TX-1

Last updated
TX-1
TX-1 flyer.png
Arcade flyer
Developer(s) Tatsumi
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

TX-1 is an arcade racing simulation game developed by Tatsumi and released in 1983. [3] It was licensed to Namco, [4] who in turn licensed it to Atari, Inc. for release in the United States, [4] thus the game is considered a successor to Pole Position and Pole Position II . [4] It was also released in the United Kingdom, Ireland and mainland Europe via Atari Ireland.

Contents

TX-1 placed a greater emphasis on realistic simulation racing than previous games in the genre, with details such as forcing players to brake or downshift the gear during corners to avoid the risk of losing control, and let go of the accelerator when going into a skid in order to regain control of the steering. It was also the first car driving game to use force feedback technology, which caused the steering wheel to vibrate, and the game also featured a unique three-screen arcade display for a more three-dimensional perspective of the track. It also introduced nonlinear gameplay by allowing players to choose which path to drive through after each checkpoint, eventually leading to one of eight possible final destinations. [4]

A sequel, TX-1 V8, was released in 1984. Both TX-1 and its sequel were highly successful in Japan, where they were the top-grossing upright/cockpit arcade cabinets for a combined sixteen months between 1983 and 1985. The sequel was not licensed by Atari for North American release.

Gameplay

The player about to pass an opponent. TX-1 Arcade Title Screen.png
The player about to pass an opponent.

Gameplay is similar to Pole Position, in that the player, piloting a Formula One racecar, needs to reach a check point in a certain period of time in order to continue playing. While negotiating the course, the driver needs to exercise caution in the turns, as excessive speed will cause the car to skid; additionally, the driver needs to pass slower cars carefully to avoid a fiery crash.

Unlike Pole Position, each stage ends at a branch point; depending on which way the driver turns, the course will be substantially different. The final two stages of this five-stage game were based upon famous Formula One races of the time and are identified by the name of the country; the path chosen during the previous three stages determines which "races" can be run in the final two stages. TX-1 was a pioneer in this style of play, which would be copied by myriad other games, especially Sega's successful Out Run series.

Development

Though TX-1 uses raster graphics similar to the 1982 release Pole Position , developed by Namco and published by Atari, TX-1 uses a unique surround-style, sit-down three-screen display. In this design, the primary monitor is mounted directly in front of the steering wheel and secondary monitors, angled at thirty degrees, are mounted both to the left and the right of the primary monitor. At the top of the left monitor is a display of the score and the car's current position; at the top of the right monitor is a running total of cars passed during the race. A display of stage, speed, and time remaining is at the top of the primary screen. The immense size of the cabinet limited the number of arcades which could display this game.

Reception

Game Machine listed TX-1 as Japan's top-grossing upright/cockpit arcade cabinet of December 1983. [5] TX-1 continued to top the Japanese upright/cockpit arcade charts for six months into 1984, through January, [6] [7] February, [8] [9] March [10] [11] and April [12] [13] up until May. [14] It was later Japan's tenth highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game during the latter half of 1986. [15]

Upon release, Computer and Video Games magazine called it "possibly the most sophisticated racing simulation game on the market to date" and said it was "a thrilling game!" [2]

Legacy

A sequel, TX-1 V8, was released by Tatsumi in 1984 and was licensed to Namco. In Japan, it topped the Game Machine upright/cockpit arcade charts for about ten months, from September 1984, [16] through October, [17] [18] November [19] [20] and December, [21] up until July 1985. [22] Both TX-1 games topped the Game Machine upright/cockpit charts for a combined sixteen months between December 1983 and July 1985.

It was later Japan's eighth highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game during the first half of 1986. [23] This game was not licensed by Atari and was rare in North America.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Pole Position</i> 1982 arcade racing video game

Pole Position is an arcade racing simulation video game released by Namco in 1982 and licensed to Atari, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution, running on the Namco Pole Position arcade system board. It is considered one of the most important titles from the golden age of arcade video games. Pole Position was an evolution of Namco's earlier arcade racing electro-mechanical games, notably F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on the development of Pole Position.

<i>Final Lap</i> 1987 video game

Final Lap is a 1987 racing simulation video game developed and published by Namco. Atari Games published the game in the United States in 1988. It was the first game to run on Namco's then-new System 2 hardware and is a direct successor to Namco's Pole Position (1982) and Pole Position II (1983). It was ported to the Famicom by Arc System Works, making it Arc System Works' debut game.

1983 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Mario Bros. and Pole Position II, along with new titles such as Astron Belt, Champion Baseball, Dragon's Lair, Elevator Action, Spy Hunter and Track & Field. Major events include the video game crash of 1983 in North America, and the third generation of video game consoles beginning with the launch of Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) and Sega's SG-1000 in Japan. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pole Position, while the year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Game & Watch for the third time since 1980.

<i>Track & Field</i> (video game) 1983 arcade video game

Track & Field, also known as Hyper Olympic in Japan and Europe, is a 1983 Olympic-themed sports video game developed by Konami for arcades. The Japanese release sported an official license for the 1984 Summer Olympics. In Europe, the game was initially released under the Japanese title Hyper Olympic in 1983, before re-releasing under the US title Track & Field in early 1984.

<i>Gauntlet</i> (1985 video game) 1985 arcade game by Atari Games

Gauntlet is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game developed and released by Atari Games. It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games. The core design of Gauntlet comes from 1983 Atari 8-bit dungeon crawl game Dandy, which resulted in a threat of legal action. It also bears striking similarities to the action-adventure maze game Time Bandit (1983).

<i>Super Sprint</i> 1986 video game

Super Sprint is a racing video game released by Atari Games and Midway Games in 1986. Up to three players drive Formula One-like cars on a circuit that is viewed from above. The game is a successor to Gran Trak 10 and the Sprint series, which were black-and-white games from the 1970s. A sequel, Championship Sprint, was released later in the same year.

1985 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. and Kung Fu, along with new titles such as Commando, Duck Hunt, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gradius, Hang-On, Space Harrier, Tetris and The Way of the Exploding Fist. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On and Karate Champ in the United States, and Commando in the United Kingdom. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the second year in a row, while the year's best‑selling home video game was Super Mario Bros and duck hunt.

1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as 1942, Boulder Dash, Cobra Command, Jet Set Willy, Karate Champ, Kung-Fu Master, Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Punch-Out!! The year's highest-grossing arcade games were Pole Position in the United States, for the second year in a row, and Track & Field in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom), which was only sold in Japan at the time.

<i>Hang-On</i> 1985 arcade racing game

Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and uses the Super Scaler arcade system board, created with design input from Yu Suzuki, as technology to simulate 3D effects. The deluxe cabinet version also introduced a motion-controlled arcade cabinet, where the player's body movement on a large motorbike-shaped cabinet corresponds with the player character's movements on screen.

<i>Firefox</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Firefox is a 1984 shoot 'em up arcade video game based on the 1982 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. It was produced in 1984 as Atari, Inc.'s only LaserDisc video game. Like Atari's first-person Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back, Firefox came as both an upright and sit down cabinet with a yoke style controller.

<i>Astron Belt</i> 1983 video game

Astron Belt (アストロンベルト) is a LaserDisc video game in the form of a third-person, space combat rail shooter, released in arcades in 1983 by Sega in Japan, and licensed to Bally Midway for release in North America. Developed in 1982, it was the first major arcade laserdisc video game. The game combines full-motion video (FMV) footage from the laserdisc with real-time 2D graphics. The arcade game was available in both upright and cockpit arcade cabinets, with the latter having illuminated buttons on the control panel, a larger 25" monitor, and a force feedback vibrating seat.

<i>Pole Position II</i> 1983 video game

Pole Position II is the sequel to racing simulation game Pole Position, released by Namco for arcades in 1983. As with its predecessor, Namco licensed this game to Atari, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution. Atari Corporation released a port as the pack-in game for its Atari 7800 ProSystem console launch in 1986. Pole Position arcade machines can be converted to Pole Position II by swapping several chips.

<i>Final Lap 2</i> 1990 Namco racing video game

Final Lap 2 is an racing simulation game released by Namco for arcades in 1990. It is the arcade sequel to Final Lap and runs on Namco System 2 hardware.

<i>Hard Drivin</i> 1989 arcade game

Hard Drivin' is a sim racing arcade video game developed by Atari Games in 1989. It invites players to test drive a sports car on courses that emphasize stunts and speed. It features one of the first 3D polygon driving environments via a simulator cabinet with a force feedback steering wheel and a custom rendering architecture.

<i>F-1</i> (arcade game) 1976 video game

F-1 is a 1976 electro-mechanical arcade racing game developed and published by Nakamura Manufacturing Company (Namco), and distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player uses a steering wheel to control a Formula One racer, which must avoid collision with other vehicles. The game uses a miniature diorama with small, plastic cars to represent the player's car and opponents on a physical, rotating track, while also featuring a projector system and lighting tricks to create the illusion of racing.

<i>Enduro Racer</i> 1986 video game

Enduro Racer (エンデューロレーサー) is an arcade racing game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with two arcade cabinet versions, a stand-up cabinet with handlebars and a full-sized dirt bike cabinet. It is often seen as a dirt racing version of Hang-On, as it uses a similar engine and PCB. The game was later released for the Master System in 1987, the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1988, and the Amstrad CPC and Atari ST in 1989.

<i>Monaco GP</i> (video game) 1979 video game

Monaco GP is an arcade racing game released by Sega in November 1979 in Japan, and January 1980 worldwide. An upgraded version, Pro Monaco GP, was released later in 1980. One of the last Sega games to use TTL chips instead of a microprocessor CPU, the game has players race against a clock and pass rival racers while attempting to earn points driving through five areas.

<i>Winning Run</i> 1988 video game

Winning Run is a first-person arcade racing simulation game developed and published by Namco in late December 1988 in Japan, before releasing internationally the following year. The player pilots a Formula One racer, with the objective being to complete each race in first place, all while avoiding opponents and other obstacles, such as flood-hit tunnels, pits and steep chambers. It was the very first game to run on the Namco System 21 arcade hardware, capable of 3D shaded polygons.

<i>Thunder Ceptor</i> 1986 video game

Thunder Ceptor is a 3D rail shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1986. It usurped both Libble Rabble and Toy Pop as the company's most powerful 8-bit arcade games, was the first game from them to use an analogue (360-degree) joystick. A stereoscopic 3-D sequel, 3-D Thunder Ceptor II, was released towards the end of the year.

References

  1. ↑ "Overseas Readers Column" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 225. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1983. pp. 32, 34.
  2. 1 2 "Arcade Action: We Discover What's New in Blackpool". Computer and Video Games . No. 30 (April 1984). 16 March 1984. pp. 26–7.
  3. ↑ TX-1, The Arcade Flyer Archive, Killer List of Videogames
  4. 1 2 3 4 TX-1 at the Killer List of Videogames
  5. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 226. Amusement Press. December 15, 1983. p. 33.
  6. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 227. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 January 1984. p. 37.
  7. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 228. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1984. p. 31.
  8. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 229. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1984. p. 29.
  9. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 230. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1984. p. 27.
  10. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 231. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1984. p. 29.
  11. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 232. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 March 1984. p. 31.
  12. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 233. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 April 1984. p. 27.
  13. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 234. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 April 1984. p. 29.
  14. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 235. Amusement Press. 1 May 1984. p. 29.
  15. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 下半期" [Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: Second Half '86](PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 300. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1987. p. 16.
  16. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 244. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 September 1984. p. 31.
  17. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 245. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 October 1984. p. 35.
  18. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 246. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 October 1984. p. 31.
  19. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 247. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 November 1984. p. 31.
  20. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 248. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 1984. p. 25.
  21. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 249. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1984. p. 31.
  22. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 264. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 July 1985. p. 29.
  23. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 上半期" [Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: First Half '86](PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 288. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 July 1986. p. 28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.