Winning Run
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.
| Winning Run | |
|---|---|
Japanese arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Composer(s) | Hiroyuki Kawada |
| Series | Winning Run |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Namco System 21 |
Development of the game began in 1985, taking three years to complete. Upon release, Winning Run was a major commercial success in Japan and a fairly moderate success in the West. The game received a favorable critical reception, many complimenting its impressive 3D graphics for the time period, alongside its Formula One racing realism. It is considered a milestone in 3D polygonal graphics technology, being able to draw 60,000 individual polygons per second. Winning Run would go on to receive numerous awards from gaming publications, and be followed up by two arcade sequels; Winning Run Suzuka GP (1989) and Winning Run '91 (1991). A similar arcade game, Driver's Eyes, was released in 1990.