Sprint 2 is a two-player top-down view arcade racing video game released in 1976 by Kee Games, a company owned entirely by Atari, Inc. The game was distributed by Namco in Japan. Earlier driving games had computer-controlled cars that followed pre-set paths. Sprint 2 introduced a new idea: a computer-controlled car that could move around the track on its own in a partially smart way.

Development

The team that created Sprint 2 included Dennis Koble, Wendi Allen (known as Howard Delman), Dan Van Elderen, and Lyle Rains. Both Koble and Rains do not remember who first suggested the idea for the game. Rains later told an interviewer from Retro Gamer that Atari likely had the idea to make a new and improved driving game. This was because earlier games like Gran Trak 10, Gran Trak 20, Indy 800, and LeMans were popular and profitable for Atari and its customers.

Sprint 2 was one of Atari’s first games made using microprocessors. Rains explained that this allowed the team to create a faster and more exciting racing game than earlier versions. Koble mentioned that he had to learn how to program using the 6502 system to develop the game. Sprint 2 was designed to improve on previous games, so the team removed features that were not useful, such as the ability to drive in reverse from Gran Trak 20 and the brake pedal. This was because pressing the accelerator pedal backward acted like a brake. Other features, like the timer, remained unchanged. Rains said the team never considered basing the game on lap times.

Sprint 2 was the first racing game to include a computer-controlled car that could drive itself around the track. This car adjusted its path based on how well the player was performing, without following a fixed route. Rains said this idea came from him. To achieve this, he created a map of directions to guide the computer-controlled cars. These cars would align with the current direction and move around the track in a path that did not repeat. Koble designed the game’s graphics. He noted that other artists at Atari were only responsible for creating artwork for the game’s panels and controls, and were not involved in the game’s development.

Reception

In the United States, Sprint 2 was the second most successful arcade video game in 1977, behind Sea Wolf. It remained the second most successful arcade video game in 1978, behind Space Wars, with Sprint 1 in third place. In 1979, Sprint 2 was the third most successful arcade video game, behind Space Invaders and Atari Football.

In Japan, the game was successful for Namco, ranking as the seventh most successful arcade video game in 1977. It also appeared in the top four most successful racing video games of that year, behind Taito’s Speed Race DX and Road Champion, and tied with Taito’s Super High-Way.

Legacy

Sprint 2 was the first in a series of games that shared its name until the 1980s:

• Sprint 4 and Sprint 8, versions for 4 players and 8 players respectively, were released in 1977. Both had full-color graphics.
• Sprint 1 was released in 1978. The numbers "1" and "2" show how many players can join, not that it was an earlier version.
• Super Sprint, a version for 3 players with improved graphics, was released by Atari Games in 1986.
• Championship Sprint, a 2-player version of Super Sprint, was released by Atari Games in 1986.
• Badlands, a 2-player version of Championship Sprint set in a post-apocalyptic world, was released in 1989.
• NeoSprint, an 8-player version with 3D graphics, was released by Atari in 2024.

Sprint 2 was one of the first Atari products to use the now widely recognized "Atari arcade font," which was first seen in the Quiz Show.

In 2016, a version of the game recreated using JavaScript became available.