<s>
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
is	O
an	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
October	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
has	O
a	O
black	O
and	O
white	O
display	O
with	O
the	O
hood	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
car	O
painted	O
on	O
a	O
plastic	O
overlay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
arcade	B-Application
cabinet	O
styles	O
were	O
manufactured	O
:	O
upright	O
and	O
sit-down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
published	O
a	O
color	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
Video	I-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
System	I-General_Concept
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Bushnell	O
had	O
concerns	O
that	O
a	O
driving	O
video	O
game	O
might	O
be	O
too	O
complicated	O
for	O
Al	O
Alcorn	O
's	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
instead	O
decided	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
simpler	O
game	O
,	O
Pong	B-Application
(	O
1972	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
has	O
similarities	O
to	O
arcade	B-Application
driving	O
electro-mechanical	O
games	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
a	O
scrolling	O
road	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
fixed	O
view	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
was	O
led	O
by	O
Dave	O
Shepperd	O
at	O
Atari	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
given	O
an	O
assignment	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
first-person	O
driving	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shepperd	O
used	O
that	O
concept	O
to	O
develop	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
he	O
did	O
not	O
know	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
the	O
German	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
identified	O
as	O
the	O
coin-op	O
Nürburgring	B-Application
1	I-Application
,	O
a	O
first-person	O
driving	O
video	O
game	O
released	O
earlier	O
in	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
used	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
leftover	O
arcade	B-Application
cabinets	O
from	O
Hi-way	B-Application
(	O
1975	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
top-down	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
racing	O
game	O
,	O
for	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	B-Application
game	O
began	O
production	O
in	O
October	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
demonstrated	O
the	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
AMOA	O
show	O
in	O
November	O
1976	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
several	O
driving	O
games	O
demonstrated	O
by	O
Atari	O
along	O
with	O
Sprint	B-Application
2	I-Application
and	O
Namco	O
's	O
electro-mechanical	O
F-1	B-Application
;	O
the	O
most	O
talked-about	O
driving	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
show	O
was	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
also	O
drew	O
comparisons	O
to	O
Midway	O
Manufacturing	O
's	O
Midnight	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
(	O
later	O
re-branded	O
Datsun	B-Application
280	I-Application
ZZZAP	I-Application
)	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
show	O
and	O
an	O
earlier	O
German	O
night	O
driving	O
video	O
game	O
(	O
Nürburgring	B-Application
1	I-Application
)	O
demonstrated	O
at	O
the	O
German	O
IMA	O
show	O
in	O
Spring	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
released	O
a	O
port	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
)	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
paddle	B-Device
controller	I-Device
steers	O
the	O
vehicle	O
;	O
holding	O
the	O
button	O
accerlates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
tenth	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1976	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
Play	O
Meter	O
magazine	O
,	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
was	O
the	O
sixth	O
highest-earning	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1977	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
RePlay	O
magazine	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
seventh	O
highest-earning	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1977	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Play	O
Meter	O
later	O
listed	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
ninth	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1978	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
eleventh	O
highest	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1979	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
version	O
sold	O
161,352	O
copies	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
five	O
best-selling	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
games	B-Application
that	I-Application
year	I-Application
,	O
and	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
sell	O
over	O
copies	O
by	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
Games	O
Player	O
magazine	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
version	O
,	O
rating	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
sound	O
a	O
B	O
,	O
while	O
giving	O
the	O
game	O
an	O
overall	O
A−	O
rating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
Flux	O
magazine	O
ranked	O
the	O
arcade	B-Application
version	O
59th	O
on	O
their	O
"	O
Top	O
100	O
Video	O
Games.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
other	O
first-person	O
racing	O
games	O
were	O
released	O
shortly	O
afterwards	O
:	O
Midway	O
's	O
Midnight	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
in	O
November	O
1976	O
(	O
later	O
branded	O
as	O
Datsun	B-Application
280	I-Application
ZZZAP	I-Application
in	O
March	O
1977	O
)	O
and	O
Micronetics	O
 '	O
Night	O
Racer	O
in	O
March	O
1977	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	O
Budge	O
wrote	O
a	O
Night	B-Application
Driver	I-Application
clone	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
using	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
as	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
