Atari Resurrects Night Driver

Anyone out there remember Atari’s Night Driver? How has one of gaming’s first experiences behind the wheel re-adapted itself for the 21st century?

Night Driver was released in arcades in 1976, a time when video game technology was just beginning to crawl around and speak words. It was the first racing video game to display a first-person perspective, which it did by casting the environment entirely in the dark, except for the numerous pylons on the side of the road. Since all the primitive CPU had to animate were those pylons, a pseudo-3D racer was possible to release during the Bicentennial — as long as you had it take place during midnight.

Time marches on, and now video game visuals are capable of showing us anything…..so the new Night Driver, revealed today, looks much more like driving at night does, with streetlamps and headlights and this time, even a city. In the mid-70s you needed a heavy arcade machine to experience this at a cost of 25 cents, but today you can just use the phone in your pocket for free. The simple controls of Night Driver should translate well to iOS and Android, where it’s being released.

The visual style they’re using to advertise this game feels a bit off. Wrong decade, guys. Where’s all the disco and afros?

Inspired by the original, Night Driver offers a range of different slick and powerful vehicles that players can race down the illuminated highway in an exhilarating wild ride under the night sky. Upgrade and enhance your car’s look, performance and style in this reimagined arcade revival that features breathtaking locations, a 360 degree showroom and multiple game modes.