Target XBLA: OutRun speeds for release next week!

by: Cyril - posted: 4/9/2009 8:20:00 PM

It's been 23 years since Sega unleashed OutRun, their action-packed racing game that had you traverse the entire country in only a matter of minutes.  Unfortunately, outside of a few spin-offs, a failed sequel and a few third-party efforts, the OutRun name doesn't mean a whole lot these days.  They've tried a futuristic version (OutRun 2019), a tour of Europe (OutRun Europa), and even a portable version with completely broken online multiplayer support (OutRun 2006 for the PSP).  Yet nothing worked.  Perhaps things will change when Sega reboots the franchise with this Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network update, simply known as OutRun Online Arcade.

We all knew this game was coming, but today Sega announced the price and availability.  It looks like we'll be able to race from one side of the country to the other starting next Wednesday (Thursday on the European PSN store).  The game will retail for $10 (800 Microsoft Points).  For those that haven't been keeping track, this Xbox Live Arcade game is a remixed version of OutRun 2006, a game released on both the PSP and PlayStation 2.  While neither version was perfect, I had a lot of fun with the PSP version and expect this Xbox Live Arcade release to be on par (hopefully with better online gameplay this time around).  I'll have more on OutRun Online Arcade on next week's Retro Round-Up!