Derby Owners Club
A horse racing arcade game with IC card save and pet simulation.
Derby Owners Club is a horse racing arcade game developed by Sega AM3, operating under the name Hitmaker, and published by Sega. Players assume the roles of breeder, trainer, jockey, and owner of a thoroughbred racehorse, with progress saved on an IC card. The first version debuted in Japan in 1999 on the NAOMI arcade board.
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
New players create a horse by choosing parents, a name, and silks. Horses are either front runners, quick out of the gate and strong on turns, or stretch runners, slow initially but able to overtake through sprinting. Training consists of ten exercises followed by a meal such as vegetable salad, camembert cheese, or Chinese herbal dumplings, each affecting the horse differently. 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 reduces the horse's confidence. Timing the whip according to horse type is critical. Prize money is awarded based on performance, and the player offers 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, 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, though breeding ability is limited.
Development
Horse racing games were often perceived as difficult, so Derby Owners Club aimed to be easy to understand and play for a wide audience. A pet simulator aspect was added to help players 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. While arcade games typically focused on training and races, the feeding and raising section was novel for arcades and strengthened the community aspect. When ported to PC as Derby Owners Club Online, retaining the community was the hardest challenge; a town was added where players interact via avatars and engage in various activities, similar to an MMORPG.
Reception
The game changed the Japanese arcade market by charging 300 to 500 yen per play, with sessions lasting over 5 to 10 minutes. According to Sega developer Masaru Kohayakawa, its success helped popularize a new arcade business model focused on high-spending players, anticipating the 80/20 rule seen in modern mobile games. It also succeeded in American arcades; testing in Chicago showed a 92% replay rate and it became the most popular machine there. The eight-player Japanese version from 1999 was reduced to a four-player version for North America in 2003 due to size issues. Despite initial success, the cabinet was too expensive and failed to attract casual users essential to the western market. The game sold 850 cabinets in Japan by 2001 and was the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 2001 in Japan. The PC port was shut down in 2006, two years after its 2004 release.
Versions
Japan received two updates: Derby Owners Club 2000 and Derby Owners Club II in 2001. A localized version, Derby Owners Club: World Edition, was released in 2002. A PC port followed in 2004. A sequel, Derby Owners Club: Feel the Rush, appeared in 2008 on the Lindbergh board, updated the next year as Ride for the life. An iOS and Android version launched in 2012 and shut down in 2019.
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