It's OutRun Online Arcade. Its existence was revealed by the Australian censorship people a month ago, but it was such a vague bit of news that it was only deemed suitable to get dumped elsewhere on the network.




But now we have imagery from which opinions may be formed. It looks like SEGA's making yet another attempt to sell some copies of OutRun2, basically, by redoing the Xbox/PS2 game for online use.




Coming to Xbox Live Arcade. 200 Achievement points in under five minutes.




Also coming to another form of online gaming service that works sporadically on another console. That version will hopefully be marginally worse.




Hopefully, masterful development team Sumo Digital will include some sort of lower-resolution, jerkier frame rate cheat in the PS3 version, activated by holding a few buttons down while it boots up.




Whoever formatted these screenshots for distribution needs severe disciplining. They're about 100k each - nothing like the file size required to do OutRun justice.




You can see some terrible JPEG artefacting on the full-size versions. It is not good.




OutRun should NOT be SPOILED by JPEG artefacting. When it comes to OutRun, it's acceptable to email out BMPs and even CMYK TIFFs. We don't mind waiting a bit longer for them to download. If anything, it just adds to the excitement.




This might mean we get to do another pointless interview with Sumo Digital, in which literally NO FACTS about the game are revealed whatsoever! Like this one. And this one. And this one.




It may also mean that man, whatever he's called, the one who does the SEGA music quite often, you know, him, is involved. There might also be an interview opportunity there as well. We are already shaking with nervous excitement!




So many fantasies spinning around in our heads right now.




Usually we'd be a bit bored of writing this many captions, but not when it's OutRun.




20 screenshots, 38 screenshots, 59 screenshots - BRING THEM ON. Resizing images of OutRun games is never a chore. Even the time spent manually inputting the HTML code for the pictures is whizzing by!




The driving featured within the screenshots could be better. We compiled a handy guide to taking screenshots of OutRun a few years back using the PSP version, should you be in the process of taking screenshots for your magazine or blog.




There's only one other car on the road, here. And the main car is being driven straight at a speed WELL BELOW its potential maximum. This screenshot would NOT have passed the internal UKR OutRun Screenshot Certification process. It's more than good enough for GamesTM, though.




MINI GAMES!!!




Glorious. Any excuse to fall back into OutRun2 gratefully received in these dark days.

THE OFFICIAL WORDS, EACH ONE OF WHICH IS MORE GLORIOUS THAN THE LAST

FEEL THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR AS YOU POWER YOUR WAY ALONG THE HIGHWAYS IN OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE

SEGA's classic arcade racer returns, but this time it's in stunning HiDef and available via PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Developed by acclaimed Sheffield studio Sumo Digital, OutRun Online Arcade, will be available early 2009.

Test your time, speed and handling ability as you race through vibrant, colourful stages and rediscover the 15 glorious OutRun courses. From the steep streets of San Francisco to the beautiful beaches of California, it's mile after mile of unrelenting acceleration, thrills and action. Feel the kick as you put your foot to the floor in one of the 10 high-performance, fully licensed Ferrari cars as you race your way across the U.S. to a killer soundtrack.

For the first time on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE, OutRun Online Arcade delivers online multiplayer racing for up to 6 players, with fast paced OutRun, Heart Attack and Time Attack modes, the draw to the open road has never been so appealing. OutRun Online Arcade on Xbox LIVE will feature achievements and voice; and on PlayStation Network will include trophies, voice over IP and leaderboards.

Which route will you choose on your drive for the highest possible score?

OutRun Online Arcade will be released on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network early 2009. For assets please visit www.sega-press.com.