GP Rider

GP Rider^[a] is a motorcycle racing game developed and manufactured by Sega, released in as an arcade video game in Japan, North America and Europe. It came in a two-player motion simulator cabinet and a standard upright cabinet.^[5] It was ported to the Master System in 1993 and then Game Gear in 1994.

GP Rider
Japanese flyer showing a two-player sit-down version of the arcade cabinet
Developer(s)	Sega AM2
Publisher(s)	Sega
Producer(s)	Yu Suzuki[1]
Composer(s)	Hiroshi Kawaguchi Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
Platform(s)	Arcade, Master System, Game Gear
Release	October 1990 Arcade JP: October 1990 WW: November 1990[2][3] Master System EU: 1993 Game Gear NA: March 1994 EU: 1994 JP: April 22, 1994[4]
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system	Sega X Board

Ports

The Master System version is played in split-screen mode (similar to the Genesis port of OutRunners) regardless of if one or two players are playing. If only one player is racing then the second player is replaced by a computer opponent called "Wayne" (possibly a reference to Wayne Rainey), who plays like a human player in that his performance varies from race to race, in contrast to most racing games of the era, where the main opponent is programmed to always finish in the same position.

The Game Gear version is essentially a rebranded port of Super Hang-On, featuring assets and gameplay from that game.

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
	Arcade	Master System	SGG
AllGame	[6]
Computer and Video Games	90%[3]
Famitsu			19/40[7]
Sinclair User	88%[8]
Video Games (DE)		58%[9]
CU Amiga	93%[10]
RePlay	Positive[2]
Sega Master Force		48%[11]
The One	Positive[12]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed GP Rider on their November 15, 1990 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.^[13] It went on to be Japan's sixth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1991.^[14]

The arcade game received positive reviews upon release. The One in 1991 called it a "realistic motorcycle simulation" and praised its graphics, expressing that GP Rider has "amazingly smooth scrolling" and "great new gradient effects". The One also praised GP Rider's motorcycle controller hardware as "realistic" and adding to the game's atmosphere. The One noted GP Rider was "the first motorcycle game that lets you race against another player", and expressed that this competitive "head-to-head excitement with a superb implementation and ultra realistic bike handling" made GP Rider a good major coin investment.^[12]

Notes

1. Japanese: GPライダー, Hepburn: Jī Pī raidā