OutRun Online Arcade (PSN/XBLA)

[Bootaaay]

SEGA have announced a new HD version of OutRun by Sumo Digital for PSN & XBLA! Here's the press release and trailer;

FEEL THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR AS YOU POWER YOUR WAY ALONG THE HIGHWAYS IN OUTRUNTM ONLINE ARCADE

SEGA’s classic arcade racer returns, but this time it’s in stunning HiDef and available via PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®. Developed by acclaimed Sheffield studio Sumo Digital, OutRun Online Arcade, will be available early 2009.

Test your time, speed and handling ability as you race through vibrant, colourful stages and rediscover the 15 glorious OutRun courses. From the steep streets of San Francisco to the beautiful beaches of California, it’s mile after mile of unrelenting acceleration, thrills and action. Feel the kick as you put your foot to the floor in one of the 10 high-performance, fully licensed Ferrari cars as you race your way across the U.S. to a killer soundtrack.

For the first time on PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE®, OutRun Online Arcade delivers online multiplayer racing for up to 6 players, with fast paced OutRun, Heart Attack and Time Attack modes, the draw to the open road has never been so appealing. OutRun Online Arcade on Xbox LIVE® will feature achievements and voice; and on PlayStation® Network will include trophies, voice over IP and leaderboards.

Which route will you choose on your drive for the highest possible score?

OutRun Online Arcade will be released on Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation® Network early 2009. For assets please visit http://www.sega-press.com.

Trailer; http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_9752_en.html

Awesome news imo, i'll definetly be getting this - hopefully SEGA will start releasing more of their back-catalogue on PSN & XBLA, i'd love to see a HD remake of the orignal Panzer Dragoon, or a HD remake of Crazy Taxi!

[Spoiler Duck]

While most point to Street Fighter II as their defining game of the arcade era (and rightfully so, I should add), Outrun was mine. I cannot wait.

EDIT - Nostalgia on hold! It's based off Outrun 2, not the original. But seeing as Outrun 2 was also really fucking awesome, I'm still excited. Just slightly less.

Aside/boast - last year I got to see Richard Jacques perform a jazz remix of Magical Sound Shower live. It was the most awesome thing I have ever seen live.

[thejamessea]

Outrun 2 is fantastic. Definitely my favorite PSP game. I am absolutely thrilled to play this in HD on my TV. So excited.

[Niode]

W00t!. Loved Outrun 2 on the xbox. Going to get this as soon as it comes out.

Every time I see it in the arcade I play it. I have my initials on the E route (the hardest) high scores on about 10 machines so far.

[RadarScope1]

I've been fishing around for Outrun 2 or C2C for a while now but have held off. This is great news, especially with leaderboards and all that.

However, I REALLY hope they put the original in there somewhere. I've always thought Outrun was at the very top of the list of arcade classics that were for some reason missing on XBLA (and PSN). Just the old game with leaderboards for 5 bucks would have been cool. Here's hoping ....

[Niode]

Well you could unlock the original in Outrun 2. I'd definitely urge you to hunt down a copy. It's easily one of the best for the original xbox.

[RadarScope1]

Well you could unlock the original in Outrun 2. I'd definitely urge you to hunt down a copy. It's easily one of the best for the original xbox.

Ahhh, I didn't know that. Hopefully it'll be included then. I think I'll wait for a few more details about this version before snagging the last-gen one.

[RadarScope1]

Bumping this to see if I have this right:

OutRun 2 - Modern sequel to the arcade classic
OutRun 2 SP - Same as O2 but with more tracks and music, basically an arcade iteration
OutRun 2006 C2C- Modern remake of the original classic, includes the full O2SP as well

Do I have that right?

Apparently the North American PR says this will only be on XBLA in NA, but not PSN or WiiWare, which seems dumb. It says it will have the 15 tracks from SP. So it sounds like it's the iteration version listed second above. Does anyone know if that version also had the original game like O2 did?

Also, it sounds like if I wanted to hunt down a console version, C2C is the way to go because it has everything from all three of the modern versions? Does C2C have the original OutRun arcade graphics included, too?

There just seems to be a lot of version of this out there...

[Niode]

Right

Outrun 2. The arcade sequel to the original Arcade Outrun game. This version includes the original Outrun arcade mode as an unlockable extra.

Outrun 2 SP. This is the special tours version of Outrun 2. It adds an extra course, extra tracks and some more Ferraris. It has the GTO and the 512BB from the xbox port. It has a new physics model, making it hard to crash in certain circumstances. IT also includes the addition of a slipstreaming element to gain points and more importantly extra speed (key utilisation of this is the only way to complete the E route (going right at every junction) from my experience). There are also other minor changes to the game.

Changed physics; It was harder to crash and leave the track (the main kind of crash in 1986 Out Run), this now required a sharper angle. (So the game was made slightly more forgiving)
A certain crash that spun the car around 360 degrees was removed.
Crashing whilst drifting isn't as detrimental to your performance.
Passing cars played a new, realistic, engine sound (and passing Rivals played a race car variation), both obeying the Doppler effect.
Crashes used more realistic and dramatic animation and sound effects.
A flame effect appeared from the cars exhaust when changing gears.
Sparks appear when scraping the side of the car across a car or roadside object.
Enemy cars rapidly 'blink' and disappear from the track when badly hit.
More varied objects and creatures flew across the sky in the junction sections. These ranged from aeroplanes, UFO's, circling seagulls and flocking birds, to more mythical creatures including a dragon and two winged horses.

Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast. This is the home port of the Outrun 2 SP arcade game. It shares the same features as above apart from interconnectivity with the PS2 and PSP to unlock all the cars and Outrun Miles which are used to unlock content on the game.

Hope that answers your questions!

[RadarScope1]

One more - is the arcade original still unlockable in C2C?

I'll hold off on hunting this down until more details about the new XBLA version surface. XBL Leaderboards and a fresh new online population would be nice.