Sega Nerds article. So this could potentially be a new Daytona style game, initially for the new RingWide system but with the obvious potential of PS3/360 ports.
Do-do-do-do-doo... SEEEGAAA RAAACIIING CLAAASIIIC! (No, that's not right.) If this new title is a way Sega can work around no longer owning the Daytona license, here's to an agreement at least being made so Takenobu Mitsuyoshi's original music can remain untampered. On the other hand, it took years of delays in the release of Sega Rally 3 before similar issues could be resolved, so perhaps this is just a placeholder title to calm down the fanboys who'd start frothing at the mouth should Sega even dare mention Daytona in an announcement...
Man, if all the cars look like that, and not like some bullshit douchey new-age junk... I will require new trousers.
Too right! I was so dissapointed that the Dreamcast Daytona had ugly new look cars. Plus it didn't control like Daytona. Yakumo
I suppose the least we can ask for is unlockable 'retro' cars. Man, now I'm going to play Sega Rally and Daytonal all day. Now which box did I put the Saturn in... Ugg!
If it's really by AM2, then there's at least a high chance of it not being shit like the new Golden Axe and Nights. I dare to say that this excites me, which is the most that can be said about any Sega news at this point.
bloody awful that new Golden Axe. Sega haven't had much luck with reviving many of their old franchises.
I don't care if they change the look of the cars, just make it control the same. Maybe some kind of emulator?
We know from past efforts that Sega has misplaced the source code to several high profile titles, including the arcade version of Virtua Fighter 2 and some assets for Panzer Dragoon. Since both of these did not come from the same department and considering the number of leaks Sega has been responsible for in contrast with rival companies, it is safe to assume security isn't a major issue. Of course, this also means that accurately reproducing classic software isn't high on Sega's agenda, either! Many of the earlier releases in the AGES 2500 range were quite poor, but later on Sega took over from 3D AGES and came up with more acceptable treatments of its back catalogue. While not strictly part of that series, we should include the PS2 remakes of NiGHTS and Sega Rally as members of this dysfunctional family. I'm not sure how much of the former was rebuilt from scratch for its new host platform, though Sega Rally definitely seems as if it was either just a straight emulation of the Model 2 original or at least heavily based on the arcade version. Now, the PS2's handling of VF2 was criticised for lower quality textures and slightly different lighting effects, which it is believed were caused by the developers having to recreate certain elements after it was discovered there were portions of the source code missing. Former members of Team Andromeda have also stated in the past that much of their work on Panzer Dragoon no longer exists due to management's lack of interest in preserving every last thing worked on under Sega's roof. On the other hand, we know from the brilliant NiGHTS and other Sonic Team retro packages that certain studios received better treatment. Maybe it's for this reason we get so many Sonic games instead of something different, such as Clockwork Knight or BUG! for a change? Skirting the subject of well-known internal politics within Sega (and certain unreleased titles I seemingly can't help mention now and then!) for a moment, AM2 may no longer have all its original materials from VF2, but do you honestly believe anyone within the whole company would be foolish enough to destroy or throw out the extensive amounts of work done on projects like Shenmue or the ill-fated 32-bit conversion of Virtua Fighter 3? As these have yet to reach the hands of collectors, it's reasonable to assume they are indeed still tightly locked away in a vault within Sega of Japan's headquarters, as has been suggested in the past. By contrast, over in America there is photographic evidence of a large space containing various retail items and undoubtedly plenty of prototypes (including the finished Dee Dee Planet for Dreamcast, I recall), yet at the same time we've also heard of prototypes being stolen from one worker's car window and another discovered after years left stored in a garage - hardly what you'd call a professional archival method, despite the aforementioned "holy grail" room. I'm sure many of you will be desperate to know how all of this could possibly tie in with Daytona USA? Well, now I've set up a little context we can jump from the past into the future with greater accuracy, and since you can look back on this message perhaps someone can add further or point out any mistakes (because nobody's perfect, after all, and I'd love to hear your input on a subject that I clearly love writing about). From previous efforts it's clear Sega wouldn't think twice about emulating a Model 2 game for a new audience, as we've seen from VF2 then later Fighting Vipers, Last Bronx, Sega Rally and Virtual On to name a few of its more successful remakes. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that current generation systems have enough power to handle a pixel-perfect recreation of Daytona USA, but if the source code for this is also missing then the end result will depend on who's responsible and how much they care about the product. If AM2 really is behind this one I'd expect nothing less than perfection, unless they farm off all the hard work to Sumo Digital, who have been slacking as of late. Another possibility is that Sega Racing Classic was the other sequel known to be in development when Sega's UK-based Racing Studio folded prior to completing Sega Rally 3. As mentioned in my previous post on the subject, this game was heavily delayed - according to Kikizo, at least - because of licensing issues that needed to be resolved first, and with the Daytona name known to be a major sticking point there's a chance Racing Classic is the result of a compromise that hopefully won't include removing Takenobu Mitsuyoshi's beloved vocals. Well, yet again I've put together an epic rant that shows either just how much I care about such trivialities within Sega or my detachment to the real world. However you interpret this message, I can only hope the end product lives up to the Daytona heritage and that we at least get all courses from the original arcade game, plus later domestic versions including the PC-exclusive track from Evolution, which itself was a slightly improved port of Circuit Edition, the revised Japanese upgrade to Championship Circuit Edition (confusing or what?)! On top of this, how about the cars and tracks from SCUD Race, Indy 500 - even if this would require a lot more licensing issues to be sorted out first - and the construction mode that was first promised for CCE but has yet to materialise. More realistically, if we can have the courses from Battle On The Edge and Daytona USA 2: Power Edition I'd still be happy. Just please don't ruin the graphics, handling or music this time - even a 1080p take on the original Daytona with network support under a new name would be enough for most fans...
Did you guys know that back in the day, after the fighters megamix succes, sega planned a racing megamix for the saturn? I remember hearing that on a radio videogame program, would be cool to see the sega web archive and try to find more info about this.
I'm waiting for an official announcement. Speculation at this point would be counter-productive. Had the recent Sega Racing Studio not closed shop we could have safely assumed this would be in the vein of Sega Rally 3. As for Model 2 emulation, I am satisfied with ElSemi's emulator. It still has many issues but at least it's got real effort behind it, unlike most of Sega Ages releases.
Can't wait to learn more about this - it could easily be fake, but doesn't look like it, especially when comparing with the higher resolution image on Seganerds. Looks like a scan of a printed flyer - there are printing & scanning flaws in it, and the logos don't look photoshopped. Yay.
The first I saw of Drivers Megamix was in the April '97 issue of C&VG magazine - a publication known for a (Sheng) long tradition of printing in-jokes, April Fool stories and rumours every year. As for the possibility of that Sega Racing Classic artwork being a scanned flyer, you've sure convinced me. Also, doesn't the very same logo form part of Sega's application to protect this name? Let's hope Toshihiro Nagoshi, Yu Suzuki and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will be on board in some capacity, along with perhaps Tetsuya Mizuguchi (even though he's no longer at Sega) and Kenji Sasaki if this one's really going to be a proper crossover of past Sega racing titles... just make sure they keep Jun "I ruined Sega Rally 2" Taniguchi away from it!
There's the old proverb saying that good things come in threes, so how about Shenmue III to really make a trilogy cementing Sega's return to form?
I don't get Sega... They have tons of franchises but doesn't seem to like money. Where is the Afterburner Climax port for PS3/X360/PC? I'm still waiting for that! What about Alex Kidd? Just imagine a Daytona USA (or "Sega Racing Classic) arcade port for PS3/X360, including Multiplayer! Ok, you can play it on M2 Emulator, but imagine playing with friends, on their big LCD/ Plasmas TV, running at 60FPS! No new graphics, the same from 1995. Online rankings, competitions, customize car sponsors,... On the earlier years of my life, it was Sega with their great, creative and cool games on the arcades, Master System and MegaDrive that made me addicted to videogames. Wish those days could be back.
I would be very happy. Daytona can be released on XBLA and PSN, just like OutRun, for about $10 or $15 bucks.
