| Derby Stallion | |
|---|---|
Cover art of the second game in the series (released in 1994) |
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| Genres | Horse racing Business simulation |
| Developers | ASCII Entertainment |
| Publishers | Nintendo |
| Creators | Hiroyuki Sonobe |
| Original release | 21 December 1991 |
The Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) - also known in Japan as DerbyStal (ダビスタ) - video games are a series of genre-merging horse-racing and business simulation games originally created by ASCII Entertainment, and released by Nintendo. The series comprises 21 games, spans more than 10 console platforms, and is the best-selling horse racing series of all time with total sales topping more than 4 million in Japan.[1]
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The ultimate goal of the player in the Derby Stallion games is to win the title of GI (Group I) Racer. To do this, the player must attempt to develop the greatest stock of horses that he can in order to have the greatest chance at each of the weekday and holiday races that compose the 1-year racing schedule of the fictitious "SRA" (an abbreviation of Sonobe Racing Association) group. Between races, the player engages in numerous business simulation, farm simulation, and role-playing activities.
Derby Stallion games have evolved as newer members of the series have been added, allowing players greater and greater control over every aspect of the horse-raising business. As such, the player must now race horses and place racing bets, manage the working of a stables and/or ranch, select different studs and broodmares for breeding, learn to break and train horses, and set up advantageous horse trades or sales, among other duties. Players must also make critical decisions about appropriate ages to race horses, breeds to pursue, and the timing of events to coincide with race dates. As the player improves the stock of his horses, his racing statistics, and his position in the world of the horse business, his Group Ranking increases until he reaches the goal of Group I at which point he has won the game. The games also allow the player to continue playing after the top goal has been met.
Derby Stallion games all feature a single-player mode, however much effort has been put into making the games as versatile as possible for multiplayer capabilities. Multiplayer functions allow players to trade or complete sales between themselves, to set up breeders' agreements, and to race against opponents. To accomplish this, various methods have been used to exchange data from the earliest password code exchange to online connectivity with PCs, Satellaview exchange (via 8MB memory packs and slotted application cartridge), and RANDnetDD service.[2] Other methods of data exchange that have been developed include various GameBoy-Link connections[3] and telephone satellite connections (for players using DoCoMo phones).
| Name | Release Date | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| Derby Stallion: Best Race (ベスト競馬・ダービースタリオン) | December 21, 1991[4] | Famicom |
| Derby Stallion: National Edition (ダービースタリオン 全国版) | August 29, 1992[5] | Famicom |
| Derby Stallion PC-9800 Series Edition (ダービースタリオンPC-9800シリーズ版) | May 28, 1993 | PC |
| Derby Stallion DOS/V Edition (ダービースタリオンDOS/V版) | September 28, 1993 | PC |
| Derby Stallion II (ダービースタリオンII) | February 18, 1994[6] | Super Famicom |
| Derby Stallion FM-TOWNS Edition (ダービースタリオンFM-TOWNS版) | February 18, 1994 | PC |
| Derby Stallion EX (ダービースタリオンEX) | September 30, 1994 | PC |
| Derby Stallion Macintosh Edition (ダービースタリオンMacintosh版) | November 26, 1994 | PC |
| Derby Stallion III (ダービースタリオンIII) | January 20, 1995[7] | Super Famicom |
| Derby Stallion '96 (ダービースタリオン96) | March 15, 1996[8] | Super Famicom-Satellaview |
| Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) | July 17, 1997[9] | PS1 |
| Derby Stallion '98 (ダービースタリオン98) | September 1, 1998[10] | Super Famicom-Nintendo Power |
| Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) | March 25, 1999[11] | Sega Saturn |
| Derby Stallion '99 (ダービースタリオン99) | September 30, 1999[12] | PS1 |
| Derby Stallion for Windows (ダービースタリオン for Win) | May 26, 2000[13] | PC |
| Derby Stallion 64 (ダービースタリオン64) | August 10, 2001[14] | N64 |
| Derby Stallion Advance (ダービースタリオンアドバンス) | December 6, 2002 | GBA |
| Derby Stallion '04 (ダービースタリオン04) | April 22, 2004[15] | PS2 |
| Derby Stallion for DoCoMo (ダービースタリオン for DoCoMo) | Winter 2005 | DoCoMo |
| Derby Stallion P (ダービースタリオンP) | July 27, 2006[16] | PSP |
| Derby Stallion DS (ダービースタリオンDS) | June 26, 2008[17] | NDS |
| Derby Stalion (ダービースタリオン) | TBA[18] | PS3 |
| Derby Stallion II | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | ASCII Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | ASCII Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Super Famicom |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Business simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media/distribution | Super Famicom cartridge |
Derby Stallion II is a complex horse farm business simulation game that was released in 1994 exclusively for a Japanese market.
This video game requires strong Japanese literacy skills. It was created for the Super Famicom and was never released in North America or Europe. In the game, the play must breed horses that can be trained to become horse racing champion thoroughbreds. However, the player starts out with a limited amount of money and must sell horses at a profit once they are too old to race anymore.
| Derby Stallion 64 | |
|---|---|
Cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Parity Bit |
| Publisher(s) | Media Factory |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Racing Business simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Media/distribution | Nintendo 64 cartridge |
Derby Stallion 64 (ダービースタリオン64 Daabii Sutarion 64) is a horse racing Nintendo 64 game that is also a business simulation game. This video game was released in 2001 for an exclusively Japanese market.