It's a lot like Rallisport Challenge 2, so if you enjoyed that - Inflatable - then you're likely to enjoy this.

Provided this controls like Sega Rally that is.

I've heard that Sega hired a lot of ex-DICE staffers for their racing studio, too. I both love and hate DICE--but you can't go wrong there.

Sounds promising indeed. I think there's a worry that a new and inexperienced studio would cock things up entirely, but there are prolly a lot more new people with the ambition and enthusiasm enough to make a good, unique game.

I think it's inspiring to see how Sega have dropped the "authentic sports/racing game" approach they employed briefly (Tennis 2k1, Sega Rally 2006) and returned to their more consoley naming of the games (Virtua Tennis, Sega Rally Revo) because that's really their greatest strength I think. Elevating the games beyond or above other cookie cutter "we want to be THE simulation of this and that activity" and giving it its own personality in addition to mirroring the subject matter.

Someone told me once that Outrun 2, Sega Rally, Daytona and the like are more than games. I think that accurately depicts why they're such classics.

Thing is, I think there's a lot to be said about crafting your own mold in a way. I think there's a feeling right now of the customised experience, the game that adapts to the user. Some sort of obsession with the dynamics of games and their ability to transform into whatever the player wants them to be. Licensed soundtracks with a "good variety of songs and something for everyone" and fully customisable cars populate "living, breathing cities" modeled after real world locations, and when the race is on, this is what every game aspires to. In retrospect there's little to actually distinguish the one game from the other, besides "having the most options" or the best handling model.

I'm not saying those games are bad - on the contrary I enjoy many of them - but the thing Sega so successfully employed was that extra bit of defining factors. The cheesy music or the stupid bit of voice acting. The look of everything with a distinct tone or colour instead of looking "a little more realistic than that other game".

Revo and "Virtua Tennis 3" are more than names for me, they're a precursor to an effort to bring that quality to the forefront again, and create not just good games but memorable ones aswell. Games that are more than just that.

Rally and Daytona are not just racing games, they are an experience.

Pop up on Saturn is another story though :o

The Saturn versions of these games, while they satisfied me at the time, are certainly not the way they're meant to be played. It's all about Model 2 and Model 3--the best arcade legacy ever.

Those units still go for lots of cash though.

Model 2 was the perfect hardware and the games had the perfect look. I swear arcade VF2 and Sega Rally will never, ever look bad.

Now we've invented a billion ways for games to look dated.

Yea, Sega was good at developing ridiculous arcade boards that came with a pricetag to match their performance. Naomi changed all that, though. Even Lindbergh is a pretty smart system, when you look at its overall cost vs. performance.

Those were the days though, you'd go to the local arcade (if such a thing existed) and see Sega's games in all their glory--and you never expected to see a home console version that looked nearly as good.

Boy have times changed.

if I ever win the lottery? You and I will get one of these each grift

I dream of having a house and a game room filled with Sega arcade cabinets. That would be divine.

Serious?
I played Rally and Daytona more then any other racer thus far (apart from mario Kart).

Well, he raises a good point, I think. As good as many arcade games are, their home conversions don't do much to develope the single player aspect of the game and make it more enjoyable than a pick up and play experience. Some games have managed to go the extra mile, like Virtua Fighter, but many of Sega's arcade games suffer from this effect.

I say this, but VO:OT is probably my favorite Dreamcast game, and they've basically done nothing to make it home console friendly. But then again, I love me some arcade games :)

I think most games would still lack the 'replay value' nowadays, but online gaming saves their asses.

If SEGA Rally or Daytona had Live play I would still be on them now :p

Still, it's hard to argue that a game like PGR doesn't have loads more content than a Sega arcade racer. I'm on your side Roxy, but Lebato does have a point. Most fighting games suffer from the same, which is why Virtua Fighter is so refreshing. Single player content that's actually compelling? No way!

SEGA!

Daytona 2 on live would be amazing. And I generally hate stock car racing.

PGR isn't really a sim by any means. Ridge Racer actually has a decent amount of content, so that's not really a fair comparison. Plus RR6 and RR7 have pretty good online modes, too, which adds quite a bit of replay value. Burnout, Midnight Club, etc are also very arcadey racers..but they were all designed as console games and are thus loaded with content.

You could do a lot to a game like Outrun 2 to make it a more compelling home experience I think. Online would obviously be a good start, but additional cars, tracks, modes, etc would make it a much more valuable experience.

And I honestly don't know how one could find PGR boring, unless you hate cars and racing them ;)

I do admit they have miles more content! But for actual gameplay? I'd still back Rally (Daytona owns all).
I know you and Lebato love your old games so I respect both your views and understand where they come from :)

I'm a simple man with simple needs. I don't want to adjust my front suspenion 0.5 of a mill, or my gear ratio to 1o1 extra teeth per inch. I just want to drive the thing.
I understand that some do though.

Oh, and VF is the only fighter to dare sniff at SF's bo ;)

Well, I think Crazy Taxi and Outrun 2 are both really, really good console ports that - while offering essentially the same "limited" core game - has tons of unlockables that are really nice.

Thing is though, I'm not sure content neccessarily reflects replayability for me. The fact that I played Desert over and over for absolute ages to better my track record (far, far more than I've played PGR3, which I also love) sort of tells me that I found Sega Rally more replayable per se. I think for me it had a lot to do with the fact that SR HAD two cars (one secret aswell for a total of 3) and 3 tracks (again with one secret) so there was this focus there. There was little hopping around getting decentish with a bunch of different cars on different tracks, and instead it became all about those two cars and those three tracks.

Less is sometimes more, they say, and in this case it's especially true for me. People argue that SFA3 is the awesomest Street Fighter because it has umpteen characters, but for me that just clutters things up.

There is a factor I like to refer to as the friday night content factor, though. The kind of solo experience that can take the place of a visit to the cinema or a night out with friends. Sega Rally wasn't really that came, while PGR3 totally is.

At the end of the day I think what I'm trying to say is that I half agree with all of you. It's just that replayability for me has little to do with content.

I'm getting a little off topic here, but anyone who claims that SFA3 is the awesomest Street Fighter best not have played Third Strike. Doesn't even come close.

CvS2 is better, too.

I think Sega is perfectly capable of crafting arcade ports with extremely good single player content. VF4/5 are the ony fighting games to really have pulled this off EVER. This Sega Rally won't even ever be an arcade release, so far as I know, so I hope/expect there to be plenty of content there.Hey, in my field, we say this all the time. It often holds true in the Videogame world, too, 15 seconds of fun, and all that. I do think there's something to be said for additional content in console releases though..you can have your cake etc etc..

Enough with the cliches, I think that means this post is over.