It was always going to be a huge risk for Sega – the once-king of racing games trying to bring their beautifully unique brand of arcade racing games into the home. Although the Japanese company hand-picked the cream of British driving game developing talent, it was not enough, as after the release of only one game – Sega Rally – the studio has closed its doors.

The public have voted with their wallets, ignoring the title so awkwardly straddled between the simulation racers like Gran Turismo and Forza 2, and arcade-style favourites Ridge Racer and Burnout. It’s a pity that the team never got the chance to delve any further back into Sega’s rich arcade history, as Sega Rally successfully captured the purity and excitement of a Sega arcade game, and even managed to innovate in a stale genre with the real-time track deformation. Despite a truly obnoxious difficulty level and a limited number of tracks, it was clearly a labour of love and deserved more than the feeble sales figures it achieved. Still, that’s not exactly the first time this happened to Sega and I doubt it will be the last...

R.H.
CeX Towers

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