Speed Race
1974 · Racing · Arcade
Overview
Speed Race (1974) is Tomohiro Nishikado's Taito driving game on a vertically scrolling road, sold in America by Midway as Wheels and Racer.
Deep Dive
The player steers with a wheel and controls speed with an accelerator, scoring by passing other cars without hitting them. Points rise with speed, and a run lasts 90 seconds. Its vertical scrolling influenced later games.
Developer Story
Nishikado designed it at Taito, which released it in Japan in November 1974. Midway brought it to North America in 1975 as Racer and Wheels. A follow-up, Speed Race DX, became Japan's highest-grossing arcade video game of 1977.
Did You Know?
- Wheels and Wheels II together sold 10,000 cabinets in the US, which Ralph Baer's figures make the best-selling arcade game of 1975.
- Its success in Japan helped make 100 yen per play the standard arcade price.
Sources & further reading
- Speed Race — Wikipedia
