<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
is	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
July	O
16	O
,	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
after	O
Pong	B-Application
(	O
1972	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
marked	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
commercial	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
racing	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
with	O
a	O
goal	O
of	O
crossing	O
the	O
screen	O
while	O
avoiding	O
obstacles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
began	O
in	O
Summer	O
1972	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
Asteroid	O
by	O
Atari	O
co-founder	O
Nolan	O
Bushnell	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
ideas	O
by	O
him	O
and	O
co-founder	O
Ted	O
Dabney	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
design	O
was	O
done	O
by	O
Dabney	O
,	O
possibly	O
with	O
assistance	O
by	O
Bushnell	O
and	O
Pong	B-Application
designer	O
Allan	O
Alcorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
engineering	O
and	O
prototyping	O
was	O
done	O
by	O
Alcorn	O
;	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
completed	O
and	O
the	O
design	O
given	O
to	O
Midway	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
as	O
Asteroid	O
,	O
Atari	O
produced	O
its	O
own	O
nearly	O
identical	O
version	O
as	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fifty	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
cabinets	O
were	O
produced	O
using	O
a	O
fiberglass	O
design	O
by	O
George	O
Faraco	O
before	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
production	O
was	O
switched	O
to	O
a	O
cheaper	O
standard	O
cabinet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
not	O
commercially	O
successful	O
;	O
Bushnell	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
much	O
less	O
popular	O
than	O
Pong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Midway	O
held	O
that	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
violated	O
Atari	O
's	O
contract	O
with	O
them	O
for	O
Asteroid	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
companies	O
agreed	O
for	O
Atari	O
to	O
forfeit	O
royalty	O
payments	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
is	O
a	O
two-player	O
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
began	O
soon	O
after	O
the	O
founding	O
of	O
Atari	O
in	O
summer	O
1972	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
Asteroid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Co-founders	O
Nolan	O
Bushnell	O
and	O
Ted	O
Dabney	O
had	O
the	O
initial	O
idea	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
while	O
developing	O
the	O
1971	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
the	O
first	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
felt	O
the	O
more	O
complicated	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
was	O
a	O
better	O
first	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
Atari	O
's	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
development	O
resumed	O
on	O
the	O
title	O
in	O
Spring	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dabney	O
has	O
claimed	O
credit	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
final	O
design	O
,	O
though	O
Pong	B-Application
designer	O
Allan	O
Alcorn	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
he	O
and	O
Bushnell	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
involved	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Asteroid	O
,	O
codenamed	O
VP-2	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
racing	O
game	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
simple	O
to	O
create	O
to	O
fulfill	O
an	O
earlier	O
contract	O
with	O
Midway	O
Manufacturing	O
;	O
Atari	O
had	O
initially	O
offered	O
Pong	B-Application
during	O
its	O
development	O
to	O
fulfill	O
the	O
contract	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
been	O
rejected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
also	O
interested	O
in	O
producing	O
a	O
very	O
different	O
game	O
from	O
their	O
previous	O
success	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
felt	O
that	O
innovative	O
design	O
was	O
what	O
would	O
separate	O
them	O
from	O
their	O
competitors	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
saw	O
as	O
flooding	O
the	O
market	O
with	O
Pong	B-Application
clones	O
rather	O
than	O
making	O
new	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
half	O
ship	O
is	O
mirrored	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
diode	O
array	O
in	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
which	O
generated	O
eight	O
directions	O
of	O
a	O
rotating	O
ship	O
with	O
a	O
mirrored	O
four	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
completed	O
quickly	O
,	O
and	O
Alcorn	O
soon	O
moved	O
on	O
to	O
Atari	O
's	O
third	O
game	O
,	O
Gotcha	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
complete	O
,	O
the	O
design	O
was	O
given	O
to	O
Midway	O
to	O
sell	O
as	O
Asteroid	O
,	O
only	O
for	O
Atari	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
nearly	O
identical	O
version	O
itself	O
titled	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
July	O
16	O
,	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
fiberglass	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
cabinet	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
by	O
Atari	O
's	O
product	O
designer	O
,	O
George	O
Faraco	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tall	O
,	O
angular	O
cabinet	O
,	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
fiberglass	O
cabinet	O
for	O
Computer	B-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
display	O
the	O
Atari	O
logo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cabinet	O
design	O
was	O
distinctive	O
enough	O
that	O
Bushnell	O
considered	O
using	O
it	O
for	O
Pong	B-Application
as	O
well	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
production	O
costs	O
proved	O
too	O
high	O
and	O
only	O
50	O
units	O
were	O
made	O
before	O
the	O
design	O
was	O
dropped	O
and	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
switched	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
traditional	O
rectangular	O
cabinet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
cabinet	O
was	O
reused	O
later	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
for	O
Pong	B-Application
Doubles	O
,	O
a	O
four-player	O
version	O
of	O
Pong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
not	O
commercially	O
successful	O
;	O
Nolan	O
Bushnell	O
has	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
not	O
as	O
successful	O
as	O
Pong	B-Application
by	O
a	O
wide	O
margin	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
Ralph	O
Baer	O
claims	O
that	O
it	O
sold	O
around	O
1,500	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Midway	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
violated	O
their	O
contract	O
with	O
Atari	O
for	O
Asteroid	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
two	O
companies	O
agreed	O
in	O
exchange	O
to	O
drop	O
Atari	O
's	O
three	O
percent	O
royalty	O
cut	O
for	O
Asteroid	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Baer	O
claims	O
Asteroid	O
sold	O
2,000	O
units	O
,	O
making	O
Asteroid	O
and	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
the	O
eighth	O
and	O
ninth	O
best-selling	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
of	I-Application
1973	I-Application
according	O
to	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Space	B-Application
Races	I-Application
prominence	O
as	O
Atari	O
's	O
second	O
game	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
after	O
Pong	B-Application
,	O
the	O
1973	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
market	O
was	O
largely	O
dominated	O
by	O
Pong	B-Application
clones	O
;	O
while	O
Pong	B-Application
was	O
the	O
fourth	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
ever	O
produced	O
,	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
approximately	O
the	O
fourteenth	O
,	O
with	O
nine	O
Pong	B-Application
clones	O
between	O
them	O
and	O
mostly	O
only	O
other	O
clones	O
filling	O
out	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
's	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
arcade	O
racing	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
with	O
a	O
goal	O
of	O
crossing	O
the	O
screen	O
while	O
avoiding	O
obstacles	O
,	O
though	O
a	O
few	O
racing	O
games	O
had	O
been	O
released	O
in	O
1972	O
for	O
the	O
Magnavox	B-Device
Odyssey	I-Device
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
games	O
in	O
that	O
genre	O
are	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
Frogger	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
Freeway	B-Application
,	O
both	O
from	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
similarly-titled	O
,	O
expanded	O
version	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
published	O
by	O
ANALOG	O
Software	O
in	O
1981	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
of	O
computers	O
as	O
Race	O
in	O
Space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2013	O
,	O
Space	B-Application
Race	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
titles	O
that	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
Tommo	O
during	O
the	O
Atari	O
bankruptcy	O
proceedings	O
.	O
</s>
