Winning Run

Winning Run (ウィニングラン, Winingu Ran) is a first-person, Formula 1 racing video game which had been released by Namco as an arcade game in 1988. It was the first game to run on their then new 3D Namco System 21 "Polygonizer" hardware. The music was composed by Hiroyuki Kawada (who had previously composed all the music of Galaga '88) - and this title was an early example of a 3D racing game. Development for the game and the System 21 hardware began over three years before release, since around the mid-1980s. Upon release, it was considered a milestone in 3D polygon graphics technology, pushing 60,000 polygons per second, and using polygon shapes as building blocks for graphic structures such as flood-hit tunnels, pits and steep cambers.

Gameplay

The game was housed in a movable silver/orange sit-down cabinet; as with other Namco racing games from the time, the player had a choice of two game modes: Easy Drive (with Automatic Transmission and slower gameplay), or Technical Drive (Manual Transmission and faster gameplay). The game also featured a Dunlop-style tire bridge over the track with the text of "NAMCO" on it - and the music also had similarities to that of Namco's own Final Lap (1987), where it only used short jingles when the race started. The game also displays a rear-view mirror to show if any cars are behind the player's vehicle.