Daytona USA is one of the most beloved arcade racers of all time. Following its 1994 arcade release, Daytona was ported to Sega Saturn and was later revived in HD on PlayStation and Xbox. Sadly, its arcade sequel, Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge was never ported to home systems – until now.
25 years after the original arcade release, Daytona USA 2 is finally coming home.
Welcome home Daytona USA 2
Daytona USA 2 raced into arcades in 1998 as a direct sequel to the immensely popular Daytona USA, regarded as one of the best racing games ever. Powered by Sega’s Model 3 hardware, the graphics were a giant step forward.
Nothing on home consoles at the time could match Daytona USA 2’s visual prowess. The sequel also introduced new tracks including a circuit set in a theme park.
A home port of Daytona USA 2 was planned for the Dreamcast but cancelled in favour of Daytona USA 2001, an enhanced port of the original. Consequently, Daytona USA 2 never got the home release it deserves – until now.
According to the latest issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu seen by VGC, Daytona USA 2 will appear in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, part of the Yakuza series. This will be the first time Daytona USA 2 has been playable on home consoles.
Due to licensing issues, Daytona USA 2 will be renamed as ‘Sega Racing Classic 2’ in Like a Dragon Gaiden. Previous Yakuza games allow you to visit arcades and play classic Sega cabinets like OutRun and Like a Dragon Gaiden will continue this trend.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on 8 November 2023. For now, this is the only way to play Daytona USA 2 on modern consoles. Hopefully it will pave the way for a standalone release.
How to play Daytona USA on Xbox
You can relive the original classic Daytona USA on Xbox Series X|S. Back in 2011, the original game was ported to PS3 and Xbox 360 with enhanced visuals and the original soundtrack. Thanks to backwards compatibility, Daytona USA is playable on Xbox Series X|S in crisp HD and has never looked better.
Unfortunately, Daytona USA was delisted from the Xbox Store on 31 January this year so you can no longer buy it. However, it still appears in your download list if you originally bought the Xbox 360 version. It can also still be purchased on the Xbox 360 store at the time of writing.