Turbo (video game)

Turbo

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	1981
Founder	Steve Hanawa
Products	Turbo (arcade game)

Turbo is a racing game launched in arcades in 1981 by Sega. Created and programmed by Steve Hanawa, it received acclaim for its demanding gameplay, 2.5D color visuals with dynamic backgrounds, and an engaging sit-down cockpit arcade cabinet. It reached the top position on North America's monthly Play Meter arcade rankings and achieved strong placements on Japan's Game Machine charts.

Produced in three configurations—standard upright, cabaret/mini, and seated cockpit—all models include a steering wheel, a gearshift for switching between low and high gears, and an accelerator pedal. The arcade features a vertically aligned 20-inch raster screen accompanied by an LED panel displaying player and high scores, plus illuminated oil and temperature gauges positioned beside the steering wheel. Subsequently, Turbo was adapted for the Colecovision and Intellivision home consoles.

Gameplay

In Turbo, participants race through both city streets and countryside tracks under different weather conditions and times of day, piloting vehicles styled after Formula 1 cars. Advancement depends on overtaking at least 30 rivals before the timer expires. Opponents exhibit a range of behaviors from predictable driving to unpredictable swerving.

The initial level grants unlimited retries; collisions simply reposition the player’s car. Later stages restrict players to two lives (one active plus one spare), with additional lives earned after completing each round (up to a maximum of four reserves). Occasionally, an ambulance will pass from behind—contact with it results in losing a life. The game concludes when all lives are exhausted or time runs out before surpassing 30 cars.

Development

Steve Hanawa was responsible for designing and programming Turbo. He later described working on this title as his most challenging period at Sega due to an intense schedule combining coding and debugging. The pressure from this workload caused Hanawa to be hospitalized for a month because of exhaustion and a collapsed lung.

Ports

Although an Atari 2600 version developed by Coleco was promoted, it was never finalized, partly due to lead programmer Michael Green suffering severe injuries in an accident. In 2006, a prototype approximately 80% complete surfaced.

Reception

In the United States, Turbo reached number one on the Play Meter arcade charts in May 1982, overtaking Donkey Kong. In Japan, Game Machine ranked it as the 18th top-grossing arcade game in 1981 and 19th in 1982, later placing it fifth among upright/cockpit arcade machines in May 1983.

Upon release, the arcade edition received widespread praise. Cash Box highlighted its "realistic, three dimensional, full color imagery" alongside impressive audio features. Daniel Cohen emphasized its "challenging and remarkably realistic" gameplay coupled with an immersive cockpit cabinet experience. Computer and Video Games lauded its authenticity, control responsiveness, graphics quality, and diverse racing environments.

Early in 1983, Video described Turbo as "the king of the video road," noting that the ColecoVision adaptation faithfully replicated the arcade’s visuals and included realistic peripherals like steering wheel and pedals. Arcade Express awarded the ColecoVision version a perfect score of 10/10, praising its close approximation of the arcade’s multi-scenario excellence enhanced by its specialized control panel.

Critical Reception

• Games

Enduring Influence

In 1983, Milton Bradley introduced a board game adaptation titled Turbo.