GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

OutRun racing onto 360, PS3

Sumo Digital-developed Online Arcade iteration of Sega's famed Ferrari franchise exclusive to Xbox in the US; release set for early 2009.

49 Comments

Sega has a wealth of vintage arcade hits to mine for new material. But as Alien Syndrome and Golden Axe: Beast Rider have shown, classic roots don't always make for critically acclaimed revivals.

Yep, that's OutRun.
Yep, that's OutRun.

One Sega nostalgia trip that has proven successful has been the publisher's resurrection of the OutRun franchise. Sega tapped Sumo Digital to handle development on the series, and the studio responded with such critical successes as 2004's OutRun2 for the Xbox and OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and PC.

Sega is teaming up with Sumo Digital once more, this time to bring the OutRun series to the newest generation of consoles. The publisher announced today that Sumo Digital's OutRun Online Arcade will be released as a downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 early next year. [UPDATE]: Unfortunately, a Sega representative told GameSpot that the PS3 edition of the game is currently only slated for a European release, leaving the Xbox 360 version as the only option for North American gamers.

Like the original, OutRun Online Arcade is a race through a variety of 15 US locales with branching routes. In keeping with the series' fixation on a specific brand of fast cars, OutRun Online Arcade also features a selection of 10 different Ferraris. As the game's name suggests, online multiplayer races will also be included, with support for up to six players per match.

Sega's partnership with Sumo Digital has extended beyond the OutRun games. The publisher also enlisted the Sheffield-based studio to produce Virtua Tennis: World Tour on the PlayStation Portable and this year's multiplatform Sega Superstars Tennis.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 49 comments about this story