Daytona USA returns to arcades in high-def as 'Sega Racing Classic'

In recent weeks, what appeared to be a promotional flyer for a new Sega AM2 arcade game, Sega Racing Classic, has been making the rounds. Its inclusion of imagery closely matching that of Daytona USA lead many to believe there might finally be a new sequel to the, er, racing classic. As it turns out, coin-op industry site Highway Games has obtained an official rundown on the game, and it's ... an HD remake of the original Daytona USA, sans the name.

According to the site — which also has pictures of the sit-down cabinet — Sega Racing Classic is "a revamped version of Sega's smash hit Daytona USA, featuring the original tracks and heart pumping action with all new high definition graphics." Specifically, the machine sports a 32" widescreen LCD display and the game runs at 1280x720 (720p) resolution. As suggested by the aforementioned flyer, SRC is powered by Sega's latest arcade hardware, Ringwide.

Since Sega no longer has the rights to the "Daytona" name, it's likely that the game's title won't be the only change. There's the little issue of the attract sequence music, with its enchanting repetition of the word "Daytona" along with the lyrics "let's fly away." Still, whatever the name, Sega's classic racer in HD is a welcome surprise. We imagine some of you have already started online petitions to bring the game to PSN and XBLA before even finishing this post.

[Via Arcade Heroes]