Outworld 2375 AD
From Sega Retro
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| Outworld 2375 AD | ||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | ||||||||||
| Publisher: HeartBeat Corporation[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Developer: Western Technologies Inc. | ||||||||||
| Peripherals supported: HeartBeat Catalyst[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Genre: Driving | ||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | ||||||||||
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Outworld 2375 AD is a Sega Mega Drive fitness science fiction driving game published by HeartBeat Corporation. Specifically designed to utilize the fitness sensor-integrated Mega Drive peripheral HeartBeat Catalyst[2], it was released exclusively in the United States in late 1994 in an extremely limited run, and is one of the single-rarest commercially released Mega Drive games in existence.
Contents
Blurb
| “ | Kidnapped by intergalactic criminals, you have been pitted in the race for the ultimate prize - your freedom. Race through a planet which began as an experiment in artificial development. Using your heavily armed space hovercraft, you must outmaneuver environmental mutations as well as the deadly inhabitants in a fight for your survival. Go too slow and your aircraft will crash...too fast and it will burn up. Close the hatch, buckle up and hit the turbos. | „ |
— Promotional blurb from the Heartbeat Personal Trainer's brochure.[3] | ||
Gameplay
Set on a planet wracked by natural disasters, players begin the game by choosing from one of five different courses.[4] The faster players exercise, the faster their hovercraft will travel. Exercise too fast and the ship will overheat and explode, but exercise too slowly and it will lose momentum and crash.[5]
History
Development
During initial development of the Catalyst, HeartBeat Corporation contracted the Los Angeles-based Western Technologies to develop two original titles for the system. The games would be exclusive to the hardware, and unlike the remainder of the Catalyst's library (which consisted of modified ports of existing games) would be designed from the ground up around the system's unique fitness-sensing capabilities. The first of these titles, Outback Joey, was included as a pack-in title with the Catalyst in November 1993. The second, Outworld 2375 AD, would remain in development for another year. Known under the working tile of simply Outworld[6][7], the game would ultimately become the final HeartBeat title developed by Western Technologies.
Prerelease
Outworld 2375 AD was advertised alongside NHLPA Hockey as "the second wave of HeartBeat games".[2] Early copies of the game were sent to video game magazines for review purposes, with most articles highlighting its unique fitness capabilities; namely, the relation of the player's heart rate to the speed of actual gameplay was easily Outworld's most well-received feature.[5]
Release
Released sometime in late 1994 in a limited run numbering in the few hundred, Outworld 2375 AD appears to have been available for purchase from either three select Target stores in the state of Michigan, or by mail-ordering the game directly from HeartBeat Corporation. Additionally, fitness retailers like NordicTrack who had previously stocked HeartBeat products were also likely to have access to the company's limited-run games, if they so chose.[8][9]
Legacy
As one of the least-known Sega Mega Drive games, Outworld 2375 AD 's release status remained unclear for decades; however, modern research (particularly the efforts of Reddit user BadUsername25[10][11][9]) eventually uncovered evidence of the game's official release. Owing to a previous misunderstanding that Outworld had been cancelled, little of the title has been preserved. Its ROM is undumped, and while the game was sold in a box and with a manual[8][9], no images of either the artwork, manual, or cartridge are believed to publicly exist.
Multiple collectors in Lansing, Michigan (where HeartBeat Catalyst games were locally distributed post-1994) own copies of the game, with one collector confirming Outworld 2375 AD received a standard boxed release with a manual and cartridge; another collector from the same city claims to own a prototype copy of the game.[8]
Magazine articles
- Main article: Outworld 2375 AD/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Outworld 2375 AD/Promotional material.
Technical information
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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Cartridge (US) |
External links
- Technology adds new thrills to boring exercise equipment article by Bob Condor at The Chicago Tribune
- Investigatory thread 1, 2, 3 by BadUsername25 at Reddit
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-14 05:43)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Sega Visions, "October/November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 110
- ↑ File:HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US brochure.pdf, page 4
- ↑ https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-24-9402240306-story.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 12
- ↑ https://trademarks.justia.com/743/41/outworld-74341709.html
- ↑ http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 https://gamesniped.com/2008/10/05/sega-genesis-outworld-2375-ad/
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 https://www.reddit.com/r/lostmedia/comments/i7sm8p/outworld_sega_genesis_game_barcode_and_more_info/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/lostmedia/comments/i3j51c/sega_genesis_outworld_2375_ad_possibly_the_rarest/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/lostmedia/comments/i43hwz/outworld_2375_ad_sega_genesis_newspaper_ad_update/
| Outworld 2375 AD | |
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Main page | Development | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Region coding | Technical information |
| HeartBeat Catalyst | |
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| Topics | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Personal Trainer | HeartBeat Corporation |
| Games | NHLPA Hockey | Outback Joey | Outworld 2375 AD | PGA Tour Golf II |