Daytona USA coming to XBLA and PSN - first trailer inside

After making a surprise but welcome appearance in a listing on the Australian ratings board's website, Daytona USA has been officially confirmed by Sega for release on XBLA and PSN this very month. It'll have online multiplayer, enhanced graphics and the original music. But there's actually a bigger triumph here than all that - so check out the video and then I'll tell you all about it.

The Daytona license had actually expired, which is why the HD arcade remake of Daytona was called 'Sega Racing Classic', lacked the famous karaoke music and that famous branding. Yet here it is, with branding, music and everything else from the arcade version intact.

In fact, this isn't even a port of Sega Racing Classic. This is the original arcade game in all its glory, complete with pixellated track textures and everything. However, that 'updated graphics' claim comes in the form of pop-up free scenery (except where it would look weird, like the outside of the tunnel on Dinosaur Canyon, which was never drawn because AM#2 didn't expect anyone to ever see it).

Multiplayer racing is confirmed and the price is particularly nice - just $9.99 or 800 MS Points. The game will be released October 26th for XBLA in North America and Europe and October 25th for PSN ($9.99) in North America. However, the European PSN release date is only specified as 'late November' in Europe.

Needless to say, this news excites me greatly. Home console conversions have never quite captured the feel of the arcade game's handling. The first Saturn version was very scrappy, the second too different... European Dreamcast owners didn't even get to race online in Daytona USA 2001. Well, the wait is almost over. Gentlemen... start your engines.

12 Oct, 2011