Arcade racing games were the shit in the 1990s. From Virtua Racer through to Daytona, a revolution in visuals and cabinet design made them the star attractions of arcades the world over. Until, that is, they got stale.
Once everyone had got used to big vibrating cabinets and textured polygons, and developers like Sega and Namco were unable to keep up the pace of innovation, the scene grew stale. You could even argue that, along with a decline in the popularity of fighting games, racing games’ slide played a part in the demise of the arcade.
So it’s cool to see this new game from Namco Bandai which looks like, well, what you’d imagine a modern arcade racer would look like if arcades weren’t still stuffed with relics from the genre’s golden age.
It’s called Real Drive, and while it may not be quite as accessible as Daytona (there’s an emphasis on realistic driving...hence the name), it’s still got some interesting tech, like a 180-degree wrap-around screen, a seat that actually moves with bumps and corners (instead of just shaking) and a 1:1 scale perspective.
Plus, that’s a pretty swish cabinet. It’s got a door!
No idea when/if it’s coming West, as it was only shown off this week at the Tokyo Motor Show, but fingers crossed.
(via Arcade Heroes)