Virtua Racing

n/a

Model 1 Mega Drive
Virtua Racing
System(s): Sega Model 1, Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Developer: Sega AM2 Sega AM4 Grand Products (US) (Twin Cabinet manufacturer)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT) SF Interactive Media (SE rental) Zegetron (GR) Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR)
Sound driver: SMPS Z80 (banked)
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad, Saturn Backup Memory
Genre: Racing, Sports
Number of players: 1-2, 1-8
Release Date RRP Code JP 1992-08 ¥? ? US 1992-10 $? ? UK 1992-11 £? ? JP 1994-03-18 ¥9,8009,800 G-7001 US 1994-06 $99.9599.95 1229 EU 1994 1229 PT 199x MDJ1229 UK 1994-05-27 £69.9969.99 1229 SE (Rental) 199x GR 199x AU 1994 FVIR00SMC BR 1994-05 047040 KR 199x GM94002JG AS 1994 1229

Virtua Racing (バーチャレーシング) is an arcade racing game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega Enterprises, Ltd. in 1992. Virtua Racing was the first game released for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform, and also the first to use the name "Virtua" in its title (something which would be followed by numerous Sega arcade games, including Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop and Virtua Tennis. It was a milestone in 3D graphics and the racing genre, and acts as a foundation for most modern racing games. It was ported to the Mega Drive (with the Sega Virtua Processor chip on the cartridge), 32X, and Saturn.

Gameplay

Virtua Racing is a 3D racing game, where players drive formula one-esque cars around one of three tracks against 15 other vehicles (either computer or player controlled). Like earlier Sega games, it is time-limited, with checkpoints dotted around the track to extend play.

The game was Sega's first foray into 3D graphics, following over a decade's worth of pseudo-3D offerings (starting with Turbo) with 2D sprites scaling in real time. Almost everything in Virtua Racing is rendered with flat-shaded quadrilateral polygons, which means track designs are more complex than in prior Sega racers. The physics model, however, is not dissimilar to earlier games such as Power Drift - it is impossible to destroy your car, and the only penalty for driving off-road is a significant speed decrease.

Crashing into an obstacle or opponent at a high speed causes one of two animations to play out, both of which simply slow progress for a short period of time (that is to say, the angles and forces of impact have very little bearing on the result of a crash). Crashing will also force the vehicle to face forward, so while it is fully possible to turn 180 degrees and drive in the opposite direction (unlike many previous Sega outings), the game makes every attempt to stop you from doing so. The simplified collision also means it is impossible to run over your pit crew (although you can still drive through them).

In multiplayer modes, Virtua Racing implements a crude "rubber banding" system, in which cars behind the leader have better performance. Every player drives an identical car, save for differences in colour scheme.

Virtua Racing features multiple camera angles which can be selected on the cabinet itself. It also has a seven speed manual mode, the "manual" car being faster than its "automatic" counterpart if driven correctly.

Unlike Sega arcade games both before and since, Virtua Racing is very light on music, with only one of a dozen jingles playing each time the player crosses a checkpoint. Unusually for the era, cabinets also support 16:9 widescreen displays - originally intended for the "deluxe" model, this gives the player a more expanded look of the playfield (although the internal resolution of the game remains the same).

Tracks

The original release of Virtua Racing has the player race around three different tracks divided into difficulty:

	Big Forest
	"Beginner" track.
	Bay Bridge
	"Medium" track.
	Acropolis
	"Expert" track

History

Development

Main article: Virtua Racing/Development.

Release

The game was a commercial success in the arcades. In North America, RePlay's coin-op charts in April 1993 listed Virtua Racing as the highest-earning deluxe video game arcade cabinet. It remained the highest-earning deluxe cabinet in the May 1993 charts.

The hardware was revolutionary at the time of release, but Virtua Racing was later outclassed by its successor, the Sega Model 2 board, which debuted towards the end of 1993. There are no textured polygons in Virtua Racing, as Model 1 did not support them in hardware. There is one vehicle, and when linked together it is offered in several colours, but the stats never vary. Crashing slows the car down, but there is no damage model. There are differing surface types, with anything not on-road slowing the car down, but it does not affect handling, which would be pioneered by Sega Rally Championship several years later.

There are a few music tracks: during races, and jingles of several seconds play as the user crosses checkpoints and the goal line for laps; this is likely stylistic.

Virtua Racing was succeeded by its logical successor, Daytona USA, which brought the genre further forward. It would also take home systems several years to "catch up" to Virtua Racing in terms of 3D resolution and polygon counts.

Versions

Virtua Racing was available to arcade operators as single or twin cabinets. Four of the twin units can be linked up to create an eight-player experience.

Virtua Formula

Main article: Virtua Formula.

Special mid-size attractions, usually only seen at Amusement Theme Park locations and other large amusement facilities, used a modified version of Virtua Racing to create a higher-end hydraulic multiplayer experience, Virtua Formula.

Mega Drive version

See Sega Virtua Processor for details on cartridge chip

Virtua Racing was an arcade success, and though expected to avoid home consoles for quite some time due to the complexity of the Model 1 arcade board, saw an initially surprising port to the Sega Mega Drive in 1994. The Mega Drive version utilizes a custom made Sega Virtua Processor (SVP) chip, allowing the game to render significantly more polygons than the Super FX chip within Star Fox for the Super NES, as the SVP is a great deal more powerful than the Super FX. The Mega Drive port is surprisingly accurate.

Though the Mega Drive Virtua Racing is one of the more technically advanced Mega Drive games in the library, the unusual specifications of the cart mean that it is often one of the first games to not be supported by cost-reduced hardware (for example, it won't work with the Genesis 3). The Mega Drive version also takes a hit in terms of graphics and sound, displaying fewer polygons at a smaller resolution with a restricted palette and lower frame rate (around 15FPS, as opposed to the arcade's 60FPS (but double that of the Super FX-powered StarFox and Stunt Race FX on the Super NES)). However, it and all of the other home ports include two-player modes, time trials and options usually only available to arcade operators.

32X version

Main article: Virtua Racing Deluxe.

Mere months later, Virtua Racing was released as a launch title for the Sega 32X, in the form of Virtua Racing Deluxe. Deluxe adds two extra tracks and due to the increased power of the 32X, has a greater resemblance to the Model 1 release.

Saturn version

Main article: Time Warner Interactive's VR Virtua Racing.

A Sega Saturn version of the game, officially titled Time Warner Interactive's VR Virtua Racing was brought to the console by Time Warner Interactive in 1995, sporting seven extra courses (on top of the three arcade tracks), four new cars and a grand prix mode among other additions.

Virtua Racing -FlatOut-

Main article: Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.8: Virtua Racing -FlatOut-.

More recently, the game has been released as Virtua Racing -FlatOut-, part of the Sega Ages 2500 series on the PlayStation 2. This version includes an extra three new courses and four new cars to the Model 1 version.

Mobile version

Main article: Virtua Racing (mobile).

In 2008, a mobile version of the game was released through the Puyo Puyo! Sega service. This version takes after Virtua Racing Deluxe, featuring the same cars and tracks, in addition to four new cars.

Switch version

Main article: Sega Ages Virtua Racing.

In 2019, a version was released for the Nintendo Switch as part of the console's Sega Ages series. This version was developed by M2 and runs at 60 frames per second in 1080p in docked mode or 720p in handheld mode.

Sega VR version

Main article: Virtua Racing (Sega VR).

A version of the game was also planned for the Sega VR, a virtual reality headset accessory for the Mega Drive/Genesis that was planned to release in fall 1993. (Electronic Gaming Monthly, Video Game Preview Guide, 1993) However, the game, along with the accessory, was later cancelled.

Game Boy Advance version

A Game Boy Advance adaptation from Dream On Studio was prototyped and pitched in 2005. However, the project wasn't greenlit due to "the arrival of the Nintendo DS and changes in SEGA corporation".

Production credits

Main article: Virtua Racing/Production credits.

Digital manuals

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  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

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  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

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  Mega Drive Mini 2 JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Virtua Racing/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Virtua Racing/Promotional material.

Artwork

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Photo gallery

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  Upright cabinet

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  Twin cabinet

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  Deluxe cabinet

Physical scans

Model 1 version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) 90 MegaTech (UK) 94 Supergame (BR) 93

	92
Based on 3 reviews

Virtua Racing

Model 1, US (upright)

Model 1, US (twin)

Model 1, US (deluxe)

Model 1, JP (upright)

Model 1, JP (twin)

Model 1, JP (deluxe)

Model 1, UK (twin)
Manual

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 89 №17, p32-34 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) 92

	91
Based on 2 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 88 Console Mania (IT) PAL 96 Consoles + (FR) 94 Computer & Video Games (UK) 79 Computer & Video Games (UK) 84 Edge (UK) 80 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 100 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 83 FLUX (US) 79 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 90 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 85 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 90 Gamers (DE) 87 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 84 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 90 Hobby Consolas (ES) 92 Hyper (AU) 92 Joker (SI) 83 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 96 Joypad (FR) PAL 96 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 88 Mega (UK) PAL 92 Mega Force (FR) NTSC-J 95 Mega Force (FR) 95 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 88 Mega Power (UK) PAL 92 MegaTech (UK) PAL 93 Magazina Igrushek (RU) 4 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 90 Player One (FR) 99 Play Time (DE) 93 Power Up! (UK) 90 Power Unlimited (NL) 91 Score (CZ) 90 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 100 Sega Power (UK) PAL 91 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 89 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 88 Sega Force (SE) 92 SuperGamePower (BR) 96 The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook (1994) (UK) PAL 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 86 Supergames (AR) 100 Todo Sega (ES) 94 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 85 Video Games (DE) PAL 80 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 80

	87
Based on 49 reviews

Virtua Racing

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual PCB (heatsink)

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB PCB (heatsink)

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart Manual EU Manual

Mega Drive, GR (Zegetron)
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, SE (rental; SF)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE rental (ALT)

Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, Asia
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, SG/MY/BN
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, SG/MY/BN (alt)
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Virtua Racing/Technical information.