Sega Rally 3 in an arcade environment might work. Despite there being a home release the arcade set up is something very few people could replicate at home, that is, 62 inch LCD screen, and hydraulic cabinet. And there is a section of the market that don’t play consoles on a regular basis like myself. I would like to be able to pop into an arcade for 20 minutes and just have a few goes at the arcade version. Also, Sega Rally was always designed as an arcade game so that is where it would feel right at home.

On the subject of Outrun 2 SDX, although a fantastic game and cabinet I was a little disappointed that Sega did not design a new set of courses as they did when updating Outrun 2 to SP, it seemed a good opportunity as the game was being migrated from the Chihiro to Lindberg arcade board. The game itself was also quite expensive to play here in London, so some people might have felt short changed that when you stripped away the cabinet and 62 inch LCD it was essentially the same as Outrun 2 SP.

Anyhow, I hope Sega do well with their next set of releases and bring back some of the old magic we know they have.

I’d say a new Daytona would get people very, very excited though. Even a “Greatest Hits” type thing with updated graphics and a couple of new tracks. Nascar did very well. If they got the balance right and had it be a bit fantastical like Daytona 1 and Scud Race, but not totally crazy theme park looking like Daytona 2 and Race TV then they might bring in all types of players.

Outrun 2 definately needs replacing. I think the SDX setup was a step to far. The game was already starting to look rather dated before they released that.

Personally I think they need to release more standard Lindberg games. There’s not enough variety with just Virtua Tennis 3 and Virtua Fighter 5. They could always port whatever they make over, and it’d be cheap to release it in the Western market because there are quite alot of HD cabinets over here at this stage.

In the international market, the best performing game for Sega lately seems to have been Let’s Go Jungle – it seems to have popped up everywhere since last summer, and I rarely see an empty machine. Unfortunately other games haven’t done so well, a situation for which various explanations can be offered (poor support certainly plays a part in the cases of 2 Spicy and Virtua Fighter 5). However, few would deny that games like Race TV just haven’t hit the mark, and the price issue is still problematic.

As for Sega Rally 3, I mainly see it as being a replacement for OutRun 2 and its updates. That still managed to pull in the money despite the home releases on PC, Xbox, PS2 and PSP, but has been out for five years now and even the SDX setup won’t keep it going forever. Anyhow, we should have a lot more to tell you about Sega Rally 3 soon.

Oh, and you forgot to mention their upcoming fighting game, which is understandable because it LOOKS so forgettable.

Have to admit, I was not very impressed with RaceTV at ATEI but have heard a rumour they might be developing an all new Virtua Racing/Formula title, possibly to counter the disappointment leveled at Racetv. Therefore I am also wondering if Sega might be developing new arcade hardware to stay afloat on the technology front although, granted, there is little to no gap between arcade or console hardware now. However, I hope the likes of AM2 can come up with goods to keep fans playing and win a new audience simultaneously.

Sega Rally 3/Super Challenge – who is the audience for this game? I can’t see fans of the console game seeking this out and it’s uncertain whether fans of Initial D/Wangan Midnight MT/Battle Gear will go for it either. Are casuals players their target, hence the big cabinet?