Derby Owners Club
Breed, train, and race thoroughbreds in a persistent arcade world.
Derby Owners Club is a horse racing arcade game developed by Sega AM3, then known as Hitmaker, and published by Sega. It places players in the roles of breeder, trainer, jockey, and owner of a thoroughbred racehorse, with progress saved on an IC card usable across machines. First released in Japan in 1999 on the NAOMI arcade board, it helped shift the arcade business model toward high-spending players.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Sega-AM3
- Publisher
- Sega
- Released
- 1999
- Genre
- Horse racing
- Producer
- Hisao Oguchi; Mie Kumagai
- Composer
- Mitsuharu Fukuyama; Hiroshi Kawaguchi (2008)
- Platforms
- Arcade
- PC
- iOS
- Android
- Arcade system
- Sega NAOMI, Sega Lindbergh
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
First-time players create a horse by choosing parents, a name, and silks. Horses are either front runners, quick from the gate and strong on turns, or stretch runners, slow initially but able to sprint past others. Training consists of ten exercises followed by a meal such as vegetable salad, camembert cheese, or Chinese herbal dumplings, each affecting the horse differently depending on the individual animal. Maintaining a good relationship with the horse is important, as it influences behavior. During races, whip and hold buttons control speed based on the horse's condition; excessive whipping causes the horse to lose confidence, and timing the whip correctly for the horse type is critical. After a race, players receive virtual prize money and choose to give encouragement or derision. Handicap races are available for horses that are out of their depth, with ability rated by prize money earned. Different tracks, including dirt surfaces, suit different horses. After a race, the game requests another coin to continue, or the player may retire the horse to breed a second-generation foal; a horse's breeding ability is limited.
Development
Horse racing games often seemed difficult to play, requiring prerequisites, but Derby Owners Club aimed to be easy to understand and play for a wide audience. A pet simulator aspect was added so players could become attached to the horse. The cabinet setup, with multiple terminals connected to a big screen, was new, as was storing progress on a card. Feeding and raising the horse, rather than focusing solely on training and races, was novel for arcades and strengthened the community aspect. When ported to PC as Derby Owners Club Online, retaining that community was the hardest challenge; a town was added where players interact via avatars and engage in various activities, similar to an MMORPG.
Reception
Derby Owners Club changed the Japanese arcade market, charging 300 to 500 yen per game while allowing play for over five to ten minutes. Sega developer Masaru Kohayakawa noted that despite declining arcade centers in the 2000s, the game popularized a new business model focused on high-spending players, shifting from skilled players who spent little to those who spent heavily, anticipating the 80/20 rule seen in mobile games. The game succeeded in American arcades as well; testing in Chicago showed it became the most popular machine with a 92% replay rate. A smaller four-player version was released in North America in 2003. However, the cabinet was too expensive and failed to attract casual users essential to the western market. It was the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 2001 in Japan. The PC port shut down in 2006, two years after its 2004 release.
Versions
Derby Owners Club was updated in Japan as Derby Owners Club 2000 and then Derby Owners Club II in 2001. A worldwide version, titled Derby Owners Club: World Edition, arrived in 2002, followed by a PC port in 2004. The 2008 sequel, Derby Owners Club: Feel the Rush, ran on Lindbergh hardware and was updated the next year as Ride for the life. A mobile version for iOS and Android launched in 2012 and was discontinued in 2019.
More in Arcade Game Library
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced