Out Run
| Out Run | |
|---|---|
 European arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Sega |
| Publishers | |
| Director | Yu Suzuki |
| Programmers | Yu Suzuki Satoshi Mifune |
| Composer | Hiroshi Kawaguchi |
| Series | Out Run |
| Platform | |
| Release | September 1986 |
| Genre | Racing |
| Mode | Single-player |
| Arcade system | Sega OutRun |
Out Run is a 1986 racing video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations before time runs out.
Out Run was designed by Yu Suzuki, who traveled to Europe to gain inspiration for the stages. Suzuki's original concept was to base it on the 1981 American film The Cannonball Run, of which he was a fan. He disliked racing games in which cars exploded on impact, and wanted gamers to enjoy the experience of driving and to feel "superior".
Suzuki had a small team and only ten months to program Out Run, leaving him to do most of the work himself. It was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 worldwide, as well as Sega's most successful arcade cabinet of the 1980s. It was ported to numerous video game consoles and home computers, becoming one of the best-selling video games at the time and selling millions of copies worldwide. Out Run is considered one of the greatest games and is cited as an influence upon numerous games, playing a role in the arcade industry's recovery, and providing the name for a subgenre of synthwave. It was followed by several sequels, beginning with Turbo OutRun in 1989.