First Driving arcade game ??

[missioncontrol]

Trying to figure out what was the first driving arcade game. I'm thinking it is Atari's 1976 Night Driver.

Can anybody confirm if I'm right or not...


thanks

[RayB]

Depends what you mean. Video or just coin operated? Cuz they had driving games in pre-video days. Some used projections of images.

If you look at these search results, you'll see that Kee Games/Atari had 6 or 7 video driving games that pre-date Night Driver:

http://www.klov.com/results.php?q=driving&boolean=AND&sort=3&search_desc=1

[rchadd]

i remember playing Night Driver and Canyon Bomber at my local arcade as a kid....god that makes me feel old!

[JackTucky]

There was a 280Zzap or something?  It had a painted image of a car, and lane posts went by.

That was 1976 too

http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=10669
Art

[Stingray]

Threw a lot of my lunch money down night driver back in the day. If only I had the money and space for all of those classics.

-S

[ChadTower]

There was a projection style driving game that used to scare the piss out of me when I was like 3.  Every time I saw someone play and crash, it made a loud noise and the screen went all driving school splatter red... I still remember that and cringe.

[missioncontrol]

That would be cool to own

[ChadTower]

I would recognize it if I saw it but have no idea what it is called.  I last saw one that was barely functional this past summer in an arcade full of barely functional classics.

[TOK]

Here is a list of electro mechanical driving games dating clear back to the early 40's.
I think the one a lot of people are thinking of is Sega's Grand Prix. I think there was another version of this game with a larger display.

http://marvin3m.com/arcade/#driving

[ChadTower]

Grand Prix isn't the one I'm thinking of.

[SirPeale]

I would recognize it if I saw it but have no idea what it is called.  I last saw one that was barely functional this past summer in an arcade full of barely functional classics.

What arcade?

[Crowley]

I only remember up to Demolition Derby and Rally X. Hmm, maybe it was Formula X but I'm not sure. That being the first racing ARCADE game.

[ChadTower]

What arcade?

Joe's Playland, Salisbury Beach.

Went there over the summer, the one remaining MA classic arcade that I know of is dwindling hard.  The games they had left were all either not working, barely working, or so abused that I wanted to hug them.

[TOK]

I only remember up to Demolition Derby and Rally X. Hmm, maybe it was Formula X but I'm not sure. That being the first racing ARCADE game.

There were electro mechanical driving arcade games 20+ years before Demolition Derby came out. Video doesn't define a game (or place) as arcade.
The original post was vauge about that, and that is probably why the thread has been all over the map.

Here is an arcade driving machine from 1948, and it was nowhere near the first.