A Horse of a Different Color :

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Danny Ripple, a white-bearded tractor-trailer repairman from Glen Burnie, sits on the opposite side of the setup, nursing a Bud Light. His wife stands to his side, looking on with a mix of confusion and excitement. Danny admits to knowing nothing about the game when he sits down, but he's plenty confident when it gets to the feeding portion. "I figured that horse would like carrots," he says. "I've been around farm horses. They like carrots."

As each of these players drop in and out of the game's periphery, Keith and Heather remain seated in the two front-row center seats, whipping their horses for at least an hour after Keith says they're "probably finishing up for the night." Heather laughs as her dad describes their friendly competition, which "hasn't been friendly all the time," Keith says. Despite a focused training strategy and careful jockeying, Keith admits he usually isn't able to keep pace with his daughter's horses. Heather is quick to console her dad, reminding him of a recent neck-and-neck race that Keith actually won.

When most people think of video gamers today, the image quickly coalesces into the nerdy teenager or college student, sitting alone in a darkened room for hours at a time with no interaction with the real world. For me, the laughing, talkative racers at the Derby Owners Club provide a much stronger image of today's gamer.

Title: Sega's Derby Owners Club, World Edition
Publisher: Sega Amusements USA
Release Dates: 2002 (World), 1999 (Japan)

Derby Owners Club, World Edition is an eight player role-playing game, placing players in the roles of breeder, trainer, jockey, and owner of a thoroughbred racehorse. Statistics are kept on a magnetic-strip card, which can be re-used as often as a person would like, creating instant portability between machines. A thriving and steady market has shown up on eBay for 'trained horses'. According to Sega, there are anywhere from 75 - 300 horses available to bid on at eBay at any time.

With its close affiliation to horse racing, Derby Owners Club, World Edition came under fire in Minnesota, where it was considered a form of gambling by state authorities. Sega waged an intense legal battle in response, and earlier this year the Minnesota Gaming Act was modified to state that "a video game that simulates horse racing and does not involve a prize payout is not an illegal video game of chance." This permitted Derby Owners Club, World Edition to be legally operated throughout the state, an obvious big win for Sega.

Currently found in sports bars, arcades, and other amusement areas, Derby Owners Club Online is listed as "in development" for the PC but with no current release date. Selling points to arcades include the friendly pace of play, the ability for everyone to have fame, the fairness of play, and the portability offered by memory cards. While US venues include adult-friendly hotspots such as Jillian's and Dave & Busters, Japan's arcade business thrives in large all-ages 'game centers'.

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Did you know?

Who's Playing
A Horse of a Different Color

Did you know?

Who's PlayingA Horse of a Different Color

Who's Playing
A Horse of a Different Color