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Daytona USA

RacingArcade

Overview

Daytona USA is a 1994 racing game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for arcades. Inspired by the popularity of the NASCAR motor racing series in the United States, it has players race stock cars on one of three courses. It was the first game released on the Sega Model 2 arcade system board.

Sega partnered with GE Aerospace to develop the Model 2, which renders 3D graphics capable of texture filtering and texture mapping. Daytona USA was developed by AM2 after a meeting of the heads of Sega's regional offices to decide on a game to debut the Model 2 hardware. The concept was suggested by Tom Petit, president of Sega's American arcade division, with input from AM2 director Toshihiro Nagoshi, who became the game's director and producer. Sega aimed to outperform Namco's Ridge Racer (1993). The developers researched motorsports extensively; they mapped Daytona International Speedway, and their experience developing Virtua Racing (1992) helped with lighting and camera control.

Daytona USA became one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time, and was a critical and commercial success, with its graphics, soundtrack and gameplay receiving high praise. The game was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, and was followed by sequels and enhanced versions for consoles and arcades. It has been frequently named one of the best video games.