Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
Pole Position is a 1982 racing video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released by Atari, Inc. in North America. It was developed as a successor of Namco's earlier arcade racing electro-mechanical games, like F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on Pole Position.
The game was a major commercial success in arcades. After becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1982 in Japan, it went on to become the most popular coin-operated arcade video game internationally in 1983. In North America, it was the highest-grossing arcade game for both 1983 and 1984 and still one of the top five in 1985.
Pole Position spawned ports, sequels, and a Saturday morning cartoon, although the cartoon has little in common with the game. The game established the conventions of the racing genre and its success inspired many imitators. Pole Position is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, and is considered to be the most influential racing game, as well as one of the most important titles from the golden age of arcade video games. A sequel, Pole Position II, was released in 1983 with four tracks instead of one.
Pole Position is a 1982 racing video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released by Atari, Inc. in North America. It was developed as a successor of Namco's earlier arcade racing electro-mechanical games, like F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on Pole Position.
The game was a major commercial success in arcades. After becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1982 in Japan, it went on to become the most popular coin-operated arcade video game internationally in 1983. In North America, it was the highest-grossing arcade game for both 1983 and 1984 and still one of the top five in 1985.
Pole Position spawned ports, sequels, and a Saturday morning cartoon, although the cartoon has little in common with the game. The game established the conventions of the racing genre and its success inspired many imitators. Pole Position is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, and is considered to be the most influential racing game, as well as one of the most important titles from the golden age of arcade video games. A sequel, Pole Position II, was released in 1983 with four tracks instead of one.
