Pole Position

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This morning, on my walk to the convenience store, I made a stop at the Manitou Arcade to play one of my all-time favorite video games, Pole Position. Pole Position is a single player racing game in which you race an Indy-style car. After a qualifying lap, you get to race other cars. If you hit another car, or a sign on the side of the course (which advertised real companies such as Pepsi,) you blow up, which, of course, costs you time. It is available in both sit down or stand up versions. The game, manufactured by Namco, was released in 1982, and was designed by Toru Iwatani, who also designed Pac Man. In 1983, it was the highest grossing video game in North America. The game won multiple awards, including Coin Operated Game of the Year (1983,) and Most Influential Racing Game Ever. It was also featured in the video for Judas Priest's 1984 single, "Freewheel Burning." I used to play this game a LOT. I was better at the sit down version, which, in addition to the gas pedal, had a brake pedal, which is not available on the standup version. Oddly, the more intoxicated I was, the better I played. So how did I play today? Bloody awful. I guess I'm going to have to play more! (Info verified by Wikipedia)