Pole Position

Pole Position was, by far, the best driving game of its time. Its graphics, sound, and driving realism outclassed even Turbo. The Fuji Speedway is the setting for an eight-car race with you behind the wheel of a Formula 1 racer. Your goal, as in all driving games, is simple--race around the track as fast as you can. You compete with seven other drivers, but time is your real opponent because the other drivers race like rookies.

The game is divided into two parts: the qualifying lap, and the race itself. The qualifying lap is the most important part of the game, because your qualifying time will determine your starting position for the race. The time needed to qualify is determined by the game's setting (73 seconds is standard). If you don't qualify, you can't compete in the race.

Atari saw Pole Position as a wise investment to bring to the states and, along with Dig Dug, was one of the first arcade games that Atari licensed from Namco. Atari then ported the game to several other home systems including their own. Interestingly, Namco chose not to port this game to the Famicom as they did with all of their other early 80s arcade games, presumably because of Nintendo's own title F1 Race which was clearly inspired directly by Pole Position.