Derby Stallion

Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン, Dābī Sutarion)—also known in Japan by the portmanteau abbreviation DerbyStal (ダビスタ, DabiSuta)—is a series of genre-merging horse-racing and business simulation games originally created by ASCII. 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 5 million in Japan.[1]

This article is about the video game series. For the 2005 film, see The Derby Stallion.
Derby Stallion
Cover art of Derby Stallion II
Genre(s)Horse racing
Business simulation
Developer(s)ASCII (1991–1999)
ParityBit (1998–2014)
Land Ho! (2020)
Publisher(s)ASCII (1991–1999)
Nintendo (98)
Media Factory (64)
Enterbrain (2002–2008)
Kadokawa (Gold)
Game Addict (2020)
Creator(s)Hiroyuki Sonobe
Artist(s)Susumu Matsushita
First releaseDerby Stallion: Best Race
  • JP: December 21, 1991
Latest releaseDerby Stallion
  • JP: December 3, 2020

Gameplay

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 Randnet service.[2] Other methods of data exchange that have been developed include the Game Boy Transfer Pak (GB64 in Japan) for Nintendo 64[3][4] and telephone satellite connections for players using DoCoMo phones.

Series
NameRelease DateSystems
Derby Stallion: Best Race (ベスト競馬・ダービースタリオン) December 21, 1991[5] Famicom
Derby Stallion: National Edition (ダービースタリオン 全国版) August 29, 1992[6] 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-98
Derby Stallion DOS/V Edition (ダービースタリオンDOS/V版) September 28, 1993 MS-DOS
Derby Stallion II (ダービースタリオンII) February 18, 1994[7] Super Famicom
Derby Stallion FM-TOWNS Edition (ダービースタリオンFM-TOWNS版) February 18, 1994 FM Towns
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 Macintosh
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[7] Super Famicom-Satellaview
Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) July 17, 1997[8] PlayStation
Derby Stallion '98 (ダービースタリオン98) September 1, 1998[7] Super Famicom-Nintendo Power
Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) March 25, 1999[9] Sega Saturn
Derby Stallion '99 (ダービースタリオン99) September 30, 1999[10] PlayStation
Derby Stallion for Windows (ダービースタリオン for Win) May 26, 2000[11] PC
Derby Stallion 64 (ダービースタリオン64) August 10, 2001[12][3][4][13][14][15] Nintendo 64
Derby Stallion Advance (ダービースタリオンアドバンス) December 6, 2002 Game Boy Advance
Derby Stallion '04 (ダービースタリオン04) April 22, 2004[16] PlayStation 2
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[17] PSP
Derby Stallion DS (ダービースタリオンDS) June 26, 2008[18] Nintendo DS
Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) Cancelled [19] PlayStation 3
Derby Stallion Gold (ダービースタリオン Gold) December 4, 2014 Nintendo 3DS
Derby Stallion (ダービースタリオン) December 3, 2020[20] Nintendo Switch

Reception

Derby Stallion III sold 1.2 million copies and Derby Stallion '96 sold 1.1 million copies.[1] According to Weekly Famitsu, the 1997 Derby Stallion for the PlayStation was Japan's third-best-selling game of 1997, with sales of 1.58 million units.[21] Derby Stallion '99 sold 1.1 million copies.[1]

References
  1. "Japan Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  2. GDC: Miyamoto Unveils Camera Connection. IGN. 18 March 1999.
  3. IGN Staff (August 25, 2000). "Derby Stallion Lives - IGN". Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  4. IGN Staff (September 14, 2001). "Connecting to the Cube". Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  5. "Best Keiba Derby Stallion". GameSpot.
  6. "Derby Stallion Zengokuban". GameSpot.
  7. "AllGame - Game Over". www.allgame.com.
  8. "Derby Stallion for PlayStation (1997)". MobyGames.
  9. "Derby Stallion for SEGA Saturn (1999)". MobyGames.
  10. "Derby Stallion 99 - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  11. "PC Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, News, Reviews & Videos - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  12. "Derby Stallion 64 - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  13. "Derby Stallion 64 Screenshots - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  14. "Derby Stallion 64 Ships - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  15. IGN Staff (April 25, 2001). "Derby Stallion 64 (Import)". Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  16. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/derbystallion04
  17. "Derby Stallion - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  18. "Derby Stallion DS - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
  19. "TGS 2005: Japanese publishers announce next-gen titles".
  20. "Derby Stallion launches December 3 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  21. Ohbuchi, Yutaka (February 5, 1998). "Japan's Top Ten of '97". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 1, 2000.
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