Daytona Championship USA 3 Announced For Arcade Release

An old classic is making a return to an arcade (hopefully!) near you. SEGA Amusements today heralded the return of the Daytona USA franchise with its latest entry: Daytona 3 Championship USA! The iconic arcade racer has seen a long drought, with the last original title releasing 15 years ago. The wait is over, ladies and gentlemen … start your engines!

The latest in the Daytona franchise recently had it’s unveiling at the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) 2016 expo just last week and some interesting tidbits were unearthed by amusement gaming enthusiasts ‘Arcade Heroes’. The title is currently in beta so no immediate release seems likely with a suggested release date around March/April 2017. At the event players could take part in 4 player racing sessions and go head-to-head.

The most intriguing discovery was that the game actually runs on PC architecture rather than a typical arcade kit. This could potentially make any sort of port onto consoles and PC a bit more feasible, given it would certainly take a lot less effort to make the trip to our eager homes.

The game itself is to feature six different tracks including a replica Daytona International Speedway that the racer gets its namesake from. Vehicle-wise, players should expect the usual chunky stock-car racers the series is known for, light on polygons but heavy on stylistic liberties.

The car aesthetics this time around seem more akin to current NASCAR racers than the variants used in the original and Daytona 2001. Also, yes: the fan-favorite HORNET car is still in the game, thankfully.

It’s a bit disappointing the game is currently only slated for an Arcade release in the age of downloadable games being so easy to distribute. That being said, SEGA has released a more modern arcade classic on PS3 and X360 in recent times. SEGA Rally 3 was made available under the alias of SEGA Rally Online Arcade, years after the game was released. Although it features a slightly different car roster due to licensing agreements with the WRC, the title did make it’s way onto the last generation despite the console-exclusive SEGA Rally Revo also being available.

Nostalgia is a powerful entity and faw can tap into it more than SEGA. The games publisher has plenty of arcade titles which shaped many childhood memories across the globe. The tease of a new Daytona has certainly generated buzz and we can’t wait to get our hands on it!

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