Sega's 1989 Formula One simulator put a fictional Monaco circuit in the arcade, won a loyal following on home systems and triggered a famous sponsorship lawsuit.
Super Monaco GP is a Formula One simulation that Sega released as an arcade game in 1989, a sequel to the 1979 arcade title Monaco GP. It ran on the Sega X Board with force-feedback steering, and it was later ported to Sega's home consoles and several computers. It became Japan's highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990.
Super Monaco GP put players behind the wheel of a fictional Monaco circuit, with racing rules borrowed from the Formula One world. Its arcade cabinets were advanced for their time, and the home versions carried the experience to a wider audience. The game also sparked one of the more unusual sponsorship disputes in arcade history.
Where did the idea for Super Monaco GP come from?
The concept came from Hisao Oguchi, a Sega game planner who had played Monaco GP, released by Sega in 1979, as a younger player. Oguchi first worked under a different name, but he chose Super Monaco GP after feedback favoured it. He saw a parallel between Monaco's status in racing and Sega's place in arcades.
The project was timed to mark the tenth anniversary of Monaco GP, which gave the sequel a built-in link to Sega's own history. The arcade game was built around a single race, and the home versions later added more courses and modes.
A fictional Monaco circuit, force-feedback steering and a lawsuit over cigarette parodies made Super Monaco GP unforgettable.
How did the arcade game reach arcades beyond Japan?
The arcade game launched in Japan in May 1989 and reached the United States that August, when Sega Enterprises USA president Tom Petit presented it to about 40 other companies at a Chicago hotel. He cited its success in Europe and Asia and its test results in the US, and a North American launch was set for September.
The home versions followed quickly. The Genesis, Master System and Game Gear received conversions, and the Sega CD edition appeared in a Sega classics collection. Sega added tracks and modes to the home versions to make up for the lower engagement of a living-room setup compared with the cabinet.
What did the arcade cabinet offer?
The arcade machine ran on the Sega X Board and drew 60 frames per second onto a 26 inch screen. Its steering wheel delivered force feedback in response to the car's movement, and paddles behind the wheel handled gear changes. Acceleration and braking came from pedals.
A Fresnel lens enlarged the picture, and the deluxe cabinet added Sega's Air Drive system, which moved the driver's seat to heighten realism. Both upright and deluxe versions were sold, and every cabinet was painted to look like a McLaren, the team of 1988 Formula One champion Ayrton Senna.
Up to eight cabinets could be linked by Sega's Power Link cable, a connection first demonstrated at the 1988 AMOA show. Linked play brought several players onto the same circuit at once.
How did the arcade race itself play?
The arcade game was a single race on a Monaco-style track. Players had to finish a qualifying lap before a 45-second timer ran out, and practice performance set the starting grid for the race itself. The race pitted the player against 19 computer drivers, and a falling position limit meant the game ended if the player dropped below it.
The main race lasted three laps. Finishing third or better earned a second race in wet conditions. Transmission choices were automatic, a 4-speed manual or a 7-speed manual, and the top fifth of the screen worked as a rear-view mirror.
The fictional track kept many features of the real circuit, so the layout felt familiar to anyone who knew Monaco. That single-race format was also the reason the home versions had to add content to hold players' interest.
What changed in the home versions?
The Genesis version followed quickly and added a World Championship mode covering the tracks of the 1989 Formula One season. Players could be invited to join better teams with faster cars, and progress was saved with a password. The mode took roughly two hours to complete.
The Sega CD edition was largely identical to the Genesis release, with minor improvements to sound effects. The Master System version was not a true conversion of the arcade game. It offered a Grand Prix mode and transmission choices of 3, 5 and 7 speeds.
Computer ports were published by U.S. Gold and programmed by Probe Software. The Amiga and Commodore 64 versions each included four tracks in arcade mode, and the Amiga could be steered with a joystick or a mouse. The Game Gear version was one of three launch titles for that handheld.
Who built the ZX Spectrum port?
David Shea programmed the ZX Spectrum conversion, which Probe Software produced for U.S. Gold. He said the idea was to capture the spirit of the arcade game rather than replicate it, and he was not pleased with the final result. Thorpe later judged the Spectrum version not too bad, even if it felt rather sluggish.
Why did Philip Morris take Sega to court?
The arcade game parodied real brands, with Marlboro appearing as Marlbobo, and Philip Morris objected to the cigarette imagery. A professor complained to the US Federal Trade Commission that the parody was advertising cigarettes to children, which added pressure. Philip Morris contacted Sega in November 1989, and the two sides then clashed over the parodies.
Sega agreed to release a conversion kit in March 1990 that replaced the parody logos with ones for Flicky, an older Sega arcade game. Some units kept the parody, so Philip Morris sued Sega in February 1991 and wanted a total recall of the game. Namco had faced a similar suit over Marlboro imagery in its 1987 title Final Lap.
Other brands were parodied too: Ford appeared as Fodo, BP as BF, Honda as Henda and the FIA as EIA. Sega argued that the parodies helped build a realistic environment, and the case was eventually settled in May 1992.
As part of the settlement, Sega advertised in arcade trade magazines, offering to replace chips with versions free of advertising and paying each arcade operator $200 for returning the original chips. Some tobacco critics later called the lawsuit a publicity stunt.
Foster's had also been parodied, as Hoster's, and the logos chosen for the replacement conversion were for Flicky. The settlement also required Sega to advertise in RePlay and Play Meter.
How did Japan's arcade charts treat the game?
Famicom Tsushin's arcade chart placed Super Monaco GP second in August 1989, just below Namco's Winning Run. It became the top earner in September 1989 and kept that spot in October, ahead of Sega's arcade version of Tetris. The chart placings show how quickly the game built its reputation in arcades.
How well did it sell and how was it reviewed?
Super Monaco GP was a commercial hit in arcades. It was the third highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan, then became the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game there in 1990. It also placed third among dedicated games in 1991 and eleventh among all arcade games in 1992.
Reviewers were positive about the arcade version. Computer and Video Games ranked it second on its list of 1989 arcade games, and Commodore User called it the most realistic driving game its reviewer had played. At the 1989 Gamest Awards in Japan it won a Special Award and was nominated in two other categories.
The Genesis version earned praise from Mega, which said in 1994 that it set a standard many still failed to match. Retro Gamer later argued that the port should be the version of choice for most players, largely because of its World Championship mode.
The 8-bit ports fared less well. Computer and Video Games called the Master System version the best driving game available on that console in 1990, while Mean Machines Sega found the Game Gear version dull. The Amstrad CPC version was judged the weakest of the computer ports.
How did the computer versions compare?
The Amiga version offered high-quality graphics and a high degree of difficulty, while the Atari ST version was easier to control, though slightly lower in graphics and audio. The Commodore 64 version was called a good game despite a difficult viewing angle and easy gameplay.
Did retrospective reviews change the verdict?
Retro Gamer's Nick Thorpe was more critical of the Master System version, pointing to its handling, its speed and the move to a third-person perspective. He noted that the Game Gear version was faster but had the same underlying problems.
What is Super Monaco GP's legacy?
Ayrton Senna reportedly enjoyed the coin-op game, and that enthusiasm factored into his contributions to Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II. The original's ideas carried into that sequel. The arcade original set the template that its sequel and home ports built on.
The Game Gear version can now be played for free in a browser through the Internet Archive, a sign of how long the game's ideas have lasted. Related titles listed in its references include Power Drift, Virtua Racing and Indy 500.
