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Final Lap box art

Nintendo Entertainment System

Final Lap

1987

Final Lap is a racing video game produced by Namco,[2] and released by Atari Games for the United States in 1987. It was the first game to run on Namco's then new System 2 hardware, and is a direct successor to Namco's two earlier Pole Position games (1982-1983). Final Lap was the first racing game to allow up to eight players to simultaneously race on the Suzuka Circuit, in a Formula One race. This was, at the time, considered a revolutionary feature and was implemented by linking together up to four two-player sitdown-style arcade cabinets.[2][3] It was also arguably the first racing game to implement "rubber banding" to ensure that less talented players were never too far behind the leader, a concept that would be taken much further by the Mario Kart series.[3] There was also a single player mode, in which the player's score was based on how far the car travelled until time ran out or if the player completed four laps (on default settings; the arcade operator can set the lap number to be as low as three or as high as six).

Release date
December 31, 1987
Developer
Namcot
Publisher
Namcot

About this game

Final Lap

Final Lap is a racing video game produced by Namco,[2] and released by Atari Games for the United States in 1987. It was the first game to run on Namco's then new System 2 hardware, and is a direct successor to Namco's two earlier Pole Position games (1982-1983).

Final Lap was the first racing game to allow up to eight players to simultaneously race on the Suzuka Circuit, in a Formula One race. This was, at the time, considered a revolutionary feature and was implemented by linking together up to four two-player sitdown-style arcade cabinets.[2][3] It was also arguably the first racing game to implement "rubber banding" to ensure that less talented players were never too far behind the leader, a concept that would be taken much further by the Mario Kart series.[3] There was also a single player mode, in which the player's score was based on how far the car travelled until time ran out or if the player completed four laps (on default settings; the arcade operator can set the lap number to be as low as three or as high as six).

Genres

RacingReal Time Strategy (RTS)Role-playing (RPG)StrategyArcade

Modes

Single playerMultiplayerMassively Multiplayer Online (MMO)

Perspectives

Third person

Themes

ActionScience fiction

Series and collections

Final Lap

Studios and credits

Developer
Namco Limited
Developer
Namcot
Publisher
Namco Limited
Publisher
Namcot

Regional releases

Release date

WorldwideDecember 31, 1987
WorldwideDecember 31, 1988

Artwork gallery

2 images

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