OutRun

Out Run is a pseudo-3D racing video game in which the player controls a Ferrari Testarossa convertible from a third-person rear perspective. The camera is placed near the ground, simulating a Ferrari driver's position and limiting the player's view into the distance. The road curves, crests, and dips, which increases the challenge by obscuring upcoming obstacles such as traffic that the player must avoid. The goal is to reach the finish line against a timer.

Each stage ends in a checkpoint, and reaching the end of a stage provides more time. Near the end of each stage, the track forks to give the player a choice of routes leading to five destinations. The destinations represent different difficulty levels and each concludes with its own ending, among them the Ferrari breaking down or being presented a trophy.

During the mid-1980s, Sega had success in the arcades with games developed by Yu Suzuki. Hang-On (1985) was a good seller and Enduro Racer (1986) had been successful enough for Sega to consider a second production run. Both are motorcycle racing games, and Out Run was Suzuki's chance to develop a car racing game. His original concept was to base the game 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 conceived the setting across the United States, and he requested to scout various locations there. According to Suzuki's boss, Youji Ishii, Sega president Hayao Nakayama believed the US was too unsafe, and suggested Europe as a safer option. Additionally, Suzuki concluded that the US was too "large and empty" for the design. He scouted Europe for two weeks in a BMW 520 for ideas.

In Japan, Out Run topped the Game Machine charts for upright/cockpit arcade cabinets in November 1986, and remained at the top of the charts in the following month. It was Japan's highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game during the latter half of 1986, and the overall seventh highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game of 1986. Out Run went on to become Japan's highest-grossing arcade game of 1987. In North America, it topped the RePlay dedicated arcade game chart in February 1987, and went on to become the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, it topped London's Electrocoin arcade charts for several months in 1987, from February through June, and was the top arcade game of the year. In Japan, it continued to rank among the annual highest-grossing dedicated arcade games for the next several years, ranking number three in 1988, number five in 1989, and number seven in 1990. In Europe, Out Run was the most popular arcade game during the late 1980s.

Out Run was followed by the arcade sequels Turbo OutRun (1989), OutRunners (1992) and OutRun 2 (2003), and several sequels for home consoles, including OutRun 3-D (1988), Out Run Europa (1991), OutRun 2019 (1993) and OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (2006). Sega also developed Rad Mobile (1990), which is similar to Out Run.

Former Sega arcade director Akira Nagai has credited Out Run and similar games for Sega's arcade success in the 1980s. According to Nagai: "Out Run, in particular, was really amazing for its time... Suzuki went on to make After Burner and a number of other games, but Out Run is still talked about with a special kind of wonder. With the taikan games, Sega's arcade business, which had been Sega's lowest performer in sales, gradually started to rise...