Arcade Racer
From Sega Retro
- For the Sega Dreamcast accessory also known as the "Racing Controller", see Race Controller.
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| Made for: Sega Saturn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Arcade Racer, called the Racing Controller (レーシングコントローラー) in Japan, is a racing wheel style controller for the Sega Saturn.
Contents
Hardware
As opposed to many digital controllers at the time, the Arcade Racer is analog in nature, allowing for smoother control than a standard Sega Saturn D-Pad. Whereas digital controllers rely on values assigned to on/off switches (like light switches, they react in steps), analog controllers respond in a smoother arc (like dimmer switches).
The Arcade Racer was designed primarily for racing games such as Virtua Racing, Daytona USA or Sega Rally Championship. Its height and angle can be adjusted by the user. The seven face buttons are positioned on the face of the wheel, and the 
and 
directions are redesigned into paddles on each side of the wheel which resemble semi-automatic transmission paddle shifters (or a "flappy paddle gearbox"). These paddles are digital, not analog, unlike the wheel itself. The Arcade Racer does not have 
or 
buttons, so games designed for it cannot use those buttons.
The Arcade Racer is supported by most driving games released for the Sega Saturn (in North America it was mandatory that racing games supported the peripheral[8]). There are a few, such as Impact Racing or Road Rash, that do not support it, however, perhaps because they need the additional buttons that the Arcade Racer is missing. Most games that do support the Arcade Racer will also work in analog mode on the Mission Stick and 3D Control Pad, but a few, including Virtua Racing and Hang-On GP, require the Arcade Racer for analog play.
From a design perspective, the Arcade Racer Joystick is one of the oldest Saturn controllers, so much so that it originally started life as a Sega Mega Drive wheel[9] albeit with a completely different base and including a mode button[10]. Known as the Sega Wheel it was originally set to debut with Virtua Racing[11] in late 1994[12], but in the end no official wheels were released for Sega's earlier console.
Compatibility
- Andretti Racing (1996)
- Choro Q Park (1998)
- Code R (1998)
- Crimewave (1996)
- Cyber Speedway (1995)
- Daytona USA (1994)
- Daytona USA Circuit Edition (1997)
- Daytona USA: C.C.E. NetLink Edition (1998)
- Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition (1996)
- Destruction Derby (1996)
- Die Hard Trilogy (1997)
- F1 Challenge (1995)
- Gale Racer (1994)
- GT24 (1998)
- Hang-On GP (1995)
- Hardcore 4x4 (1996)
- High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge (1995)
- Highway 2000 (?)
- Initial D: Koudou Saisoku Densetsu (1998)
- Manx TT Super Bike (1995)
- NASCAR 98 (1997)
- Nissan Presents Over Drivin' GT-R (1996)
- Race Drivin' (1993)
- Road & Track Presents The Need for Speed (1996)
- Sega Ages Memorial Selection Vol. 2 (1997)
- Sega Ages OutRun (1996)
- Sega Ages Power Drift (1998)
- Sega Ages: Volume 1 (1996)
- Sega Rally Championship (1995)
- Sega Rally Championship Plus (1996)
- Sega Rally Championship Plus NetLink Edition (1997)
- Sega Touring Car Championship (1996)
- Shutokou Battle '97: Tsuchiya Keiichi & Bandou Masaaki (1997)
- Taito Chase H.Q. Plus S.C.I. (1996)
- Time Warner Interactive's VR Virtua Racing (1995)
- Touge King the Spirits 2 (1997)
- Vatlva (1996)
- Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange (1996)
- Wangan Trial Love (1998)
- Wipeout (1996)
- Wipeout 2097 (1997)
Localised names
| Language | Localised Name | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| English | Arcade Racer | Arcade Racer |
| Japanese | レーシング コントローラー | Racing Controller |
Magazine articles
- Main article: Arcade Racer/Magazine articles.
Patents
EP0710496B1
Artwork
US logo
Photo gallery
JP model (grey)
JP model (Shin/white)
EU model
Side of unit (grey)
Bottom of unit (grey)
PAL model
Physical scans
| Saturn, JP (grey) |
|---|
   Cover
|
 Manual |
| Saturn, JP (white) |
|---|
  Cover
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| Saturn, US |
|---|
      Cover
|
| Saturn, EU |
|---|
      Cover
|
External links
- Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Saturn
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/ss/racing.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-02-10 00:47)
- ↑ File:Outrun sat jp backcover.jpg
- ↑ GamePro, "September 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 120
- ↑ Press release: 1995-10-30: Sega unleashes exclusive lineup of arcade hits for Sega Saturn
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-12), page 34
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 36
- ↑ Hyper, "September 1995" (AU; 1995-xx-xx), page 22
- ↑ File:DevelopMental US 0309.pdf, page 4
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-15), page 8
- ↑ File:Catalogo Multi Mega Europa.pdf, page 14
- ↑ File:Catalogo Multi Mega Europa.pdf, page 9
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 16
