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August 1st, 2020 
Carl Williams 
Sega’s classic arcade racing game, Outrun, was certainly fun. While it never officially came to the Atari 2600, a fan is doing it. If you are expecting “arcade perfect” or anything similar, then go ahead and skip this one. For fans that want the “feel” of Outrun, please by all means, continue reading. Just be prepared, this is apparently a zero chance for error version, as you can see in the video.
Outrun a classic Sega arcade racer
Originally launched in arcades in September of 1986, Outrun was unique. Being an arcade game, it was a “time extend” racing game. This series of arcade games has become known as “super scalers”. The reason for this is how the graphics are handled. Back in the day, Sega owned arcades with games using this tech (After Burner. Super Hang On, Power Drift, etc are also Super Scalers).
What is interesting is, Outrun was apparently influenced by the movie Cannonball Run. That makes sense considering the gameplay is remarkably like that movie’s premise. Minus ulterior motives of reaching the next checkpoint though.
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Port on the Atari 2600
Right off the bat, you are going to realize this port is minimalist. Much like Atari’s Night Driver game, Outrun is pretty bare bones. There are representations of the objects on the side of the road. If you are a big fan of Sega’s classic arcade racer then you know what that stuff is.
One thing that is clear about Outrun on Atari 2600 is there is zero room for error. Crashing is obviously an event that is going to happen often.
The car even features two people with hair whipping in the wind. Neat that that was included. Other small details include the tires on the car and changing skylines.
Want to follow development? Check out yv soft on YouTube. They are also a member of the Atari 2600 Homebrew Games Facebook group.
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