is an arcade racing game released by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

in November 1979 in Japan, and January 1980 worldwide. An upgraded version, ''Pro Monaco GP'', was released later in 1980. One of the last Sega games to use TTL chips instead of a

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

CPU, the game has players race against a clock and pass rival racers while attempting to earn points driving through five areas. The game was commercially successful in arcades. In Japan, it was among the top three highest-grossing games of 1979 and top five in 1980, while in the United States it was the top-grossing driving game of 1981. It continued to regularly appear on Japanese arcade charts through 1983, and made a record number of appearances on US arcade charts from 1980 through 1987. ''Monaco GP'' was ported to the

SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...

in 1983. The series also had later releases '' Super Monaco GP'' and '' Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II''.

Gameplay

''Monaco GP'' is a racing game played from an overhead perspective, where the main objective is to finish a course before time runs out. Points are awarded as the player races through five areas. As the game progresses, rival cars controlled by the game's

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

get faster, the road narrows, and the road surface changes to ice and gravel. Various hazards in the road include puddles, narrow bridges, and tunnels where the driver's view is limited by the range of the car's headlights on screen. The timer continues counting down until 2000 points are scored; then, the system changes to a limited number of

lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...

. At 6000 points and again at 8000, rival cars increase in speed. According to ''Sega Arcade History'', the concept for this timer system came from Sega Enterprises president

Hayao Nakayama is a Japanese businessman and was the former President and CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd from 1983 to 1999. Early life and career Nakayama was born into a family of doctors, and was expected to pursue medicine as a career. However, Nakayama ...

. ''Pro Monaco GP'', an upgraded version of the game released later, features a higher difficulty level than the original game.

Development and release

''Monaco GP'' was one of the last arcade games made by Sega to use

transistor–transistor logic Transistor–transistor logic (TTL) is a logic family built from bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). Its name signifies that transistors perform both the logic function (the first "transistor") and the amplifying function (the second "transistor" ...

(TTL) based discrete logic circuits instead of a

-based

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary Processor (computing), processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes Instruction (computing), instructions ...

(CPU). The game is operated by over 100 chips across two circuit boards. Images are stored in small custom

read-only memory Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing sof ...

(ROM) chips, including sprites, cars, and the "

game over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...

" message. Sound effects, such as the cars' engines, a siren, and the sound of wheels slipping on the pavement, are generated by operational amplifiers and other analog circuitry. The scoring information appears on various LEDs located on the cabinet, including the player's score and the high score table. ''Pro Monaco GP'' also features a battery backup system to save high scores if the cabinet loses power. Multiple styles of arcade cabinet exist for the game, including a deluxe cockpit cabinet which was designed in approximation to sitting behind the wheel of a race car with a padded steering wheel and accelerator pedal. A tabletop housing and a smaller upright cabinet were also created. Initially displayed at the Japan Amusement Association show in Tokyo in 1979, ''Monaco GP'' received a positive reception at its debut. Sega chairman David Rosen called the game's warm reception at the show evidence of the world's growing acceptance of coin-operated arcade games. ''Monaco GP'' was released in November 1979 in Japan, and in January 1980 worldwide via Sega/Gremlin. ''Pro Monaco GP'', an upgraded version with a higher difficulty level, was released in Japan in March 1980, and worldwide in July of the same year. The original game was later ported to the

and SC-3000, Sega's first video game consoles. The SG-1000 port was released in December 1983 in Japan, and by March 1984 in Europe.

Reception

''Monaco GP'' became highly successful in arcades. In Japan, it was the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1979, then the fifth highest-grossing arcade game of 1980, and then the 20th highest-grossing arcade video game of 1982. Japanese magazine ''Game Machine'' later listed ''Monaco GP'' on their July 15, 1983 issue as being the fifth top-grossing upright/cockpit

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

of the month in Japan. In North America, '' Cashbox'' reported that ''Monaco GP'' was the most popular arcade driving game in the US in 1981, and it was among the highest-grossing games of the year. The game appeared on the monthly arcade earnings charts of arcade industry magazine ''RePlay'' from April 1980 until April 1987, a record number of appearances to which

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

's '' Galaga'' was the next closest to reaching. In 1985, Eddie Adlum of ''RePlay'' called ''Monaco GP'' the "most evergreen" arcade hit to emerge from 1979. French magazine '' Tilt'' gave the SC-3000 version of the game 6 of 6 stars in graphics, and 4 of 6 in gameplay.

Legacy

Sega revived the ''Monaco GP'' series with '' Super Monaco GP'' in 1989, and '' Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II'' in 1992. ''Super Monaco GP'' designer Hisao Oguchi had played ''Monaco GP'' before working for Sega, and when Oguchi decided to design a game based on Formula One, he started with a different name but chose ''Super Monaco GP'' after listening to opinions that the name was a good one. He referenced a parallel between the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

being the top event in racing and Sega being the top company in arcades. In 2003,

made a remake of ''Monaco GP'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, as a part of the Sega Ages 2500 collection. The remake features a number of additions including more cars and game modes. Kurt Kalata of ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' applauded the ''2500'' remake in particular for its improvements to the gameplay of the original, believing it would have been worthy of a separate release outside Japan.

Notes

References

External links

*
''Pro Monaco GP''
at the Killer List of Videogames
German language arcade flyer
from The Arcade Flyer Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monaco Gp (Arcade Game) 1979 video games Arcade video games Discrete video arcade games Gremlin Industries games Racing video games Sega video games Sega arcade games Sega video game franchises SG-1000 games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Monaco Vertically scrolling video games