SEGA Revs Up the Engines for Daytona® USA

[Jason]

SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the triumphant return of the cherished arcade racer, Daytona® USA, coming this month to home consoles. Speeding out of the past from its 1993 debut, Daytona® USA will be racing onto Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®Network. The classic title has been tuned up and overhauled with enhanced graphics, steering wheel support and, for the first time on home consoles, online multiplayer. Daytona® USA will be available as a speedy digital download in North America on October 25 for PlayStation®Network ($9.99) and October 26 for Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox360 (800 Microsoft Points), and in late November in Europe.

Since its arcade debut, Daytona® USA has stood the test of time as one of SEGA’s top racing titles, thanks to its colorful tracks for drivers of all skill levels, breakneck-speed gameplay and competitive head-to-head multiplayer options. The game’s iconic soundtrack is instantly recognizable to SEGA and racing fans everywhere, and every detail of the original hit has been meticulously preserved, polished and presented for the ultimate version of Daytona® USA.

The re-release of Daytona® USA features:

   
• Fresh Oil and a New Coat of Paint: Experience the classic retro graphics of the original arcade hit in an enhanced,16:9 widescreen format
• Let’s Go Away: Relive your glory days of racing to the sounds of the original Daytona® USA soundtrack, also available in Karaoke Mode (admit it, you know you have been singing along anyway)
• Pedal to the Metal: Drive like a pro with included support for the Logitech GT Driving Force steering wheel controller on PS3â,,¢, and all Xbox 360-supported steering wheel controllers
• Reach the Winner’s Circle: Challenge AI opponents in Arcade Mode, race the clock in Survival and Time Trial Modes, and trade paint with up to eight players in online multiplayer to place on the worldwide leaderboard

Source: Gamasutra.com

[Jason]

I'm all over that for only 800 MS points.

[Jason]

Here's the trailer:

Daytona Announcement Trailer

[Jason]

Those graphics may be a little hard to look at after play Forza 4

[Jason]

I tried out the demo last night and can't see myself playing this while I own Forza 4. The twitching camera/controls gave me a headache too.

[GB_Simo]

I tried out the demo last night and can't see myself playing this while I own Forza 4. The twitching camera/controls gave me a headache too.

I wish you wouldn't go posting things like that, Jason.  You know how sad they make me...

It'll surprise nobody at all to learn that I bought Daytona USA and I'm enjoying it very much.  On the horizon looms a fairly big 'however'...

However, it wouldn't really be fair of me to say that it's a brilliant game or that everyone should rush out and spend 800 points now, if not sooner.  It's Daytona USA exactly as I remember it - note here that how I remember it and how it actually was aren't necessarily the same thing, the game benefiting from an HD touch-up here and there - right down to the fruit machine and Damon Hill's eyes blinking at you from above the Beginner course.  The drifting dynamics are different from any other Sega racing title, requiring a little more precision than we've become accustomed to, having each face button allocated to a particular gear when using manual transmission is a nice touch and, well, you know, "DAY-TOHHHH-NAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

At its heart, though, it's still an arcade game from 1993.  The attract screen is still present, right down to the "try 4 views using the V.R Button" message.  There are still only three tracks and, even with reverse layouts and additional modes, it's not going to take all that long to see everything.  Once you've seen it all and won 1st place on each track, you'll be good enough at the game that you won't feel any need to uncover the finer nuances of the handling model.  You'll already know that there aren't any, because it's still an arcade game from 1993.  For me, it's worth having just as a trip into the wayback machine and it is still an enjoyable drive.  For everyone else, the demo might well be enough.

[Jason]

I'm shocked that the three tracks in the demo are the only three tracks in the game. I'd pass for that reason alone.

Even though I was playing video games back in 93 (mostly Sega Genesis), I didn't really go to arcades, so I don't have any nostalgic feelings towards Daytona since I never played it in arcades or on the Dreamcast either.

[GB_Simo]

Even though I was playing video games back in 93 (mostly Sega Genesis), I didn't really go to arcades, so I don't have any nostalgic feelings towards Daytona since I never played it in arcades or on the Dreamcast either.

I'm happy to be proven wrong by someone, mate, but I suspect it needs that nostalgia in order to really get hold of you.

It's a bit different now, since it's incredibly difficult to find an arcade that still has video games in it, but when I was growing up, you'd find a Daytona USA machine in every arcade in every seaside town.  Since I live on the coast, I never found myself having to look all that hard if I fancied a race.  I'm quite happy that there are only three tracks, since that's all I had in 1993; indeed, every attempt Sega has made to introduce new circuits on the Saturn and Dreamcast has been well worth forgetting about, so I don't feel like I'm losing very much.  There is nothing missing from this arcade conversion, just as Sega promised.

If you were to judge it without that context and view it as a stand-alone product in today's market...that's a different thing altogether. 

[Brad Company]

I wonder how the online is. Interesting to note that steering wheels are supported.
I can get it for 6.99 via PSN. I might bite.