Gran Trak 10
Encyclopedia
Gran Trak 10 was a single-player racing
arcade game released by Atari
in 1974. The player raced against the clock, accumulating as many points as possible.
It was the first use of ROM
in arcade games, and was therefore one of the first games to have defined objects beyond a simple box (as with Pong
) or a collection of dots (as with Computer Space
). The primitive diode-based ROM was used to store the sprites
for the car, score and game timer, and the race track. The game's controls — steering wheel, four-position gear shifter, and accelerator and brake foot pedals — were also all firsts for arcade games.
Steve Wozniak
was a Gran Track "addict" according to Steve Jobs
in a 1985 Playboy interview.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
arcade game released by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
in 1974. The player raced against the clock, accumulating as many points as possible.
It was the first use of ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
in arcade games, and was therefore one of the first games to have defined objects beyond a simple box (as with Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
) or a collection of dots (as with Computer Space
Computer Space
Computer Space is a video arcade game released in November 1971 by Nutting Associates. Created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who would both later found Atari, Inc., it is generally accepted that it was the world's first commercially sold coin-operated video game — and indeed, the first...
). The primitive diode-based ROM was used to store the sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
for the car, score and game timer, and the race track. The game's controls — steering wheel, four-position gear shifter, and accelerator and brake foot pedals — were also all firsts for arcade games.
Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
was a Gran Track "addict" according to Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
in a 1985 Playboy interview.
Versions
The game spawned a variety of spin-offs, both within Atari and by their competitors.- Atari — Gran Trak 20, Le Mans, Sprint 4 , Sprint 8, Championship SprintChampionship SprintChampionship Sprint is an arcade game that was released in 1986 and was the sequel to Super Sprint. It was later ported to ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64...
, Super SprintSuper SprintSuper Sprint is a 1986 arcade game by Atari Games. The player drives a Formula One-like car on a circuit that is viewed from above.-Gameplay:...
, BadlandsBadlands (video game)Badlands is a 1989 arcade game published by Atari Games. It was later ported by Domark under the Tengen label to a number of home computers. It is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war and races around abandoned wastelands with many hazards... - Kee GamesKee GamesKee Games was an arcade game manufacturer that released games from 1973 to 1978. Kee was headed by Joe Keenan, a long-time friend of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Keenan managed to hire several defectors from Atari, and began advertising itself as a competitor...
— Formula K, Twin Racer, Indy 800 , Sprint 2Sprint 2Sprint 2 is a 2 player overhead-view arcade racer released in 1976 by Kee Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atari.-Technology:Sprint 2 evolved from Gran Trak 10 and Gran Trak 20, but included a microprocessor , a first for racing games. This allowed Sprint 2 to include two computer-controlled...
, Sprint 1 - TaitoTaito CorporationThe is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
— Fisco 400
External links
- Gran Trak 10 at ArcadeFlyers
- Commentary at ArmchairArcade
- GameSpy article
- Gran Trak 10 at GameFAQs