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Racing video games
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===1970s=== The [[arcade game]] ''[[Astro Race]]'', released by [[Taito]] in 1973, was an early racing game, where players controlled spaceships that race against opposing ships while avoiding comets and meteors. The game allowed simultaneous [[Multi-player|two-player]] competitive gameplay, was controlled using an early four-way joystick, and was presented in black & white graphics.<ref>{{MOTG|6949|Astro Race}}</ref> In 1974, Taito released ''[[Speed Race]]'', an early black-and-white car racing game designed by [[Tomohiro Nishikado]] (of ''[[Space Invaders]]'' fame),<ref name=Kohler-16>Chris Kohler (2005), ''Power-up: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life'', p. 16, [[BradyGames]], ISBN 978-0-7440-0424-3</ref> who considers it to be "the first arcade driving game".<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 6, 2009|title=Interview: 'Space Invaders' creator Tomohiro Nishikado|work=[[USA Today]]|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/05/66479041/1|accessdate=2011-03-22}}</ref> The game's most important innovations were its introductions of [[collision detection]] and [[scrolling]] graphics, specifically [[Top-down perspective video games|overhead]] vertical scrolling,<ref name=Barton-197>Bill Loguidice & Matt Barton (2009), ''Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time'', p. 197, [[Focal Press]], ISBN 978-0-240-81146-8</ref> with the course width becoming wider or narrower as the player's car moves up the road, while the player races against other [[Artificial intelligence|rival cars]], more of which appear as the [[Score (game)|score]] increases. It also featured an early [[racing wheel]] [[Game controller|controller]] interface with an [[Wikipedia:Throttle|accelerator]], [[Wikipedia:Gear shift|gear shift]], [[Wikipedia:Speedometer|speedometer]] and [[Wikipedia:Tachometer|tachometer]]. It could be played in either single-player or alternating two-player, where each player attempts to beat the other's score.<ref>{{MOTG|9709|Speed Race}}</ref> The game was re-branded as ''Racer'' by [[Midway Games]] for released in the United States and was influential on later racing games.<ref name=Barton-197/> In 1975, [[Nintendo]] released ''EVR-Race'', an early [[horse racing]] [[Simulation|simulation game]] with support for up to six players.<ref>[http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3181467 Where Were They Then: The First Games of Nintendo, Konami, and More (Nintendo)], [[1UP]]</ref> [[File:Fonz 1976 sega arcade.png|150px|thumb|''[[Fonz]]'' (1976), the first [[three-dimensional]] racing video game.]] In 1976, Taito released ''[[Crashing Race]]'', a simultaneous two-player competitive car racing game where each player must try to crash as many computer-controlled cars as possible to score points, and the player with the most points wins.<ref>{{MOTG|7422|Crashing Race}}</ref> [[SEGA]]'s ''[[Road Race]]'',<ref>[http://segaretro.org/Road_Race Road Race], Sega Retro</ref> released in February 1976,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=road-race&page=detail&id=14493 |title=Road Race arcade video game by SEGA Enterprises, Ltd. (1976) |website=Arcade-history.com |date=2008-12-28 |accessdate=2016-05-13}}</ref> introduced a three-dimensional [[Third-person perspective video games|third-person]] roadside scene of the race, displaying a constantly changing forward-scrolling S-shaped road with two obstacle race cars moving along the road that the player must avoid crashing while racing against the clock.<ref>{{MOTG|12733|Road Race}}</ref> That same year, [[SEGA]] released ''[[Moto-Cross]]'',<ref>[http://segaretro.org/Moto-Cross Moto-Cross], SEGA Retro</ref> an early black-and-white motorbike racing game, based on the [[Wikipedia:Motocross|motocross]] competition, that also featured an early three-dimensional third-person perspective.<ref name=Moto-Cross>{{MOTG|12812|Moto-Cross}}</ref> Also known as ''[[Man T.T.]]''<ref>[http://segaretro.org/Man_T.T. Man T.T.] (Sega Retro)</ref> (released August 1976),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=man-t.t.&page=detail&id=26084 |title=Man T.T. arcade video game by SEGA Enterprises, Ltd. (1976) |website=Arcade History |date=2008-06-10 |accessdate=2016-05-13}}</ref> SEGA re-branded the game as ''[[Fonz]]'',<ref>[http://segaretro.org/Fonz Fonz], SEGA Retro</ref> as a tie-in for the popular sitcom, ''[[w:c:happydays|Happy Days]]''.<ref name=Fonz>{{MOTG|12812|Fonz}}</ref> Both versions of the game displayed a constantly changing forward-scrolling road and the player's bike in a third-person perspective where objects nearer to the player are larger than those nearer to the horizon, and the aim was to steer the vehicle across the road, racing against the clock, while avoiding any on-coming motorcycles or driving off the road.<ref name=Moto-Cross/><ref name=Fonz/> The game also introduced the use of [[haptic feedback]], which caused the [[Wikipedia:Motorcycle handlebar|motorcycle handlebar]] to vibrate during a collision with another vehicle.<ref>Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), ''The video game explosion: a history from PONG to PlayStation and beyond'', p. 39, [[ABC-CLIO]], ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7</ref> That same year also saw the release of two arcade games that extended the car driving sub-genre into three dimensions. SEGA's ''[[Road Race]]'', which presents a roadside scene of the race, displaying a constantly changing forward-scrolling S-shaped road with two obstacle race cars moving along the road that the player must avoid crashing while racing against the clock.<ref>{{MOTG|12733|Road Race}}</ref> Atari's ''[[Night Driver]] ''presented a series of posts by the edge of the road though there was no view of the road or the player's car and the graphics were still low resolution white on black, and gameplay was a race against the clock. In 1977, SSEGA released ''[[Twin Course T.T.]]'', an early simultaneous competitive two-player motorbike racing game.<ref>{{MOTG|12829|Twin Course T.T.}}</ref> That same year, [[UPL]]'s ''Comotion'' was an early four-player car racing game, with an overhead view.<ref>{{MOTG|7378|Comotion}}</ref> ''[[Road Champion]]'', released by Taito in 1978, was an overhead-view timed car racing game where players try to race ahead of the opposing cars and cross the finish line first to become the winner.<ref>{{MOTG|9334|Road Champion}}</ref> In 1979, [[SEGA]]'s ''[[Head On]]'' was a racing game that played like a [[Maze video games|maze chase]] game and is thus considered a precursor to the 1980 hit ''[[Pac-Man]]''.<ref>[http://www.the-nextlevel.com/feature/forgotten-gems-of-the-maze-chase-genre/ Forgotten Gems of the Maze Chase Genre], The Next Level</ref> ''[[Monaco GP]]'', released by SEGA in 1979,<ref name="system16">[http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=683&page=1#3112 System16 Hardware: DISCRETE LOGIC HARDWARE]</ref> improved upon previous overhead-view racing games with a vertically scrolling view and color graphics. Another notable video game from the 1970s was ''The Driver'', a racing-[[action game]] released by Kasco (Kansai Seiki Seisakusho Co.) that used [[Wikipedia:16 mm film|16 mm film]] to project [[Full-motion video|full-motion video]] on screen, though its gameplay had limited interaction, requiring the player to match their [[Racing wheel|steering wheel]], gas pedal and brakes with movements shown on screen, much like the [[Quick time event|sequences]] in later [[laserdisc video game]]s.<ref>{{MOTG|10569|The Driver}}</ref>
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