SEGA has announced a brand new arcade based on the car racing series Initial D. During a time when many publishers and developers are choosing to release games digitally, so gamers stay home, the company wants to put players back in the driver’s seat.
SEGA announced Initial D the Arcade during a livestream earlier in July. The game is an arcade experience where players sit in an interactive arcade cabinet equipped with what one would find in a car: steering wheel, manual controls, and an adjustable seat. The promotional images for the upcoming game showed four arcade cabinets in a single line together.
The game puts users in a race against four other drivers. The battle mode, where players can compete against others inside the arcade, features the first driving competition of this type for the series in a game. The graphics and gameplay have considerably improved, which gives players a more realistic experience.
Initial D has continued to delight fans for decades. The series first launched in the mid-90s but has since been adapted into movies, anime, and games. Initial D featured Japanese racing and was written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno.
The protagonist, Takumi Fujiwara, is a normal teenager who helps his father deliver tofu during the day. At night, he meets with his friends and competitors to race cars.
Players will once again enter the world of Initial D. The last arcade game for the series was Initial D Arcade Stage Zero, which was released in 2017. Most of the games have been in-person interactive experiences where players can become a racer but from the safety of a screen. The upcoming arcade game will have a few new features, such as an online battle mode, story mode, and time trial mode.
The official website has been released. The site contains the new trailer, screenshots from the game, plus some of the upcoming in-person events.
It’s unlikely the game will be released outside of Japan but will give those visiting the country in the future something to look forward to. It’s unknown how long Initial D the Arcade will stay in arcades.
A special event to unveil the new game will be held in Akihabara, Japan on July 23-24. Initial D the Arcade starts up for all gamers in Japan sometime in 2020.