Trivia / OutRun

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: The Testarossa was never widely available as a convertible in real life; the developers simply removed the top so that it was easier to see the drivers. However, Ferrari did produce a single convertible Testarossa mere months before OutRun's arcade debut.
• Bad Export for You: The PS2 version of OutRun 2006 requires the cross-system connectivity with the PSP version to unlock some cars. However, in the Japanese version, all PSP unlockables are included from the start. While there's thankfully a code to unlock the PSP cars without having the handheld's version, it unlocks every car, removing the sense of progression unlocking them gives.
• Blooper: A few music-related bloopers in the original arcade game were revealed by M2, the developers of the 3DS and Switch ports.
  • In the mass-production ROM, the PCM data is slightly corrupted, making the samples sound more compressed than they should. This error is fixed in most ports of the arcade game, as well as the OutRun 20th Anniversary Box soundtrack; for that release, they burnt a new ROM with the error corrected.
  • "Splash Wave" has two further problems in the mass-production ROM that weren't fixed until the 3DS port. In the intro, the ride cymbal sample overrides the other drum samples due to a limited amount of PCM channels, causing certain sounds to get cut off; at the end, the lead melody becomes desynced from the rest of the song, causing it to fall out of time. Both of these errors are fixed in the M2 ports with real-time patches, so they are retained when playing in Arcade Mode.
• Inspiration for the Work: Yu Suzuki has cited The Cannonball Run to be the main inspiration for the game in Retro Gamer #156.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes:
  • OutRun Online was taken down from the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in December 2011 due to the expiration of Sega's contract with Ferrari.
  • Around late 2011, OutRun Online Arcade was removed from Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network, followed by OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast being removed from Steam in 2013 due to Sega's expired contract with Ferrari as the game heavily featured their cars. OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast at least was released physically, however some secondhand copies of the game can cost anywhere between $20-$40 to even upwards of $200 USD, depending on the region and completeness, much more than what than it originally cost on Steam.
  • Unlike its predecessors, the third arcade entry, OutRunners, has never been rereleased in its arcade form on any platform. This is due to the fact that the original game is a multiplayer centric game that heavily relies on multiple cabinets, which makes it difficult to translate outside of the arcade. It doesn't have many ports either, with its only one being the Sega Genesis version, which is considerably downgraded from the original.
• Milestone Celebration: The OutRun 20th Anniversary Box, a soundtrack box set spanning 11 discs, was released in 2007. It also included a DVD containing gameplay tips and a live performance by SEGA's own S.S.T. Band.
• No Export for You:
  • OutRun Online Arcade was also released for the PS3, but never made it to North America due to licensing issues — apparently, Microsoft's agreement with Ferrari in North America gives them some leverage for exclusivity on the Xbox 360, which may explain why the Ferrari DLC for Need for Speed: Shift was Xbox 360-exclusive. Also, the Online Arcade never made it to Japan.
  • Turbo OutRun received a 3DS port alongside the original game, but it's only available on the Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 3: Final Stage compilation, which only saw a release in Japan.
• Port Overdosed: There are many, many ports of the original OutRun, from the home computers of its day to modern consoles and handhelds.
• Refitted for Sequel: Turbo OutRun and OutRun 2 SP are both set in North America, which was originally planned to be the setting for the first game, only for it to be rejected in favor of Europe.
• Screwed by the Lawyers:
  • As aforementioned, the reason why both OutRun Online Arcade and OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast have been delisted from digital storefronts was due to Sega's contract with Ferrari expiring. Unfortunately, unless they make a new contract, which Sega is in no rush to do so, it's highly unlikely both games will ever be made available on digital storefronts again. This is also likely why the OutRun series in general has been relatively dead following Online Arcade (outside of rereleases of the original arcade game).
  • Legal issues also affected the original arcade game as well. Originally, the arcade game featured an open-aired Testarossa. However, presumably to avoid further legal issues with Ferrari, the Testarossa would be heavily modified in later rereleases to remove the Ferrari elements and trademarks, becoming a Fauxrrari instead.
  • The lack of the Ferrari license has also resulted in a somewhat comical modification to the boxart of the Genesis port on the Genesis 2 Mini. Where it slaps the JP boxart's "sticker" over the Ferrari on the box◊, said "sticker" also says OutRun on it, which leads to the box having the title on it twice.
• Sequel Gap: While there were dozens of spin-offs and ports in between, the game known as OutRun 2 wasn't released until 2003, 17 years after the 1986 arcade game.
• Similarly Named Works: "Relight My Fire" from OutRun 2019 has no resemblance to the Dan Hartman song of the same name.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The track now known as "Passing Breeze" was going to be called "Passing Wind" until SEGA's American branch pointed out what "passing wind" means.
  • According to an interview in Retro Gamer #156, Yu Suzuki originally wanted to use America as the game's setting. However, this was rejected by then-SEGA president Hayao Nakayama, who suggested Europe instead due to finding America to be too unsafe. Suzuki would ultimately go along with Nakayama's suggestion, concluding that America was too big and empty for the game's design. Turbo OutRun and OutRun 2 SP would revisit this idea.