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That's right. An original Namco Ridge Racer 2 Sit don arcade machine is currently for sale on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAMCO-RIDGE-RA...-/230484881011
Buy it now price of £700.
It looks in pretty good condition from the photos too.
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Went for 850£. Nice cab.
Although, the ultimate version would be the original Namco Ridge Racer arcade setup called Ridge Racer Full Scale, which included a full sized Mazda MX5 and wrap around screen. We used to have one near me in the Portsmouth - Southsea arcade.
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That arcade setup blew me away the first time I saw it and we spent ages just watching it running. I remember a guy was employed in the arcade by Namco just to protect the car and system, and would be constantly polishing the car. I also seem to remember it was quite expensive to play. £5 I think, which was a lot back in 1994.
Looking back at the original game, 3D graphics had come quite some way since 1993, but at the same time they haven't advanced that much in the 17 years since the Ridge Racer 3D graphics engine. They might look quite blocky, with a low poly count and low texture map resolution by today's standards, with current GPUs being able to create move complex and realistic 3D, but they still hold up well for the gameplay and still give a convincing and believable 3D world.
The more realistic larger version for a dedicated cabinet collector would however be the 3 monitor version.
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The 3 monitor version is very nice, although the full scale one too, but I think it's perhaps a bit too much. Why the heck did they use a Mazda, they should have put a nice Ferrari, but then the price wouldn't have been only 5£, but more likely 50£ :)
Exactly, and could you imagine the cost per arcade machine! :lol: Also the security needed to protect it against all the grubby teenage boys trying to play the game or just get close to the car.
Apparently even the air intake fans worked on the cars used. Also all driving functionality was in place. I remember when having a play on that version the person supervising the game asked if I could drive a real manual car. If not then they switched the game into automatic gears for you. For manual control you had to use the car like a real one, using the clutch to change gear, along with the brake and accelerator pedals. Even the rev counter and speedo worked with the game. Was quite immersive.
Since then I've only ever seen a racing simulator as close to the real thing for F1 games at Funland in the Trocadero centre in London, and at the F1 car stands at Goodwood festival of speed.