Arcade Game: Pole Position (1982 Namco/Atari)

[@foooooob]

That "PREPARE TO QUALIFY" voice was magic.

[@ConceptofKobi]

A thousands memories run through my mind hearing that.

[@shanenolan85]

💯💯

[@shanenolan85]

@@ConceptofKobi Yep 💯🙏🏿

[@foooooob]

@SurroundedByBlueFire Yeah more like a very low quality synthetic voice...

[@matthewcasiglio2539]

@@foooooob I never get that prepare to qualify quote when I play this game plus the billboards say but that can't be namco and hurry up on them over Pepsi-Cola Marlboro and champion 🏆

[@davidhoward1609]

No kidding the voice samples probably took up 1/8 of the entire game's memory. God bless them.

[@snowyicicle1335]

*prepare to qualify*

[@CardboardSliver]

Hearing things like voice clips, FMV, or even a simple cymbal crash in the drums was mind blowing back in the days.

[@firestriker3580]

Nah it didn’t

[@firestriker3580]

Not

[@RyneMcKinney]

Pretty sure this was the very first video game to have voice acting

[@jesseemullen]

Graphics are beautiful for 1982. I think it's amazing that they were able to create an illusion of depth, rather than just racing from an isometric/overhead perspective.

[@JuanARivera-z9d]

Its like super mario

[@fabjtown1]

It’s the first 16 bit game. Seriously

[@Timbrock1000]

Pole Position pushed the envelope for video games of the early '80's. Among the first to be in a 16 but format, it outdazzled most all others save Tron.

[@RenegadeScooter]

2:09 After a careful listen, my best guess is "Great driving, you've qualified to race". Good grief, audio compression is a bitch.

[@alritedave]

More like "you've qualified to rope"... lol

[@rtyuik7]

@@alritedave "first flag and youve qualified to rope"

[@setsers1]

Ah, Yep. That's It.🙂😆

[@unliv3d]

Man it feels good to revisit this after all these years. I've actually realized now how accurate this game was. In the 80s they had turbo V6 engines, not the high pitched wailing V8/10/12 engines of the 90s-00s many are accustomed to. And Fuji Speedway was the track of choice for the Japanese Grand Prix back in the day before Suzuka Circuit. I'm glad they omitted the twisty turns before the straightaway. And you gotta love the cigarette and booze ads all strewn about haha. Good times.

[@jenniferbeatty7545]

@Unlive3D You put it perfectly.

[@HowardLive]

Yeah, Marlboro and Martini and Rossi ads in a video game would fly SO well today … 😂

[@lindseyvaughn1805]

This game is one of my earliest and most infuriating memories!

[@mrstevens70]

I so remember. I'm getting anxiety just watching this guy play.🤨

[@andriagoss]

You play unfair with others belongings I quit ⁷²44674302 ⁴ year b____

[@p6mkq]

​@@mrstevens70I bet you had tons of fun. 😅

[@juhasoderqvist1946]

back in the days, hearing this still amazing...sample and those arcades were magical in 1982..

[@ironmike-putsallkindavideo7840]

This is the game that paved the way for all DRIVING VIDEO GAMES to follow after

[@p6mkq]

Especially for Namco's Aqua Jet.

[@RANS87IROCZ]

I had Atari Night Rider as well, nothing to do with tv series, maybe even reason why TV episode used a K in it 😂 but think it came out before this one, Pole Position better graphics by far

[@RANS87IROCZ]

Actually it was Night Driver 😂😂😂 been so long I thought it was Night Rider also and I played the game as a kid, going on 48 now but I had an Atari 2600 and many games at one time, Combat with the tank was one of my favs at like 5 😂 Defender and Asteroid also, I can remember seeing them new in boxes and all the artwork I saw from different games was so cool to me

[@mammouthlafouinne3678]

The first ever Formula 1 game I played in my life ... The year was 1986 and my dad used to shift gears for me while I was stomping the pedal and steering the rudder -- sweet sweet memories 😢

[@Kameruner]

I remember going to an arcade when I was a teen in Apartheid South Africa and spending all day at the Pole Position cabinet, Pole Position ate my 50c like it was nothing. Man I loved that game.

[@georgejungle138]

Now it’s a shithole

[@PuzzlerDeb]

“…prepare to qualify”

[@fortunes11]

Quick tip: you should probably shift into high gear when you are in a straightaway but shift back into low when you are turning

[@jb4340]

only on the fourth turn

[@setsers1]

@@jb4340 I fucking hate the fourth turn.😠😆

[@sandal_thong8631]

I was wondering about that. Then she ran out of time and did some kind of cheat to reset the time instead of losing. 3:06. I'm outta here. 👎

[@gilbertdoubleday5340]

Second only at the start. First for the rest.

[@4eyed_landmerman]

I try to keep into high gear all the way. In the 4th turn I pull an extreme left turn and barely make it out.

[@John-ct9zs]

These were excellent graphics for 1982

[@fabjtown1]

First 16 bit game

[@AmbersKnight]

Loved this game when I was a kid. Wasn't any good at it so nice to see the game in full. I was amazed that the 16-bit computers never got a port of this but this is nice :)

[@richardson.1424]

This is the one game I had to play before I left the arcade everytime I went which was at least 2 or 3 times a week. It's still my favorite racing game of all time.

[@richardson.1424]

I wasn't good at it either. I'm playing it on XBOX 360 as I speak and I still suck at it!

[@BocchiTheMeltDown]

Nostalgia! This game always “GAME OVER” message remains due to screen burn-in.

[@Cu3rTTV]

Lol my dad just told me bout this game

[@setsers1]

Seriously?😆

[@garethcrb]

It was a very common occurance with that game thats why it gone burn in 😅

[@tomanderson6335]

Um...you do know the car has a second gear, right?

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

What da I know about shiftin'?! -Jay

[@blainekelley816]

Don’t worry about high gear until you first learn how to turn smoothly! A lot of memories watching this!

[@MLB9000]

The car has two speeds; 20mph and 200mph

[@DemomanX614]

@@blainekelley816 Aint that the truth, I remember being a kid and think "aww sweet more speed baby!!" And then hitting the turn at full speed.

[@bradleywesolowski5043]

Luke Bellmason 😂

[@jamesrenold259]

Do you think he knows to shift into high gear?

[@aaronking9332]

Pole position Sunday drive edition!

[@Angel_Sent_From_Heaven]

😂😂😂😂​@@aaronking9332

[@brulaapgaapmeester8052]

Forty years ago, this is how I got into simracing. We've come a long way. :-)

[@thejoint25]

Marlboro and Pepsi. Because we didn't care about our health in the 80's!

[@reignick1133]

+John Grange and Canon cmareas! ( which hey if you're gonnah drive like a madman might as well have photos for posterity's sake!)

[@jrodtheillegal4196]

+thejoint25 ACTUALLY THEY WERE subliminal ads for the kiddies 8^D

[@kushforthought-8749]

It's 2017 and it's still Marlboro and Pepsi.

[@lynk172]

LOL MAN,NEVER SAW THAT IN THE GAMECUBE VERSION

[@IVR02]

Lynk Shenning They censored it for the home console ports. Any brand names were replaced with generic slogans.

[@liquidalloy]

@2:09 "quit driving you qualified for soap"

[@amayasnep]

liquidalloy “Quit driving you’re qualified to rope”

[@SONICBOOM1889]

LMAO

[@kosmic_tarantula547X]

🤣🤣💯

[@HeIsTheBluesCat]

Ahahahahahaha!

[@chadbauch7970]

I don't always race my friends, but when I do, I race in low gear. lol

[@Angel_Sent_From_Heaven]

😅😅😅😅

[@alroulexe4996]

"Prepare to qualify" just took me right back in time to Boscombe Pier in the 80s!

[@sandycheeks7865]

Same as - except it was Frinton Pier, 1980s. I can smell the carpet still.

[@tdog652041]

Try to imagine a driving game today with alcohol and cigarette ads .

[@setsers1]

haha

[@snowyicicle1335]

Rated aO for extreme violence and tobacco refetences

[@randydubin7118]

Gran Turismo Sport has Tobacco and Alcohol ads in the game (Well, at least you can do so with the Decal Uploader in the Livery Editor) and it got a E for Everyone rating.

[@TheInkPitOx]

One of the Forza games has a car with tobacco advertising, except the brand is defunct.

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

I think mario kart 64 also parodied the cigarette ad I can't remember what's it called

[@pixelatednate4864]

I love watching the boot ups on these old games. I've always wondered why they freak out like that during boot up

[@electronman32k]

probably just running checks on the memory even the memory that is normally visible on the screen which would result in some weird stuff on the screen

[@filipe.estima]

@@electronman32k Yeah we know that now; back in the day it was an amusing mistery.

[@TheInkPitOx]

As a kid I had this game called Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing for the NES. It was loosely based on the 1989 Formula One season. I loved it but sold it many years ago because I wasn't very good at it. I just got another copy today. So nostalgic.

[@danimart3374]

Amazing graphics, good enough for Corporations to do their product-placements in the game! This game was actually advertising Marlboro (to kids, no less).

[@adm712]

And back then nobody cared, and rightfully so. A game was just a game

[@duomaxwell6523]

I still remember sitting down inside the arcade game box in my local mall arcade in the mid 90s playing this game. The only thing I remember was the intro music and "PREPARE TO QUALIFY". Damn it felt otherworldly magical.

[@royshuler7046]

This brings back some nice memories of when I used to DOMINATE this game in college back in the early to mid 80s.

[@DanielWhite-ob2yq]

I won first place in 3 competitions playing this game at the local arcade the first year it came out. I never let off the gas and would pass several cars in the hairpin turn, no crashes. good memories.

[@one7decimal2eight]

Pretty impressive considering the turns at fast speed were hard and even coming withing 1 inch of anything cause you to explode.

[@BenJabituya]

This was what made me love racing games.

[@toddbiesel4288]

That sound you hear is hundreds of viewers of this video simultaneously facepalming...

[@buckster2575]

Marlboro billboard wow that would never happen now.i sure miss the good old days.

[@soiboi4497]

That voice must’ve been mind blowing back in the day

[@Dixieddawg]

It was

[@PuzzlerDeb]

Those musical notes come from a 1982 Namco arcade game called Pole Position-loved that game😻

[@PathfinderHistoryTravel]

This and Asteroid Deluxe were my favorites. I worked as a game room attendant at Chuck E. Cheese’s, and heard these sounds all day. 7:22

[@buckster2575]

My cousin had asteroid deluxe game.sold it for $50 bucks.he didn't know I wanted it.thats good cause I'd lost it in my house fire.

[@mikesweeney5619]

@5:31 that music really brings back some good memories....

[@elardandrews7860]

None of these new generations don't know what this game is all about. Especailly with great classic games that Artari had back in the game. Those were the days.

[@gemmeliusgrammaticus2509]

Ok, boomer.

[@CricetoFunni]

o k b o o m e r

[@PiroKUSS]

Shut the fuck up lol, retro gaming's popular as fuck nowadays.

[@thenicestpersonintheuniver3723]

My cousins use to have this at their house. I use to play it all the time when I slept over

[@jonp4846]

Sophomore year in college when this came out. Countless hours of fun.

[@garymiller7087]

This takes me back to Sam’s pizza in Brooklyn in the 80’s, man I used to love those arcade sounds

[@robbiezampini-is3en]

1:17: Life Lost #1 4:49: Life Lost #2 8:57: Life Lost #3 10:21: Life Lost #4 11:23: Life Lost #5 12:04: Name Entry 12:47: Game Over 0:56: Game Start 1:02: Get Ready! 11:56: Game Clear

[@Jurgh909]

The coin sound and the music WAS my childhood vacations at the arcade

[@greg55666]

Dude, you're driving like this is Gran Turismo in 2015. You have to SPIN that steering wheel to get around the sharp corner, don't steer like you're trying to stay on the track!

[@FourthDerivative]

2:09 Coh pwahbum, ya fwana babawope

[@kosmic_tarantula547X]

That's exACTly how it sounds!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@jaredmartin2803]

Absolutely piss revved it in first gear the whole way around the track!

[@DJNeoncat]

"PREPARE TO QUALIFY." "GOOD DRIVING! YOU'RE QUALIFIED TO RACE."

[@serialdmx]

Omg.. I spent so many hours playing this... ❤️

[@yaboieddie1841]

Im a young guy so my first experiences of this gem was on the gameboy advance but a couple years ago me and some friends went to an arcade bar that happened to have an original cabinet with the wheel and pedal and it absolutely changed my whole perspective on just how groundbreaking this game mustve been for its time. All time favorite arcade game with Galaga as a close second!

[@xxdeadchannelxx]

This game was ahead of it's time.

[@uniquenamehere8582]

i loved playing this when i was maybe, 6-7. My grandma let me play it on her tv.

[@qwertgert7000]

There is no way for a game made in 1982 to be this high quality. WOW.

[@belovedconsole]

This is lovely. I remember fantasizing about these graphics while I sat in church

[@thenitpick7277]

Fun Fact: the car's engine noise does not change even slightly when watching at 1.5x, 2x, or any other playback speed. It's trippy!

[@hanafuda]

That's crazy! How's that possible, though?

[@kingcrimson4133]

@@hanafuda It's just a constant tone. Regardless, you can hear a very minute difference if you go from 1x to .25x.

[@CardboardSliver]

Anyone else miss the simple times spent at the arcade with a pocket full of quarters? Sure, the games look bad compared to what you have now, but who didn't love throwing some change at Pole Position, Spy Hunter, Hang-On, or Street Fighter? Sadly, thanks to modern gaming companies wanting to keep us inside, and by ourselves, arcades are kind of a dying breed.

[@cujoedaman]

But that also makes a good point, even bad looking games kept us entertained because it wasn't about how they looked, but how they played. Now it's "spice it up with as much bling and dazzle and hope no one notices the shit storm of bugs and terrible game play".

[@jenniferbeatty7545]

We need some serious business investment in finding all the old arcade game machines and opening old school arcades again.

[@jenniferbeatty7545]

@@cujoedaman I actually like the way this pole position looks!

[@cujoedaman]

@@jenniferbeatty7545 I didn't mean Pole Position specifically, I just mean games in general that have less than stellar looks, but the game play is awesome.

[@timothyjholloway]

Reading your last sentence on April 2, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic and stuck watching KZbin videos of video games for which many are grateful due to being confined indoors.

[@woody78kw55]

This is the most nostalgia ill get from a arcade game.

[@ryanmillar6572]

Possibly the first time ever, that actual sponsors were used.........Agip, Champion, Marlboro, Pepsi,and Martini

[@willt9172]

Love it, played this many times.

[@ktown1228]

This game looks like Roadblasters and these are the greatest graphics I’ve ever seen.

[@lyhaikudai3]

Do you know what the car sound actually sound like ? A hair shaver.

[@MonteD1]

The good old days, when Marlboro was advertised on kids games.

[@dimwit818]

then turn around and wonder why kids start smoking. 'oh i dont know, must be those older kids junior hangs out with' lol

[@Rigbone64]

Damn look how HD it is!

[@johnhealey6455]

Classic arcade games are so much fun.

[@dustinLee8686]

Prepare to qualify 😂😂 im 38 and i still think of it every time i see a racecar game

[@wotm8166]

wow, for how old this is, this game is astonishing!

[@greentechgiraffe]

almost every quarter i had in middle school went to this game!! haha that water spot sound !

[@charlessentenat1250]

Had this on my 5200 so of course it was my goto at the arcade. I think I retired this game for countless hours on Ivan Stewart's off road.

[@spiritualjay7213]

I miss these days , going to grandma house juts to load this bad boi up

[@chrish931]

This was the game that started my love affair with racing games as a child.

[@coffeehubby]

Love this game. My nephews get three hundred dollars in games and throw them away in two weeks. After 30 years I still love this simple game

[@jeffreeds3371]

coffeehubby no they don’t

[@susangrimes9708]

I have a 1981 Namco video game system that has Ms.Pacman,poll position,galaga,xeviour and mappy.

[@erikkenny7669]

Susan Grimes I’ve got the same one

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

I use to have one but until now, I don't

[@chrisjarman7996]

It’s the sounds from these games I remember the most Great times

[@jr42a1]

This was my game back in the 80's.. got really good at it...always the extended play with the snow lands and I believe an ambulance rollin up from behind if im correct... That was at Aladins Castle at Jamestown Mall

[@mikesweeney5619]

Are you from St.Louis?

[@SoapinTrucker]

Pole position was the shizz it back in the day! 😎👍

[@AllieRX]

Product placements. Product placements everywhere.

[@hobbified]

no product placement, just ads.

[@gochem3013]

Allie? You're here?

[@hobbified]

@Kailer Gibes Where exactly? We don't know what brand the car is, or the tires, or the fuel. There doesn't seem to be *anything* depicted in the game with enough detail to attach a brand to, or any dialog of any kind. There's only the billboards, which are overt advertisements with no "product" and no integration.

[@hobbified]

@Kailer Gibes No. There are no cans of Pepsi and no cigarettes, only logos. Product placements are advertisements, but not all advertisements are product placements. Words have meanings.

[@hobbified]

@Kailer Gibes got it, you're just trolling.

[@blanenoel4231]

Where were you? I was greatest at this game! As kid! I was 12 when I got this game! 40 years ago!

[@HoodrichShinobi]

I left this video running and forgot about it When i put my headphones back on later I heard that crazy noise that's supposed to be tires on the pavement. I turned the headset off and turned it back on because I thought it was messed up and continued to panic until I looked at the other monitor with this video on it lmao

[@committedfathers]

Classic throwback 👌🏿

[@PuzzlerDeb]

Those musical notes come from a 1982 Namco arcade game called Pole Position 😻

[@travissanchez4305]

Good to see an old classic I used to spend money on back in the day... I was a little perplexed as to why they didn't switch it out of low gear though...

[@hobbified]

Shift dammit!

[@marcusbrown1767]

Atari. Original vintage toys never fail, what a dandy indeed..

[@jketcham9004]

Flash back voice of Track and Field game

[@bintitmini]

1:47 a roundabout?

[@lightningbolt99999]

When we were little we used to say that Pac-Man was driving.

[@floydjohnson7888]

Now that I notice it, that "yellow spheroid" in the car may have been a very subtle in-joke that you picked up on

[@Emper0rH0rde]

Memories of Pizza Hut in the '90s

[@Wildfire86872]

Played it quite a few times back in the day. And imagine trying to get a cigarette advertisement into a video game nowadays XD)

[@justwalkinalong]

I remember this game because my friend has this game

[@jhonezcronic]

Many Quarters spent and Pizza Slices eaten at the wheel of this dynamic machinery

[@chicagonative3]

I have no idea what system I played this on but it’s etched in my brain I played it so much

[@jaymesjmathias9390]

I always thought there was an engine revving as you drive sound....ohhhh! patience IS A virtue, lol

[@jaymesjmathias9390]

I didn't remember it sounding like a 4.5 volt hair trimmer though.

[@j_yeezussthegreat4311]

this brings back memories

[@AZWMKWofficialstarNinjaGeneral]

Freakin loved this game and the 2nd one

[@rebelfleettrooper9881]

The drifting sound makes me want to scream massive chaos. It is so grating! But the music is nice.

[@jrodtheillegal4196]

with Japan's suicide forest in the background, Aokigahara

[@GamingFanactic911]

"Turbo Tastic!" XD

[@1shogunate696]

This on LSD is amazing. Spent 4 hours on N64 playing this

[@mountainman4987]

I can remember playing this back in the day with a whole cheek full of bazooka bubble gum. Slobber would sometimes ooze out of the corner of my mouth. Then some strange kid would come up behind me with a quarter, place it up on the corner of the screen and say! I GOT NEXT! Wanted to kill those little pricks!

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

Comment of the year! every arcade had that kid.

[@CardboardSliver]

I once took the quarter and played it. Just stared at the kid and said "I'm not done."

[@jenniferbeatty7545]

@@CardboardSliver Too cool...

[@DBR00]

Wow! Surprised Marlboro advertised in this game! That would never be the case today that it would be allowed!

[@Jimmyzb36]

Hand ME another Quarter!!!!!!!!!!! I was never worth a __________ with this game. loved it anyway!!

[@pactheruler]

the best intro for racing game

[@KingoAnimate]

I loved playing as a teen boy in 2018-2019 (I’m 21 now)