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I recently found out that the original arcade version of Pole Position is actually a 16-bit game. Namco often used 8-bit Z80 CPU's for their games, but this time around, they went with the 16-bit Z8000, and used _two_ of them. That's pretty impressive for 1982.
I discovered this channel recently. I appreciate that someone keeps gaming history well documented and does such thorough comparisons. Btw, please share music title you use for your intro.
my faveourite version by far is the 2600 one. It's quite different to the others but exceptionally satisfying once you adjust to the control. This coming from someone grew up with playing Pole Position in our local arcades
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I grew up with the PS1 versions of Pole Position. Fun game! Namco Museum vol. 3 had Pole Position 2 on it, so it wasn't mentioned here, but PP2 was much better represented there than PP1 Namco Museum vol. 1 (which was shown here). Something that this footage doesn't capture is the fact that the framerate randomly drops a lot when you're in the race (and there's no rhyme or reason behind it either, not when there are lots of cars on screen, or anything like that; there could be no other cars on screen and the framerate still drops). That and the fact that the music and sounds are so different (and the lack of "Prepare to qualify") made me not like that one that much. I mean hell I'll take it over some of the ones shown here, like the Sinclair 2068 or Intellivision versions, but of all the Namco Museum ports that one was my least favorite.
I have the original Arcade version of POLE POSITION for my PlayStation 2 in a compilation called NAMCO MUSEUM. I'm still looking for the Commodore 64 version. The Atari 2600 version of this game looks awesome 😺👍🕹️.
As ill adapted as the original Atari 5200 controllers were for a a lot of it's catalog they were perfect for Pole Position. On the other side of that coin is the Intellivision port; it's near unplayable.
The first time I ever played Pole Position was on the old Commodore 64. I had a blast playing it. And then I got to play the arcade and that was a lot of fun. If it wasn't for pole position, we wouldn't have games like Grand Turismo and Forza, or any other racing games today.
For some strange reason the PS1 museum version of this game fails to use the audio clips but the N64 museum actually plays the "prepare to qualify" quote but also leaves out the clip before you go into a actual race. There was also a Tesla branded version but it was removed from later models because Tesla failed to acquire the licensing rights for Pole Position.
Cool comparison - for some reason the Dreamcast version looks the smoothest, and so crazy to see the biggest graphical jump between intellivision and PlayStation
You need an analog controller to get slower smooth turning from 5200 version. You're using digital control which is why it skips the turning animation, skidding and losing speed, compared to the Atari 8 bit computer ver which has been tweeked for digital control. That's the only difference between the 2 I believe.
Arcade DEFINITELY 😀👍🏻 Thanks for a great video. I didn't know this game was released on so many platforms, (the Vectrix was a good surprise). I hadn't heard of Jakks Pacific.
It looks like we choose correctly back in the day with the C-64 version. I was so glad Atari didn't release it for the 2600 first or the 8 bit systems. The C-64 version of the early 80s machines had the best frame rate and probably looked the best. I generally tend to prefer Atari 8 bit games to the C-64 today though looking back. The Atari 7800 version of Pole Position II would probably have been the best version had the system come out on a wide scale the way it was supposed to. This may have been a year after the AtariSoft Pole Postion for the C-64 and other systems but I forget. We also had the Vectrex version as we got one on closeout in 1984. Today I have the original upright arcade machine, but it needs some repairs. Plays great on my MAME machine though with spinner control.
Leaving Arcade to one side the Vecrex was the real winner of the 80's, followed by Atari8. The Beeb version was really a different F1 game but pretty good in its own right. I always thought the Speccy version was pretty impressive given limitations. The TI99 version could and should have been so much better! Worst of the TI Atarisoft releases. Great comparison.
A série POLE POSITION da NAMCO é a melhor da história ❤ Eu adoro jogos de corrida e já vi muita coisa, mas nada se compara ao prazer que tenho quando pego pra me divertir! Eu tenho várias versões dessas e não quero mais nada ❤
Serious question. Does the Dreamcast version have higher FPS? Other than that good video and maybe not the best but the 2600 version is really amazing.
Obviously the arcade is the standard here, so I'm only going to judge the contemporary ports. The later Namco Museum versions are obviously running on superior hardware and may just be emulation (I'm not sure either way). So, sticking with the 1980s, and judging based on how they look and sound (with system capabilities taken into consideration) Vectrex wins. I haven't played that one but for a vector based version of the game they nailed it. The 2600 version is good and plays well, but I always unfairly judge it against the superior Enduro by Activision. The Atari 8-bit and 5200 versions are fine. Nothing exciting but good enough. The C64 version is fine but again overshadowed by Pitstop and Pitstop II, so I didn't play it as much. BBC Micro version looks like the frame rate is terrible so it probably doesn't play well. The ZX Spectrum version looks extremely slow. There's no good excuse for that considering the cpu was significantly faster than the C64. The Vic-20 version looks ok for the system. Remember, no sprites and very limited memory here. The two primitive 16-bit systems shown (TI99 and Intellivision) look pretty terrible. Each system has its limitations but the 2600 version destroys both of them. The Intellivision version completely missed the point with its perspective, turning it into a cut down version of Turbo instead of Pole Position. Finally, I chose to ignore the CGA DOS port.
Cant see any differences between 3 arcade versions, except occasional text in Japanese. Vic20 is a bit slow (not choppy, just slow), while c64 runs smooth and fast but its ugly with all those expanded sprites (lame). TI-99 doesnt look right, something is so off with that version. ZX looks surprisingly good but its a slideshow. Windows is a great version (PS also) and i will search for it online.
Out of the 8 bits I'm going to say c64 and Vic 20. I loved the 2600 version but the intelivision sounded better than it looked. But nobody nailed the game perfectly until the 90s.
in START Line, Race to begin. in FUJI Line, The race could be After the Qualify lap, or also it could be Another lap. in GOAL Line, The race is completely over.
In the Current Result, it comes from: 1st Place 🥇 (also known as POLE POSITION!) will have a bonus 4000 points. 2nd Place 🥈 will have a bonus 2000 points. 3rd Place 🥉 will have a bonus 1400 points. 4th Place will have a bonus 1000 points. 5th Place will have a bonus 800 points. 6th Place will have a bonus 600 points. 7th Place will have a bonus 400 points. 8th Place will have a Bonus 200 points.
Pole Position II (1983) It has 4 Courses. In Fuji 🗻, It has Mountains 🏔, and Brown Mountains 🏔. and the Grass is Green. In Test (or also known as Speedway) 🏜, It has Desert 🏜, symbol cities and Sand dunes 🏝. The sand is Brown. In Suzuka 🎡, It has a Carnival 🎡🎠🎢, a Resort 🏖, and bumpy mountains ⛰. The grass is green. In Seaside 🏖, It has a beach 🏖, City 🏙, a Pier, and a Rocky Mountains. The grass is green.
The Atari 2600 version runs even smoother than the Atari 5200 version. The cars weren't as pretty, but they were certainly smooth, not choppy like the 5200. No wonder the 5200 became such a flop.
Just here to remind you there are 2 versions you kinda left out; The 50th Anniversary version is one. The only difference with this is that "Pole Position" flashes much faster than the arcade version, and there was also a version for Virtual Arcade, which uses a redesigned track screen and different audio samples.
The Jakks Pacific seems like the most beautiful port. I dont consider things like the PS4, N64, and dreamcast as true ports. My impression is that they are the Arcade game version running on emulation on these machines. So I dont really consider them as true ports.
interesting...... I think the original arcade is the best ; followed by the atari 5200 and atari 8 bit versions. I'm excluding the later emulator based ones which are just effectively the original namco/atari version really in effect.
has anyone noticed a slight difference in pole position on random jakks pacific ms pac man units compared with seemingly identical units? i own five and on two of them the steering is much more responsive and the car will steer much " sharper ", if you will, and after you finish the game with time left, i think 4 laps, there is no fanfare. it just stops. on the others, the steering is , even at max, much more gradual forcing you to need to slow down much longer for the hard left hand turn. and when you finish the final lap there is a bit of music before " game over " is displayed. it's almost as if like 2 skill levels.
This is an interesting point. I love the “twist to turn” feature of the JP plug and play. Could the differences you’re noticing be due to the Game Key Ready version and the one without?
Thanks for doing this. Favorite game around the time of Super Bowl XX. The one sharp curve with the sign on the left and usually another car on the road I always called Perry. Almost unavoidable to get out of the way lol If I had the arcade I'd probably get fired for not showing up to work.
Maybe a bit of a stickler for reproduced graphics but the Arcade Pole Position should look much better than that.. Here is how it should look.. 😉 ua-cam.com/video/FXNh9BD_zYw/v-deo.html
No se si solo pones versiones oficiales, pero hay una version homebrew para Atari STE que usa scaling en tiempo real. ua-cam.com/video/Jisb7lq99ZU/v-deo.html
❤ Support us by subscribing to our channel, and don't forget to click the bell icon to get new updates: ua-cam.com/users/retrosutra
👉 Check out all our comparisons: ua-cam.com/video/uPTEE6xdacM/v-deo.html
I recently found out that the original arcade version of Pole Position is actually a 16-bit game. Namco often used 8-bit Z80 CPU's for their games, but this time around, they went with the 16-bit Z8000, and used _two_ of them. That's pretty impressive for 1982.
If I remember correctly, it was actually the first arcade game to use 16-bit hardware.
@@reillywalker195Yes, it was
Looking at the Atari 2600 version, it is surprisingly well done
I discovered this channel recently. I appreciate that someone keeps gaming history well documented and does such thorough comparisons.
Btw, please share music title you use for your intro.
Much appreciated! The music is: Juhani Junkala [Retro Game Music Pack] Level 1
I love how the turning sounds like a guy screaming 😂
my faveourite version by far is the 2600 one. It's quite different to the others but exceptionally satisfying once you adjust to the control. This coming from someone grew up with playing Pole Position in our local arcades
Ah yes.
My favorite racing game.
Really good work on this video! Retro gaming is where it's at!
Great video
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I used to play a lot of Pole Position on Return of Arcade and Namco Museum 64 in my day.
I grew up with the PS1 versions of Pole Position. Fun game!
Namco Museum vol. 3 had Pole Position 2 on it, so it wasn't mentioned here, but PP2 was much better represented there than PP1 Namco Museum vol. 1 (which was shown here).
Something that this footage doesn't capture is the fact that the framerate randomly drops a lot when you're in the race (and there's no rhyme or reason behind it either, not when there are lots of cars on screen, or anything like that; there could be no other cars on screen and the framerate still drops). That and the fact that the music and sounds are so different (and the lack of "Prepare to qualify") made me not like that one that much. I mean hell I'll take it over some of the ones shown here, like the Sinclair 2068 or Intellivision versions, but of all the Namco Museum ports that one was my least favorite.
I have the original Arcade version of
POLE POSITION for my PlayStation 2 in a compilation called NAMCO MUSEUM.
I'm still looking for the Commodore 64 version.
The Atari 2600 version of this game looks awesome 😺👍🕹️.
As ill adapted as the original Atari 5200 controllers were for a a lot of it's catalog they were perfect for Pole Position.
On the other side of that coin is the Intellivision port; it's near unplayable.
I will be 90 years old in a nursing home with Alzheimer's, I will still remember the opening tune of Pole Position and the voice "prepare to qualify".
One of my favorite arcade games ever from my childhood namco was always innovating with new ideas back in the 80s
The Vectrex version is satisfying to look at to me.
The first time I ever played Pole Position was on the old Commodore 64. I had a blast playing it. And then I got to play the arcade and that was a lot of fun. If it wasn't for pole position, we wouldn't have games like Grand Turismo and Forza, or any other racing games today.
0:05: Intro and Game Start
For some strange reason the PS1 museum version of this game fails to use the audio clips but the N64 museum actually plays the "prepare to qualify" quote but also leaves out the clip before you go into a actual race.
There was also a Tesla branded version but it was removed from later models because Tesla failed to acquire the licensing rights for Pole Position.
The Vic version has to be the best racer on the platform! Not that the little machine has many.
True, but there are some impressive new home made efforts!
37:49: Game Over
Yo conocí este juego en Pole Position II. Y después tuve este juego en una consola de nombre TV Games y luego para Ps2 y Ps1. Excelente amigo.
Muchas gracias!
First 16-bit game!
Y'know, I never realized this game was the first 16-bit game to ever come out. I played it some times, and it's good.
Imagine if SNES and Sega Genesis had a pole position 1 and 2 collection since they were 16 bit consoles.
The Vectrex version literally makes me think of Vib-Ribbon everytime I see gameplay of it for some reason
The Vectrex console uses vector graphics
Vib-Ribbon also uses vector graphics
Dreamcast version looks great.
38:15: Video Ended
Cool comparison - for some reason the Dreamcast version looks the smoothest, and so crazy to see the biggest graphical jump between intellivision and PlayStation
You're Gonna Play POLE POSITION *the hand of god reaches from the sky*
LEGENDARY ad.
"You look like a real jerk!"
"Well, I am a corporate executive!"
"He stops fun things from happening!"
Pole Position (1982) is a video game which features 1 track: Fuji 🗻. It has 4 laps.
Atari/Namco.
In PREPARE TO QUALIFY, it has 1 lap.
In PREPARE TO RACE, it has 4 laps.
You need an analog controller to get slower smooth turning from 5200 version.
You're using digital control which is why it skips the turning animation, skidding and losing speed, compared to the Atari 8 bit computer ver which has been tweeked for digital control.
That's the only difference between the 2 I believe.
Thanks for pointing that out. I tried for a long time but I couldn't get the animation to play correctly, hahaha
Anyone know who voiced the "prepare to qualify!" narrator/announcer?
It was your mother. she says hello.
@@laytaylor Ok Spy TF2 lol
Arcade DEFINITELY 😀👍🏻
Thanks for a great video. I didn't know this game was released on so many platforms, (the Vectrix was a good surprise). I hadn't heard of Jakks Pacific.
It looks like we choose correctly back in the day with the C-64 version. I was so glad Atari didn't release it for the 2600 first or the 8 bit systems.
The C-64 version of the early 80s machines had the best frame rate and probably looked the best. I generally tend to prefer Atari 8 bit games to the C-64 today though looking back.
The Atari 7800 version of Pole Position II would probably have been the best version had the system come out on a wide scale the way it was supposed to. This may have been a year after the AtariSoft Pole Postion for the C-64 and other systems but I forget.
We also had the Vectrex version as we got one on closeout in 1984.
Today I have the original upright arcade machine, but it needs some repairs. Plays great on my MAME machine though with spinner control.
Leaving Arcade to one side the Vecrex was the real winner of the 80's, followed by Atari8. The Beeb version was really a different F1 game but pretty good in its own right.
I always thought the Speccy version was pretty impressive given limitations.
The TI99 version could and should have been so much better! Worst of the TI Atarisoft releases. Great comparison.
Nice comparision video of a game I never played on domestic ports!! only at the arcade
Glad you enjoyed it!
The vectrex one looks sick af
Loved this on atari 800xl
A cga only game in 1988😱👏
An idea for a similar video: Pit Stop and Pit Stop 2
TBH im very suprised that the atari 2600 version was possible with the machines limitations
It looks cool maybe I'll play it!
Of course you should. It's probably one of Namco's good games to exist.
My go to arcade game back in 80s along with Star Wars Arcade, track and field and Dragons Lair.
@@TECAgainit didn’t or it hasn’t aged well for a 1982 game
Do it. It's one of my favourite racing games.
"Prepare to qualify"
A série POLE POSITION da NAMCO é a melhor da história ❤ Eu adoro jogos de corrida e já vi muita coisa, mas nada se compara ao prazer que tenho quando pego pra me divertir! Eu tenho várias versões dessas e não quero mais nada ❤
My favorite game!!!
Serious question. Does the Dreamcast version have higher FPS?
Other than that good video and maybe not the best but the 2600 version is really amazing.
Good video.
Obviously the arcade is the standard here, so I'm only going to judge the contemporary ports. The later Namco Museum versions are obviously running on superior hardware and may just be emulation (I'm not sure either way). So, sticking with the 1980s, and judging based on how they look and sound (with system capabilities taken into consideration) Vectrex wins. I haven't played that one but for a vector based version of the game they nailed it. The 2600 version is good and plays well, but I always unfairly judge it against the superior Enduro by Activision. The Atari 8-bit and 5200 versions are fine. Nothing exciting but good enough. The C64 version is fine but again overshadowed by Pitstop and Pitstop II, so I didn't play it as much. BBC Micro version looks like the frame rate is terrible so it probably doesn't play well. The ZX Spectrum version looks extremely slow. There's no good excuse for that considering the cpu was significantly faster than the C64. The Vic-20 version looks ok for the system. Remember, no sprites and very limited memory here. The two primitive 16-bit systems shown (TI99 and Intellivision) look pretty terrible. Each system has its limitations but the 2600 version destroys both of them. The Intellivision version completely missed the point with its perspective, turning it into a cut down version of Turbo instead of Pole Position. Finally, I chose to ignore the CGA DOS port.
Thanks for your time writing this long review!
The ZX Spectrum version also looks like it was intentionally designed to give seizures with the tracksides
Cant see any differences between 3 arcade versions, except occasional text in Japanese. Vic20 is a bit slow (not choppy, just slow), while c64 runs smooth and fast but its ugly with all those expanded sprites (lame). TI-99 doesnt look right, something is so off with that version. ZX looks surprisingly good but its a slideshow. Windows is a great version (PS also) and i will search for it online.
My favorite part of the Comparison is Commodore 64.
Out of the 8 bits I'm going to say c64 and Vic 20. I loved the 2600 version but the intelivision sounded better than it looked. But nobody nailed the game perfectly until the 90s.
Who remembers Vrooom! on the Atari ST
Did you make "Galaxian" comparison video before?!
No, but it is in my list.
in START Line, Race to begin.
in FUJI Line, The race could be After the Qualify lap, or also it could be Another lap.
in GOAL Line, The race is completely over.
Cant help but see the car morph into a piano on the intelly version! the crazy sound doesnt help!
Hahaha true
In the Current Result, it comes from:
1st Place 🥇 (also known as POLE POSITION!) will have a bonus 4000 points.
2nd Place 🥈 will have a bonus 2000 points.
3rd Place 🥉 will have a bonus 1400 points.
4th Place will have a bonus 1000 points.
5th Place will have a bonus 800 points.
6th Place will have a bonus 600 points.
7th Place will have a bonus 400 points.
8th Place will have a Bonus 200 points.
Can You Do Pole Position II Versions Comparison?
It's on my to-do list.
Versions Of Pole Position🏎️
I played the atari 2600 the most but playstation version looks pretty close to original 🤯
✌🏼😎👍🏼
In Pole Position II, it has 4 Courses:
Fuji 🗻, Test 🏜, Suzuka 🎡 and Seaside 🏖.
My Favorite Vision was Namco and Atari Arcade, PS1, Game Boy Advance, Jakks Pacific and Atari 2600 is okay
Pole Position II (1983)
It has 4 Courses. In Fuji 🗻, It has Mountains 🏔, and Brown Mountains 🏔. and the Grass is Green.
In Test (or also known as Speedway) 🏜, It has Desert 🏜, symbol cities and Sand dunes 🏝. The sand is Brown.
In Suzuka 🎡, It has a Carnival 🎡🎠🎢, a Resort 🏖, and bumpy mountains ⛰.
The grass is green.
In Seaside 🏖, It has a beach 🏖, City 🏙, a Pier, and a Rocky Mountains.
The grass is green.
C64 DOS VIC 20 INTELLIVISION TI/99: we have bees
BBC son los videos de mi libro infantil favorito Supertata
0:53 guy screaming 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
I was so disappointed they didn't add the voice to the C64 version :(
The Atari 2600 version runs even smoother than the Atari 5200 version. The cars weren't as pretty, but they were certainly smooth, not choppy like the 5200. No wonder the 5200 became such a flop.
Pole Position came out 1982!
faltan versiones como la de gamecube,wii y algunas más.. aunque son ya como el arcade
Éstas son una emulación del Arcade, por eso no las añadí.
Just here to remind you there are 2 versions you kinda left out;
The 50th Anniversary version is one. The only difference with this is that "Pole Position" flashes much faster than the arcade version, and there was also a version for Virtual Arcade, which uses a redesigned track screen and different audio samples.
Thanks, maybe I'll upload an updated version of this video in the future
@@retrosutra No problem 👍
I wish someone made a Pico-8 version...
is pole position from midway?
The Jakks Pacific seems like the most beautiful port. I dont consider things like the PS4, N64, and dreamcast as true ports. My impression is that they are the Arcade game version running on emulation on these machines. So I dont really consider them as true ports.
Jakks Pacific Pole Position.
Join us!
interesting...... I think the original arcade is the best ; followed by the atari 5200 and atari 8 bit versions. I'm excluding the later emulator based ones which are just effectively the original namco/atari version really in effect.
Namco made alot of money off me with this game. 😂
Where is the super cassette vision version?
How about… Pole Position II: Versions Comparison?
What are the Versions of the Platforms of Pole Position 🏎, retrosutra?
This is a Quality version, Remember?
has anyone noticed a slight difference in pole position on random jakks pacific ms pac man units compared with seemingly identical units? i own five and on two of them the steering is much more responsive and the car will steer much " sharper ", if you will, and after you finish the game with time left, i think 4 laps, there is no fanfare. it just stops. on the others, the steering is , even at max, much more gradual forcing you to need to slow down much longer for the hard left hand turn. and when you finish the final lap there is a bit of music before " game over " is displayed. it's almost as if like 2 skill levels.
This is an interesting point. I love the “twist to turn” feature of the JP plug and play. Could the differences you’re noticing be due to the Game Key Ready version and the one without?
Defunct March 31, 2006
The intro used a bloxels song. WHY DID I NOTICE THAT?!?
0:49 my ears
Thanks for doing this. Favorite game around the time of Super Bowl XX. The one sharp curve with the sign on the left and usually another car on the road I always called Perry. Almost unavoidable to get out of the way lol If I had the arcade I'd probably get fired for not showing up to work.
I have to admit the very last version is better
iOS Version has that? But, no longer?
Yes :(
Pole Position is a racing game.
Yay pole position
Arcade
You didn’t show the XBOX version
Plug n Play cuz it has better graphics than the arcade does. the Plug n Play version is more unique than the aracde and easier to play
que raro que el canal siendo de españa suba videos en ingles
Hola Xavier. ¿Te refieres a los títulos del vídeo? Porque todas las descripciones están tanto en inglés como en español.
@@retrosutra me refiero a los nombres en el video son inglés en Lugar de español
It is a History, true?
Love me some Intellivision, but God, that INTV version looks like a slog
But the strange thing is that it sounds better than it looks. They got the sound of the game just not the appearance.
Maybe a bit of a stickler for reproduced graphics but the Arcade Pole Position should look much better than that..
Here is how it should look..
😉
ua-cam.com/video/FXNh9BD_zYw/v-deo.html
No se si solo pones versiones oficiales, pero hay una version homebrew para Atari STE que usa scaling en tiempo real. ua-cam.com/video/Jisb7lq99ZU/v-deo.html
Sí, sólo las oficiales, pero me apunto ésta que comentas por si algún día hiciera un vídeo sobre las no oficiales. Muchas gracias.
No 7800?
Not an official version for this system at least.
@@retrosutra my mistake, i was thinking of pole position 2
@@consty715 no problem
So the Atari 2600 is just a better looking Enduro?