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Wheels (1974)

Taito

Arcade

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Speed Race is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles "Racer" and "Wheels" in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score … Speed Race is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles "Racer" and "Wheels" in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score points by driving past other cars without colliding with them; more points are awarded for driving faster. Players must do this under a 90-second time limit, which ends the game when it runs out. The gameplay concepts were adapted from two earlier driving electro-mechanical games: Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's Super Road 7 (1970).

The original Speed Race and Wheels had an upright arcade cabinet, while Midway's Racer introduced a sit-down cabinet. Taito released an updated version of Speed Race called Speed Race DX in 1975. Two-player versions followed with Midway's Wheels II and Taito's Speed Race Twin.

The game was a worldwide commercial success. Speed Race was a hit in Japan, establishing 100 yen per play as the standard for arcade games there, while Wheels and Wheels II sold 10,000 arcade cabinets in the United States to become the best-selling arcade game of 1975. The Speed Race DX and Wheels versions were also among the top three highest-grossing arcade games of 1976 in Japan and the United States, respectively, while Speed Race DX was Japan's highest-grossing arcade video game of 1977. The game spawned the Speed Race series of arcade racing games. The game's use of vertical scrolling was also influential on later games. Read more

Details

Developers
Taito
Publishers
Leisure and Allied, Midway Manufacturing, Taito
Genres
Arcade, Racing
Themes
Action
Series
Speed Race
Also known as
Racer · T.T. Speed Race · T.T. Speed Race CL

Release dates

  • Nov 1974 (Japan) Arcade
  • Q4 1974 (Europe) Arcade
  • Q4 1974 (Australia) Arcade
  • Feb 1975 (North America) Arcade
  • Mar 1975 (North America) Arcade

Related

Bundled in

  • Grand Prix (Dec 1978) · 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System, VC 4000

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