Killer List of Videogames Logo  
Home | Forums | Library | Penny Arcadia | Events | Books / Gifts | News | VAPS / Census | Search | Contribute | About

4,495 machines: 0-9   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z  

Manufacturers | Top 100 Videogames | Visit The International Arcade Museum for 17216 coin-operated listings.

Pole Position

Pole Position - Japanese Title

Pole Position - marquee

Manufacturer: Atari
Year: 1982
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Racing
Type: Videogame

Monitor:

  • Orientation: Horizontal
  • Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
  • CRT: Color
  • 19-inch Matsushita
Conversion Class: unique
Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 1
Gameplay: Single
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:
  • Steering: Wheel
  • Shifter: 2-position (low, high)
  • Pedals: 2

Sound: Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp)

Pole Position


Click here to contribute another image.



Pole Position Description

Race your Indy car around the Fuji course before the timer runs out. The first run is the qualifying lap and your starting position is determined by your completion time. Avoid road hazards and other cars as you drive, earning extra time for each completed lap.

Know anything more about this game?
Click here to contribute a description or other text information.
Thanks!

Cabinet Information

The sit-down version of the game uses separate accelerator and brake pedals while the upright only uses a single pedal.

Game Introduction

Prepare to qualify! A sophisticated game for its day, with scaleable foreground objects and speech. Keep an eye out for the billboards! Also famous for burning the power input edge connectors and finger contacts on the PCB. Several custom integrated circuits.

Miscellaneous

Pole Position was created by Namco Inc. who also manufactured the game for the entire world except for the United States. Aside from the words (which are in Japanese) found on and in the Namco version, the graphics on the side of the cabinet are basically the same as well as the billboards that are seen throughout the game. Compared to the Atari release, the only differences are the "Atari Racing" decal on the simulated dashboard and the little blimp that can be seen at the beginning of a race that is marked "Atari" with the message "Prepare To Qualify." In the Namco version, the blimp has no markings on it.

VAPS Arcade Census

GAMES OWNED, WANTED, or FOR SALE BY MEMBERS OF THE VIDEO ARCADE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Very Common - There are 179 known instances of Pole Position owned by one of our 3,650 members who participate in our machine census project. Of these, 161 of them are original dedicated machines, 2 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 16 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

Of the 59,776 machines (3,517 unique) tracked by the Video Game Preservation Society, this game ranks a 63 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on ownership records.

Wanted - There are 7 VAPS members currently looking for Pole Position. There is one VAPS member looking for a Pole Position circuit board set.

For Sale - There are 14 VAPS members with Pole Position machines for sale. There are 14 VAPS members with extra Pole Position circuit boards for sale. VAPS members are totally independent of VAPS and the International Arcade Museum, and we are unable to recommend, endorce, or guarantee any person or company selling games or game parts.

Rarity is NOT necessarily an indication of value. Some common games show up as very rare here because collectors don't want them (they are common because arcade operators might be sitting on tons of them in warehouses), while some fairly scarce games are grabbed by collectors every time they show up. Additionally, some games made in the last 5 years are still making money for operators and are thus not yet affordable to the typical collector. For a clue to value, compare how many people have this game vs. how many people want this game and then click on the eBay links to help determine an accurate price range.

Technical

The game uses two Z8002 microprocessors, one Z80 microprocessor and a Namco 6-channel stereo PSG for sounds.

Trivia

This game was one of the choices presented to Bally/Midway from Namco for sublicensing. Bally/Midway chose Mappy while Atari was left with Pole Position. Pole Position went on to become the biggest game of 1983 ( number four on http://www.atari-history.com/30secrets.html ).

eBay Listings

Click here to automatically search eBay's Arcade, Jukebox, and Pinball categories for the Pole Position Videogame machine and items related to it.

Click here to automatically search
eBay's Arcade, Jukebox, and Pinball categories for machines and parts made by Atari.

Alternatively, check out the IAM/KLOV custom report of the hottest coin-op machines on eBay, powered by Ace.com (updated throughoutthe day).

TODAY'S PICKS FOR:

Pole Position

1. Pole Position Arcade Board! Great Condition! Very Clean

Auction ends in: 2 hours, 49 minutes

 1 bid
 
$9.99
 
2. Atari POLE POSITION upright arcade game monitor glass

Auction ends in: 3 hours, 12 minutes

 0 bids
 
$5.00
 
3. ATARI POLE POSITION ARCADE VIDEO GAME

Auction ends in: 1 day, 6 hours

 1 bid
 
$0.99
 
4. POLE POSITION ARCADE GAME WIRING HARNESS AND ARII PCBS

Auction ends in: 2 days, 10 hours

 0 bids
 
$4.00
 
5. Atari Pole Position Power Supply PCB Board Arcade

Auction ends in: 2 days, 23 hours

 0 bids
 
$9.95
 
6. Atari Pole Position 2 arcade audio regulator boards

Auction ends in: 4 days, 7 hours

 BuyItNow:
 
$30.00
 
7. Atari Pole Position 2 arcade power supply for parts

Auction ends in: 4 days, 7 hours

 BuyItNow:
 
$30.00
 
8. Atari Pole Position 2 arcade wiring harness for parts

Auction ends in: 4 days, 7 hours

 BuyItNow:
 
$30.00
 
9. POLE POSITION VIDEO GAME MANUAL~ATARI 1982~1st Printing

Auction ends in: 4 days, 11 hours

 BuyItNow:
 
$23.00
 
10. Pole Position 2 sitdown arcade- Atari 1983

Auction ends in: 5 days, 10 hours

 BuyItNow:
 
$595.00
 
Additional Results Available
Click Here To Browse This Category on eBay
(exits this site)
Powered by Ace.com

Legacy

  1. Pole Position
  2. Pole Position II
  3. TX-1
  4. TX-1 V8

Manuals

  1. Operation, Maintenance, and Service Manual  131 Pages, 12285 KB File.
  2. Technical Update  2 Pages, 130 KB File.

Foto-Finder™

  1. Arcade Treasures, Kurtz (ISBN 0-88740-619-X): Page: 111; Color photo; Price guide: 1994
  2. The Encyclpedia of Arcade Video Games, Kurtz (ISBN 0764319256): Page: 129; Color photo;
Pole Position - Cabinet Image


Pole Position - Title screen image


Pole Position - Title screen image

Pole Position - Title screen image

Pole Position - Title screen image


Click here to contribute another image.






Return to the index | Return to the Main Page

© 1995-2010 by The International Arcade Museum®. Portions (c) 2009 by The International Arcade Museum Library, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you wish to use material from our web sites, please take a look at our Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Trademark Page. Except as described on that page, any use of the information found here may not be copied or reprinted on any medium, either physical or electronic, without the express written permission of The International Arcade Museum.