Play Virtua Racing Online Free for Sega Saturn.

How to Play Virtua Racing

Once Virtua Racing is running in the app, these are the default controls — every one of them is remappable from the Controller Mapping panel.

The Story Behind Virtua Racing

Virtua Racing was developed alongside the Sega Model 1 arcade system, originally called the "CG Board" system prior to completion. Famitsu magazine scored the Mega Drive version of the game 33 out of 40, calling it a "groundbreaking" port; Diehard GameFan stated that "the speed, graphic intensity and addictive gameplay that made the arcade game a major hit are all included in this awe inspiring release". Petit and Anderson noted the game was drawing large casual audiences, stating "it's bringing new people into locations" who "never played before" or "ordinarily wouldn't enter an amusement environment" but "word of mouth, the new technology and so on are bringing in new players" both young and old, male and female.

In 1992, Sega applied for a Japanese patent involving an innovative feature they developed for Virtua Racing: changing the 3D camera viewpoint with the press of a button. For Sega's arcade games to remain profitable, they needed to maintain a wide gap between arcade and home video games. Virtua Racing remained at number two in October 1993, below Suzuka 8 Hours.

What You'll Play

Though its use of 3D polygon graphics was predated by arcade rivals Namco (Winning Run in 1988) and Atari Games (Hard Drivin in 1989), Virtua Racing had vastly improved visuals in terms of polygon count, frame rate, and overall scene complexity, and displayed multiple camera angles and 3D human non-player characters, which all contributed to a greater sense of immersion. By that time, camera change buttons had become a common feature in 3D video games. They also praised the improved graphics, details, and controls, and the retention of on-the-fly view switching even in two-player split-screen mode.

Sega also successfully took legal action against Nintendo, among other companies, for using the feature in their games. Virtua Racing was America's third top-grossing arcade game during Summer 1993. The game also features online leaderboards with downloadable replays for the top 50 players on each track, an additional easier steering option and a Grand Prix mode that increases the number of laps to 20.

Why It Still Hits

This would mean Sega could earn royalties from 3D video games that used a camera change button feature. Sega also used the feature in later games such as Daytona USA. Though its use of 3D polygon graphics was predated by arcade rivals Namco (Winning Run in 1988) and Atari Games (Hard Drivin in 1989), Virtua Racing had vastly improved visuals in terms of polygon count, frame rate, and overall scene complexity, and displayed multiple camera angles and 3D human non-player characters, which all contributed to a greater sense of immersion.

At North America's 1993 AMOA Awards, held by the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), Virtua Racing won the award for Most Innovative New Technology. The following year, it was the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1993 in Japan, and one of America's top five highest-grossing arcade games of 1993. In January 1993, RePlay magazine reported that "Sega credits Virtua Racing with a huge impact on the rest of the coin-op market" and "believes its new hi-tech driver has single-handedly lifted the simulator niche" into "a growth market." While acknowledging they had arcade competitors who had introduced 3D polygon graphics before them, Sega of America's Tom Petit and Ken Anderson said in December 1992 that Sega approached 3D polygons in their own way with Virtua Racing, which had much more advanced technology, was more successful than earlier attempts, and pushed Sega to the forefront of 3D polygon technology.

Virtua Racing — Frequently Asked Questions