History VideoGame / PolePosition

''Pole Position'' is a racing game released by [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] in 1982 (and published by Creator/{{Atari}} in the United States the same year). Your goal is to drive your Formula One race car around the Fuji Speedway while avoiding crashing into other cars. The game is broken up into two segments: a qualifying round, where you try to complete a lap of the course for positioning and points; and a race segment, where you have to complete four laps around the track before time runs out. Crossing the start/finish line gives you a time bonus.

* ProductPlacement: Seen on the billboards in certain versions.[[note]]That said, the Dunlop Tires arch is replaced by a spectator bridge in the non-Japanese versions (the Namco Museum keeps the arch, but replaces the Dunlop reference with "Namco Musuem".[[/note]]

''Pole Position'' became the most popular arcade game in 1983 due to its realistic-for-the-time graphics, and was one of the [[TropeCodifier pioneers]] of the pseudo-3D "rear-view racer" format, though Sega's ''VideoGame/{{Turbo}}'' beat it by one year.[[note]]Atari's Night Driver is even older, although in that game, the "car" was simply a decal that was put on the monitor.[[/note]]

''Pole Position'' became the most popular arcade game in 1983 due to its realistic-for-the-time graphics, and was one of the pioneers of the pseudo-3D "rear-view racer" format, though Sega's ''Turbo'' beat it by one year.[[note]]Atari's Night Driver is even older, although in that game, the "car" was simply a decal that was put on the monitor.[[/note]]