Out Run (also stylized as OutRun) is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.

The game was designed by Yu Suzuki, who traveled to Europe to gain inspiration for the game’s stages. Suzuki had a small team and only ten months to program the game, leaving him to do most of the work himself. The game was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 worldwide as well as Sega’s most successful arcade cabinet of the 1980s.

It was ported to numerous video game consoles and home computers, becoming one of the best-selling video games at the time and selling millions of copies worldwide, and it spawned a number of sequels. Out Run is considered one of the most influential racing games, cited as an influence upon numerous later video games, playing a role in the arcade video game industry’s recovery, and providing the name for a popular music genre.

Gameplay – OutRun

Out Run is a 3D driving video game in which the player controls a Ferrari Testarossa convertible from a third-person rear perspective.^[6] The camera is placed near the ground, simulating a Ferrari driver’s position and limiting the player’s view into the distance. The road curves, crests, and dips,^[4] which increases the challenge by obscuring upcoming obstacles such as traffic that the player must avoid.^[7] The object of the game is to reach the finish line against a timer.^[8] 

The game world is divided into multiple stages that each end in a checkpoint, and reaching the end of a stage provides more time.^[9] Near the end of each stage, the track forks to give the player a choice of routes leading to five final destinations.^[10] The destinations represent different difficulty levels and each conclude with their own ending scene, among them the Ferrari breaking down or being presented a trophy.^[11]

Development – OutRun

During the mid-1980s, Sega experienced success in the arcades with games developed by Yu Suzuki. Hang-On was a good seller and Enduro Racer had been successful enough for Sega to consider a second production run. Both are motorcycle racing games, and Out Run was Suzuki’s chance to develop a car racing game. His original concept was to base the game on the American film The Cannonball Run,^[11] of which he was a fan.^[12][13] He disliked racing games where cars exploded on impact, and wanted gamers to enjoy the experience of driving and to feel “superior”

1.Magical Sound Shower

2. Splash Wave

3. Passing Breeze

4. Last Wave

5. Step on Beat