Derby Stallion

- also known in Japan by the portmanteau abbreviation - is a series of genre-merging horse-racing and business simulation games originally created by ASCII. The series sold 6 million copies in Japan by 1999.

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. Other methods of data exchange that have been developed include telephone satellite connections for players using DoCoMo phones.

Series

Name	Release date	Systems
	December 21, 1991	Famicom
	August 29, 1992	Famicom
	May 28, 1993	PC-9800
	September 28, 1993	DOS/V
	February 18, 1994	Super Famicom
	February 18, 1994	FM Towns
	September 30, 1994	PC-9800
	November 26, 1994	Macintosh
	January 20, 1995	Super Famicom
	March 15, 1996	Super Famicom-Satellaview
	July 17, 1997	PlayStation
	September 1, 1998	Super Famicom-Nintendo Power
	March 25, 1999	Sega Saturn
	September 30, 1999	PlayStation
	May 26, 2000	Microsoft Windows
	August 10, 2001	Nintendo 64
	December 6, 2002	Game Boy Advance
	April 22, 2004	PlayStation 2
	Winter 2005	DoCoMo
	July 27, 2006	PSP
	June 26, 2008	Nintendo DS
	Cancelled	PlayStation 3
	December 4, 2014	Nintendo 3DS
	December 3, 2020	Nintendo Switch

Reception

Derby Stallion: Best Race topped the Japanese Famitsu sales chart in June 1992.

Derby Stallion III sold 1.2 million copies and Derby Stallion '96 sold 1.1 million copies. 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. Derby Stallion '99 sold 1.1 million copies.