Bike Athlon
From Sega Retro
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| Bike Athlon | |||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Model 3 | |||||||||
| Publisher: Sega | |||||||||
| Developer: Sega AM5 | |||||||||
| Genre: Racing | |||||||||
| Number of players: 8 | |||||||||
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Bike Athlon (バイクアスロン) is a Sega Model 3 bike racing simulation attraction developed by Sega AM5. Only one Bike Athlon unit is thought to have been made, exclusively appearing in a number of Sega's Joypolis indoor theme parks during the late 1990s and 2000s.
Contents
Gameplay
Like the more well-known Power Sled attraction, as well as Boat Race GP, Bike Athlon involves players taking control of four full-sized racing vehicles behind 100 inch projection display screens; in this case, tandem bicycles, thusly making it more physically demanding than the aforementioned rides. Navigating their bikes down an island in the Mediterranean Sea, riders can steer and pedal simultaneously against their opponents,[2] though limited speed gains are thought to have been offered by the latter.
History
Locations
Only one Bike Athlon unit is believed to have been produced by Sega, making its debut appearance at Kyoto Joypolis on opening day in September 1997.[3] It was moved to Shinjuku Joypolis by the end of July the following year,[2] and relocated for the final time to Tokyo Joypolis in 2000,[4] where it remained until its removal and replacement in 2007 by Burnout Racing.
Archival status
After the attraction was retired at Tokyo Joypolis, no Bike Athlon units have been known to be publicly accessible. Two pieces of music composed for it by Kazuhiko Nagai later appeared on the Sega Racing Best compilation CD.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Bike Athlon/Magazine articles.
Gallery
Bike Athlon at Kyoto Joypolis in 1997
Tokyo Joypolis, circa early 2000s
Tokyo Joypolis, circa 2004
References
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1997-34 (1997-10-03,10)" (JP; 1997-09-19), page 13
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/atp/atc/bikea.html (Wayback Machine: 1999-10-09 03:15)
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "1997-07 (1997-09)" (JP; 1997-08-13), page 14
- ↑ http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/atp/tokyo/ (Wayback Machine: 2000-08-16 08:27)