at first). Daytona International Speedway and their trademarks are owned by International Speedway Corporation, not NASCAR, and Daytona was regularly being officially modeled in other games throughout EA's tenure with NASCAR exclusivity before their poor development efforts killed sales and they couldn't justify the cost of exclusivity (And weren't willing to compete). If the Daytona license was part of the NASCAR license, that wouldn't of been possible.

Daytona International Speedway is most closely associated with NASCAR but for the best analogy I can think of for videogaming, it's what Blu-Ray is to Sony. Just because this carries the Daytona name doesn't mean it has anything to do with NASCAR.

[Greg2600]

Daytona and NASCAR are both owned by the France family. ISC is public, but it's still the France's. I played/followed the old Papyrus/Sierra sims, and Mr. Papyrus himself Dave Kaemmer said it was pretty expensive. Regardless, SEGA normally didn't recycle arcade titles over and over again.

[Leo_A]

Daytona and NASCAR are both owned by the France family. ISC is public, but it's still the France's. I played/followed the old Papyrus/Sierra sims, and Mr. Papyrus himself Dave Kaemmer said it was pretty expensive. Regardless, SEGA normally didn't recycle arcade titles over and over again.

Despite a close relationship and a significant percentage of the ownership in it being in common with NASCAR, ISC is still a separate corporate entity and Daytona is a separate license. There has never been any NASCAR IP associated with Daytona USA and thus, Sega never needed the NASCAR license for it.

That's why the early Papyrus NASCAR games were possible at a time when the Daytona licensing was exclusive to Sega (If you're familiar with those PC sims, you must remember that Daytona was absent in NR1-3, Legends, and NR1999) and why at a time when EA had exclusive NASCAR rights, Daytona was appearing elsewhere such as in iRacing (Which is the heir of the Papyrus legacy).

They're not one and the same. Heck, I don't even think they dealt with NASCAR with NASCAR Arcade since EA was involved with that project and had an active NASCAR license at the time for videogaming (Although not exclusive like it would become in 2004 or so). It was probably piggybacked on that.

[parallaxscroll]

I'd be more than happy if Sega brought Daytona USA 2 home to Xbox 360 XBLA & PS3 PSN, made both versions of the game playable (Battle On The Edge, Power Edition) in HD 720p or 1080p and simply called it 'Sega Racing Classic 2'.

Problem is, it would not sell, at all, unless it was called Daytona USA 2 Even then, the arcade versions released in 1998 were not even remotely close to being as popular and successful as the original.

I can see why Sega would probably never do this, even though I'd be so happy if they did.

[Leo_A]

For modern Sega arcade racers, I'd select Sega Super GT first. But I'd be lining up day 1 for Daytona USA 2 as well.

I'd settle just for Outrun 2 HD Definitive Edition with everything in HD, all Outrun 2 related content from the arcade and home versions, all bells and whistles, full online support, and options to trigger things like the OR2 gameplay style or OR2SP's slipstreaming.

But Sega probably has Sumo Digital hard at work on another kart racer.

[parallaxscroll]

This couldn't be better timing: Nuexx's Daytona ++ - This is a patched version of the Model 2 emu, specifically for Daytona USA.

Read this thread: http://www.supermodel3.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1054

Not only does it support Xbox 360 controllers, even if you don't have one, it makes configuring the controls on a dual analog pad much, much easier than the normal Model 2 emu.

Even better, Nuexx's Daytona ++ has all kinds of options for enhanced graphics, including HD textures, widescreen, night mode, anti-aliasing and much higher rendering resolutions.

I haven't tried HD textures yet, but I did crank up the rendering resolution to 1920 x 1080, the max my monitor supports. This is a higher resolution than the normal Model 2 emu allows, but Nuexx's Daytona ++ can go even higher.

So even @ 1920 x 1080, that at least equals the resolution of the HD Daytona USA port for PS3 and Xbox 360, which itself was a port of Sega Racing Classic, the arcade re-release of Daytona USA.

I am not certain if both the PS3 and 360 versions were native 1080p, native 720p or what, but at least the patched Model 2 emu can run Daytona USA in full HD 1080p resolution (and higher) now.

I don't think my laptop will be able to handle the HD textures option, but I'll update this post if I can run that too.

Here are a couple videos with the new textures (switch to 1080p in YouTube)

Beginner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn30SwO11ls
Advanced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Wjw7C1Uw0

[InsaneDavid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbZk-Ar6a6w

[parallaxscroll]

^pure awesome

[Greg2600]

http://nebula.emulatronia.com/

Okay, wait a minute. The author of Nebula put out an emulator update. His first in 3 years. Seems like minor bugs were fixed. I downloaded that and it works. There has also been a Model 2/Nebula configurator out for awhile that does custom configuration. I prefer just to configure each game individually because they are not equal. For instance, Daytona USA and Indy 500 foot pedals are actually reversed in the programming. I could not get this Daytona ++ thing to work, keeps saying missing files.

[parallaxscroll]

http://nebula.emulatronia.com/

Okay, wait a minute. The author of Nebula put out an emulator update. His first in 3 years. Seems like minor bugs were fixed. I downloaded that and it works. There has also been a Model 2/Nebula configurator out for awhile that does custom configuration. I prefer just to configure each game individually because they are not equal. For instance, Daytona USA and Indy 500 foot pedals are actually reversed in the programming. I could not get this Daytona ++ thing to work, keeps saying missing files.


I have not tried the new update of Nebula's Model 2 emulator but I will when I get a chance.

As for Daytona ++ you need to have a correct working Daytona USA ROM (start with the U.S. version, should be named Daytona) placed in the ROMs folder. I make sure all the emulator files including the ROMs folder are on my desktop.

If you still have trouble, send me a PM.

[parallaxscroll]

Alright now I've had a chance to use the recently updated version of the Nebula Model 2 emulator, 1.1a (http://nebula.emulatronia.com/downloadgw.php?get=m2emulator.zip) -- It's great because this is where the control configuration has been fixed (which is reflected in Daytona USA ++). The thing lacking in ++ is the ability to play the '93 version for Japan which had tougher AI cars.



Okay I need some advice for a good FFB steering wheel w/ peddles + gear shift that can be used with Model 2 emu on a Win7 PC and the PlayStation3 / PSN release.

Should I go with the Logitech G27 or the Logitech GT Driving Force ??

I know the GT Driving Force is roughly half the price of the G27 but I've heard so many good things about the G27,

[Leo_A]

A arcade racer like Daytona USA with its exaggerated motions and a consumer grade force feedback wheel with plastic gears and such aren't a match made in Heaven.

These Logitechs are more made for things like taking an IndyCar around Indianapolis with smooth, gentle, minor steering motions and even there, their lifespan is rather limited. I was lucky to get a year of regular sim racing out of my Logitechs like the MOMO Force years ago.

If you want something that will last, I'd consider something lacking force feedback like a TSW product unless you don't envision it seeing many hours of use over the coming years. A Sega arcade racer is the quickest way of wearing out a cheap force feedback mechanism, cheap plastic pedals, etc.

[Vigilante]

The best part of Daytona USA was the ability to turn around and drive head-on into the other players.

[The Adventurer]

This thread spured me into picking up a copy of Daytona USA for Sega Saturn from the local used game shop. I played a bit of Daytona in the arcades in the late 90s and recalled it was pretty fun.

I got say... the Saturn port is kind of disappointing. Its a lot more pixilated then I thought it would be, but worse... no multiplayer! But at least the game feels right and plays well. I just wish it wasn't so... lacking in features.

[Tanooki]

There are two version of Daytona for the Saturn in the US, the first one sucks pretty bad but the second release is overall better and adds content too.

[parallaxscroll]

Best version of Daytona USA on Saturn is the Japanese Circuit Edition.

http://i.imgur.com/8NnHoYe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gp3yLaV.jpg

It's a more polished revision of the U.S. Championship Circuit Edition with better draw-distances, less pop-in, and some redrawn textures.
You can race at dusk or night, the control has been improved, there's modem play over Netlink plus link cable support.

[StealthLurker]

Picked up the Logitech G27 wheel setup way back when Daytona dropped on the PS3. Fantastic stuff. The shifter on the G27 really, really brings the arcade feel of Daytona home.

imho, the PS3 version is the only officially released home port worth playing overall these days.

.

[Greg2600]

The Dreamcast version would have been terrific if it didn't have that controller dead zone bug.

[InsaneDavid]

Best version of Daytona USA on Saturn is the Japanese Circuit Edition.

It's a more polished revision of the U.S. Championship Circuit Edition with better draw-distances, less pop-in, and some redrawn textures.
You can race at dusk or night, the control has been improved, there's modem play over Netlink plus link cable support.

And you can replace the music for Three Seven Speedway, Dinosaur Canyon and Seaside Street Galaxy with the arcade songs instead of all that cock rock that the US version was stuck with.


The Dreamcast version would have been terrific if it didn't have that controller dead zone bug.

Not so much a bug as Genki basing the control around that of Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2.

[Greg2600]

Well they say using a wheel is perfect, but I'm not keeping one of those things around just for the DC!

[parallaxscroll]

The Dreamcast rendition, Daytona USA 2001, had some incredible graphics, not only much better than the arcade, but in many ways, better than the official HD port on PS3/360, although obviously in far lower Standard Definition res.

The amount of geometry in the cars was much higher and the textures were completely redone. The lighting was the biggest difference in the DC version though. The lighting was incredible but I am not sure exactly certaain what the lighting technique was.

Although, IGN said (http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/10/03/behind-the-wheel-with-daytona-dc) it was "per-pixel volumetric". I would say most likely it was, based on how the lighting looked in-game and also because volumetric rendering of some sort was a hardware feature of then Video Logic's PowerVR CLX2 graphics chip.

IGN also speculated that they believed the DC game was running on the F355 game engine. I don't know about that. Genki did the lion's share of the programming (not sure what the breakdown was, with Amusement Vision) so yeah, a Tokyo Xtreme Racer engine, methinks.

Now that said, the DC version's graphics cannot hold a candle to the clarity of the modern HD console versions, in terms of native screen resolution or texture resolution. Yet the PS3/360 didn't get the additional geometry, improved lighting or totally remade textures.

http://i.imgur.com/mwIWPOv.jpg?1

That's what I mean^

I used to own both the Japanese import and domestic NA versions. The domestic version had options to adjust the sensitivity of the analog controls, but it was still far from controlling like it should, as the PS3 version does very well.

I did like some of the additional tracks.

Aside from remakes of the original three as well as the Saturn CCE / CE tracks: National Park Speedway and Desert City, there were three more made for DC: Rin Rin Rink, Mermaid Lake and Circuit Pixie. I enjoyed Mermaid Lake the most out of the DC-exclusive ones because of the track design. Here's a video of Mermaid Lake, emulated (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZZcT0Xk-k) and another video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRilApI3gAM) of it on a real console. Rin Rin Rink had its moments, too.

The Dreamcast game was very flawed in its control & handling, but still worth owning as it was butter smooth 60fps and there was zero draw-in / pop-up.

[klausien]

Despite its limitations as an arcade title, Daytona USA is still a top 5 racing game for me after all these years. I will never forget first experiencing it at a Jersey shore arcade back in '94, and subsequently playing it every chance I got once the arcade at the local mall got it. While Ridge Racer beat it to the line and had a far better home port, Daytona was truly revolutionary. At least it felt that way.

The 360/PS3 version was everything I was waiting for in a port. The only negative it that there was no physical disc release. The day we lose it to the obsolescence of the current console digital distribution platforms will be a sad say indeed. I would gladly pay full price, day one for a Sega arcade racer collection. I'd even take the Daytona release in question plus an HD version of the Sega Rally 1995 port they did for the 2006 PS2 release in a double pack for full price. Sega needs to capitalize on the nostalgia out there with a physical release. I'm willing to bet that the current digital release would have fared better on disc. Know your audience.

[parallaxscroll]

Despite its limitations as an arcade title, Daytona USA is still a top 5 racing game for me after all these years. I will never forget first experiencing it at a Jersey shore arcade back in '94, and subsequently playing it every chance I got once the arcade at the local mall got it. While Ridge Racer beat it to the line and had a far better home port, Daytona was truly revolutionary. At least it felt that way.

I too will never forget that first experience with Daytona USA at a Chicago area arcade in spring '94. Spent every quarter I could. The single player deluxe machine always had a crowd around it, and people seemed to be in awe of what they were seeing. Yeah, Ridge Racer had been there since fall '93 but seemed to be forgotten once Daytona USA arrived. When the arcade got linked cabs later in the summer, the machines were constantly in use and almost always being well-maintained by the staff.



The 360/PS3 version was everything I was waiting for in a port. The only negative it that there was no physical disc release. The day we lose it to the obsolescence of the current console digital distribution platforms will be a sad say indeed. I would gladly pay full price, day one for a Sega arcade racer collection. I'd even take the Daytona release in question plus an HD version of the Sega Rally 1995 port they did for the 2006 PS2 release in a double pack for full price. Sega needs to capitalize on the nostalgia out there with a physical release. I'm willing to bet that the current digital release would have fared better on disc. Know your audience.

I could not agree more. Once we lose the digital release when PSN / LIVE servers get shut down for PS3 / 360, it'll be such a shame.

Anyone still playing online?

Really looking forward to some multiplayer matches on PSN (no 360 right now)

PSN: Parallax-Scroll