Pole Position (arcade game)

Infobox VG
title= Pole Position


developer= Namco
publisher= Namco (Japan), Atari (USA)
released= vgrelease|JP=1982 vgrelease|NA=1982
genre = Arcade style racing
modes= Single player
platforms= Arcade
input= Steering wheel, Gear shifter, Pedals
cabinet= Standard and Sit-down
arcade system= Namco Pole Position
cpu= Z80 @ 3.072 MHz
display= Raster, 256 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 128 colors

"Pole Position" is a racing video game released in 1982 by Namco. In this game, the player has to complete a lap in a certain amount of time in order to qualify for an F1 race at the Fuji Racetrack. After qualifying, the player has to face other cars in a championship race.

For release in the United States, Namco approached Bally Midway with a choice of two games in 1982. Bally Midway chose "Mappy" while Atari was forced to go with "Pole Position" — which turned out to be the most popular game of 1983.

Sequels

"Pole Position II" was released in 1983, and adds to the original Fuji track three additional courses: Test (resembling Indianapolis), Seaside (resembling Long Beach), and Suzuka. It features slightly improved graphics, as well as a different starting tune.

While many considered the three-screened racer "TX-1", released in 1984 by Atari and designed by Tatsumi to be a sequel to "Pole Position II", the true sequel arrived in 1987 with the release of "Final Lap", which may be considered an unofficial "Pole Position III".

Ports

"Pole Position" was ported to a number of home computers and consoles by "Atarisoft" in the early 1980s. In the mid-1990s "Pole Position" made a comeback on Windows PCs when it was included as part of "Microsoft Return of Arcade" alongside "Pac-Man", "Dig Dug", and "Galaxian". It later appeared on the Sony PlayStation system, again alongside "Pac-Man" and other Namco games, in a game collection named "Namco Museum". Since then, "Pole Position" has been included in most Namco Museum releases, such as on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox.

Presumably due to licensing issues, Fuji Speedway was renamed "Namco Circuit" in the Namco Museum versions, and Namco Speedway in Plug in and play TV versions.A Pole Position (Puffer Version) was created that used the Puffer exercise bike controller. It was never published.

A version of Pole Position was released for iPod on January 21, 2008.

On September 14, 2008, a version of Pole Position was released for the iPhone and iPod touch titled Pole Position: Remix. The game features upgraded graphics and several different control methods, but remains similar in content to the original.

Legacy

"Pole Position" was the leading game in arcades worldwide due to its relatively realistic graphics for the time. It wasn't the first game to use the "rear-view racer format" (examples include Night Driver by Atari and Turbo (released a year earlier) by Sega), but it did pioneer the format which is used in many games today, and many imitators of the format appeared after its release, most notably Sega's "Out Run" in 1986.

Advertising

The game has also become synonymous with the [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Om84Zc4-KcQ original television commercial] promoting the game.

This game was an early example of product placement within a video game, with billboards around the track advertising actual products. A complete list of billboard ads (including those specific to the U.S. release) can be found here. [http://qtchicks.hp.infoseek.co.jp/namco_pp.html]

Cartoon

"Pole Position" was also the name of a cartoon series created by DIC that ran on CBS from 1984-1986. However, it has no relation to this game; DIC presumably paid a royalty to use the title.

External links

*KLOV game|id=9063|name=Pole Position
*
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* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=2000 Arcade History Database entry]
* [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=3778&vi=3373 Twin Galaxies' Scoreboard for Pole Position]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Om84Zc4-KcQ Youtube video of original TV commercial]
*WoS game|id=0003807|name=Pole Position
*http://www.alsarcade.com/Andy/arc/atari/ Official Atari memos documenting the hardware issues with the original arcade game
* [http://revver.com/video/785602/game-review-pole-position-remix-for-ipod/ Game review of the Pole Position Remix game for iPod]