Sega Corporation (stylized as SEGA) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher known for producing video games and arcade machines. The company originally manufactured home video game consoles from 1983 until 2002, after which it transitioned to becoming a third-party video game developer. Sega was founded on June 3, 1960, as Nihon Goraku Bussan by Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart. The company is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan.
Sega has developed and published multiple racing games based on the Initial D series, most notably the Initial D Arcade Stage series, which has been released for Sega arcade systems. Additionally, several titles from the Arcade Stage series have been ported to home consoles.
Franchise history[]
Initial D: Fastest Public Road Legend was released for the Sega Saturn in 1998. The game was developed by Genki and was the only game to be released on a Sega console.
Sega Rosso, a development studio owned by Sega, developed Initial D Arcade Stage for the Sega Naomi in 2001. They then developed Arcade Stage Ver. 2 and Arcade Stage Ver. 3, updated versions for the same system. They also developed Initial D Special Stage, a home console port of Arcade Stage Ver. 2 for the PlayStation 2. Sega Rosso would later be merged into the studio Hitmaker in 2003.
Sega would then make the Arcade Stage series themselves, starting with Initial D Street Stage, the PlayStation Portable port of Arcade Stage Ver. 3. With Arcade Stage 4 in 2007, the series would move to the Sega Lindbergh. It was then followed by Initial D Extreme Stage, a port for the PlayStation 3, and then Arcade Stage 5, also for the Lindbergh.
The series would then move to the Sega RingEdge with Arcade Stage 6 AA, Arcade Stage 7 AAX, and Arcade Stage 8 Infinity. The last Arcade Stage game, Arcade Stage Zero, was published for the Sega Nu2 in 2017.
Their latest game, Initial D The Arcade, released in 2021 for the Sega ALLS. The game is separate from the Arcade Stage series.
Games developed[]
- Initial D Arcade Stage (Sega Naomi, released 2001 in Japan and 2002 in Europe & US)
- Initial D Arcade Stage Ver. 2 (Sega Naomi, released 2002 in Japan and 2003 in Europe & US)
- Initial D Special Stage (PlayStation 2, released 2003)
- Initial D Arcade Stage Ver. 3 (Sega Naomi, released 2004)
- Initial D Street Stage (PlayStation Portable, released 2006)
- Initial D Arcade Stage 4 (Sega Lindbergh, released February 2007 in Japan and July 2007 internationally)
- Initial D Extreme Stage (PlayStation 3, released 2008)
- Initial D Arcade Stage 5 (Sega Lindbergh, released February 2009)
- Initial D Arcade Stage 6 AA (Sega RingEdge, released March 2011)
- Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AAX (Sega RingEdge, released November 2012)
- Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity (Sega RingEdge, released July 14, 2014)
- Initial D Arcade Stage Zero (Sega Nu2, released March 7th, 2017)
- Initial D The Arcade (Sega ALLS, released February 25th 2021)
Localisation[]
Export versions were made of several of their Initial D arcade games. The American and European markets received their own localised version of the first four Initial D Arcade Stage games. These versions featured different names for the characters, with many of these matching up with the nicknames Tokyopop used in their localisation of the manga.
| Original Japanese Name | English Nickname |
|---|---|
| Takumi Fujiwara | Tak |
| Itsuki Takeuchi | Iggy |
| Koichiro Iketani | Cole |
| Keisuke Takahashi | K.T |
| Ryosuke Takahashi | Ry |
| Takeshi Nakazato | Zack |
| Mako Sato | Maya |
| Sayuki | Simone |
| Kenta Nakamura | Danny (Arcade Stage Ver. 2 & 3) Kent (Arcade Stage 4) |
| Seiji Iwaki | Hawk |
| Kyoichi Sudo | Kyle |
| Wataru Akiyama | Aki |
| Kai Kogashiwa | Caine (Arcade Stage 1 - 3) |
| Daiki Ninomiya | Dice |
| Tomoyuki Tachi | Touch |
| Kyoko Iwase | Kylie |
| Nobuhiko Akiyama | Nobu |
| Sakamoto | Sid |