Racing games seem to have been competing on realistic graphics since the 70s. An example is Speed Freak, also from 1979, one of the first games to feature 3D vector graphics. However, Monaco GP is the earliest example I have found of fullscreen scrolling bitmap graphics. It even has light effects: during night sequences, a pretty realistic light cone from the headlights hit the road.
This is all the more impressive, knowing that this game does not have a CPU! It was implemented using discrete circuits, similarly to Pong or Breakout.
The background graphics look pretty random, but this is probably the first time the artist did anything like this.
Monaco GP
SCORES
Other scores: 1767 ............ on 2024-02-16 Scores - MAME: 1698 ............ on 2019-04-24
Log entries
- 9636This game is fascinating to me. It's a racing game with colorful scrolling backgrounds, cute little car sprites that rotate when crashing, and recorded sound effects. And it's from 1979 and doesn't use a CPU, but is built from discrete components. It seems like the competition among racing games was very serious at the time, especially from Taito's Speed Race games (1974-1978), which are very similar to this game.
- 9637Got the score 1698 in MAME.
- 15435Got the score 1767.
I found an original stand-up cabinet at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas! I'm surprised how well it plays, the gear shift, the speeder, and the steering wheel feels incredibly responsive and fun.
2019-04-24
40 Years Ago - 1979: Monaco GP2024-02-16
