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  20 years ago this October,

  @SumoDigitalLtd

  helped

  @SEGA

  create a staggeringly good port of OutRun 2 for

  @XBOX

  . Here's the story of how it happened... 🧵

  

• 

  Ex-Sega Europe Producer Ben Gunstone on picking Sumo: "The choice was very difficult and I talked to many different developers. In the end, Sumo had completed a port of multiplayer racing game for Codemasters to Xbox, and this experience was the clincher"

  

  

  Sumo's producer on OutRun 2, Mark Glossop, admits it was a bold move. "Sumo was very small at the start & had less than 20 staff; despite their size, the staff & management were very experienced in the games industry & had worked together for many years at Gremlin & Infogrames"

  

  

  Despite this, Gunstone still had to argue his case with his bosses at Sega of Japan. "I had to fly to Tokyo for a two-day visit to present the game, the developer and get final sign off to start development and approve using Sumo. That was a daunting meeting."

  

  

  During development, Gunstone managed to leak the port's existence in a local arcade. "One day I had been to the pub beforehand and had a couple of pints. Another chap was playing on OutRun 2, and I offered to race him, as it was a twin sit-down machine."

  

  

  "After I beat him, I then told him not to be too disappointed as I worked at Sega. I duly spilt the beans on development. This nice chap then promptly told everyone on a forum in GameFAQs – he quoted his 'unnamed source' from Southampton Sega arcade!"

  

  

  Thankfully, the game was released to critical acclaim. "I think you’ve got to assume [Sega] were impressed as it was the start of a very close relationship," says Gunstone. Read more here: timeextension.com/features/the-m…