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Densha de Go!
Densha de Go! (電車でGO!; "Let's Go by Train!") is a Japanese train simulation game series originally produced by Taito and more recently by Square Enix (who purchased Taito) and Railfan Holdings Co., Ltd. The series started with a 1996 arcade version and was first released in a home version for the PlayStation in 1997. There are also PC versions released by the Japanese publisher Unbalance. All of the games in the series are exclusively available in Japanese.
Each Densha de Go title contains actual train (or tram) routes based on real services in Japan. For the most part, the user's task is to drive the train and adhere to a very exacting timetable, including stopping at stations to within as little as 30 cm of a prescribed stopping point, ideally within half a second of the scheduled arrival time. While the specifics vary slightly between versions, the user is expected to obey speed limits and other posted signs, sound a warning for work parties along the track, arrive at between-station waypoints on time, and perform similar tasks.
Densha de Go differ from Ongakukan's Train Simulator series primarily in that while the Ongakukan series uses video taken from cameras mounted to the front of real-world trains for its graphics, Densha de Go titles rely upon computer-drawn graphics.
The concept for a train-based video game originated at Taito around 1991–1992, but was initially shelved because management considered trains "plain and boring." Programmer Akira Saito developed the idea based on his observations of the popular Yamanote Line simulation machine at Tokyo's Transportation Museum in Akihabara, which consistently drew crowds of all ages. When Saito formally proposed the concept around 1996, Taito was divided between supporters and skeptics who questioned the appeal of train simulation in an arcade market dominated by fighting and racing games. Support from train enthusiast employees within Taito helped secure approval for the project.
Official development began in July 1996 with a compressed timeline of three to four months. The small team consisted of Akira Saito as lead programmer and planner, Masayuki Kikuchi and Masaya Kinoshita as programmers, Yukihiro Moriyama handling graphics, and Tetsuyu Yamaro creating the opening demo. The team decided early to use real Japanese train lines and stations rather than fictional locations, and invested heavily in an authentic control panel despite management cost concerns. Saito argued the control panel represented "80% of the game" and insisted on functional elements like working pressure gauges and authentic lever mechanisms.
During development, several features were cut including a "reckless driving mode" that would have allowed players to skip stations, and fantastical elements were abandoned in favor of realism. The game launched in Japanese arcades in 1997 to immediate success.
In general, simulation games such as Densha de Go! or Tokimeki Memorial were more popular in Japan than in America which preferred more action oriented video games.
The 2004 title Densha de Go Final! was so named to signal that it was intended to be the last in the series. While still popular in an absolute numbers sense, the series had lost the novelty of its heyday while development costs for individual titles continued to climb due to the detailed virtual worlds that needed to be created.
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Densha de Go! AI simulator
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Densha de Go!
Densha de Go! (電車でGO!; "Let's Go by Train!") is a Japanese train simulation game series originally produced by Taito and more recently by Square Enix (who purchased Taito) and Railfan Holdings Co., Ltd. The series started with a 1996 arcade version and was first released in a home version for the PlayStation in 1997. There are also PC versions released by the Japanese publisher Unbalance. All of the games in the series are exclusively available in Japanese.
Each Densha de Go title contains actual train (or tram) routes based on real services in Japan. For the most part, the user's task is to drive the train and adhere to a very exacting timetable, including stopping at stations to within as little as 30 cm of a prescribed stopping point, ideally within half a second of the scheduled arrival time. While the specifics vary slightly between versions, the user is expected to obey speed limits and other posted signs, sound a warning for work parties along the track, arrive at between-station waypoints on time, and perform similar tasks.
Densha de Go differ from Ongakukan's Train Simulator series primarily in that while the Ongakukan series uses video taken from cameras mounted to the front of real-world trains for its graphics, Densha de Go titles rely upon computer-drawn graphics.
The concept for a train-based video game originated at Taito around 1991–1992, but was initially shelved because management considered trains "plain and boring." Programmer Akira Saito developed the idea based on his observations of the popular Yamanote Line simulation machine at Tokyo's Transportation Museum in Akihabara, which consistently drew crowds of all ages. When Saito formally proposed the concept around 1996, Taito was divided between supporters and skeptics who questioned the appeal of train simulation in an arcade market dominated by fighting and racing games. Support from train enthusiast employees within Taito helped secure approval for the project.
Official development began in July 1996 with a compressed timeline of three to four months. The small team consisted of Akira Saito as lead programmer and planner, Masayuki Kikuchi and Masaya Kinoshita as programmers, Yukihiro Moriyama handling graphics, and Tetsuyu Yamaro creating the opening demo. The team decided early to use real Japanese train lines and stations rather than fictional locations, and invested heavily in an authentic control panel despite management cost concerns. Saito argued the control panel represented "80% of the game" and insisted on functional elements like working pressure gauges and authentic lever mechanisms.
During development, several features were cut including a "reckless driving mode" that would have allowed players to skip stations, and fantastical elements were abandoned in favor of realism. The game launched in Japanese arcades in 1997 to immediate success.
In general, simulation games such as Densha de Go! or Tokimeki Memorial were more popular in Japan than in America which preferred more action oriented video games.
The 2004 title Densha de Go Final! was so named to signal that it was intended to be the last in the series. While still popular in an absolute numbers sense, the series had lost the novelty of its heyday while development costs for individual titles continued to climb due to the detailed virtual worlds that needed to be created.