| Pole Position | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Kazunori Sawano Sho Osugi Shinichiro Okamoto |
| Programmer(s) | Koichi Tashiro |
| Composer(s) | Nobuyuki Ohnogi Yuriko Keino |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, VIC-20, Vectrex, Mobile phone |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Pole Position[a] is a racing arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was licensed to Atari, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution. Pole Position is considered one of the most important titles from the golden age of arcade video games. It was an evolution of Namco's earlier arcade racing electro-mechanical games, notably 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 game genre and its success inspired numerous 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 in particular. A sequel, Pole Position II, was released in 1983 with four tracks instead of one.
- ^ "Video Game Flyers: Pole Position, Atari, Inc. (France)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Video Game Flyers: Pole Position, Namco (EU)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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