Pole Position

Pole Position (arcade)  1982

Advanced 3D racing game, first abilty to choose alternative course, first road copied from real race track, first multi-channel sound in a video game (4 channels)

Arcade system: Namco Pole Position

Gameplay video

Trivia:
1) The game was an early example of product placement within a video game, with billboards around the track advertising actual companies. However, some billboards were specific to the two versions such as those of Pepsi and Canon in the Namco version, and those of 7-Eleven, Dentyne, Centipede, and Dig Dug in the Atari version, which replaced such billboards as those of Marlboro and Martini & Rossi, who although were prominent motorsport sponsors at the time, would be found inappropriate in the American market for a game aimed towards children. Other billboards appeared in both versions.
2) When Pole Position was introduced, players lined up in arcades around the world to grip the steering wheel and stomp on the gas pedal of a driving game so realistic that the players - just like their cars - were swerving around the corners. Pole Position was an enormous contribution to the golden age of video games. It started the trend for photo-realism in video game graphics.
3) The action takes place at Fuji Speedway in Japan. The snow-capped Mt. Fuji appears in the background.
4) Processor 11 mhz.

5) Emulated in: MAME (not fully emulated).