Three courses are available for play: Beginner, Advanced, and Expert, also known respectively as Three Seven Speedway, Dinosaur Canyon, and Seaside Street Galaxy. Players begin in last place and compete against a field of up to 39 computer-controlled cars, dependent on the course selected. The player's objectives are to outrun the competing cars and complete the race before time runs out, passing checkpoints to collect more time. In Daytona USA, the player drives a stock car known as the Hornet. The player driving through the beginner course (arcade version) It has been frequently named one of the best video games of all time.

A conversion was made for the Sega Saturn in 1995, and followed by sequels and enhancements for consoles and arcades. The developers researched motorsports extensively they used satellite imagery and photography to map the Daytona International Speedway, and their experience developing Virtua Racing (1992) helped with lighting and camera control.ĭaytona USA was a critical and commercial success, praised for its graphics, soundtrack and realism. Sega aimed to outperform Namco's Ridge Racer (1993). The concept was suggested by Tom Petit, president of Sega's American arcade division, with input from AM2 director Toshihiro Nagoshi, who became the game's director and producer. Daytona USA was developed by AM2 after a meeting of the heads of Sega's regional offices for a game to debut the Model 2 hardware. Sega partnered with GE Aerospace to develop the Model 2, which renders 3D graphics capable of texture filtering and texture mapping.

Daytona USA is one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time. The first game released on the Sega Model 2 arcade system board, a prototype debuted at Tokyo's Amusement Machine Show in August 1993 and was location tested in Japan the same month, before the complete game released in March 1994. Inspired by the popularity of the NASCAR motor racing series in the US, players race stock cars on one of three courses. Daytona USA is an arcade racing video game developed by Sega AM2 and released by Sega in 1994.

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