MSR Alpha Version: Airbourne / Somersaulting Honda

A Honda leaving the ground on the downhill sections on San Francisco.  The alpha game crashes when the car somersaults through the road.  Both the Honda and the ability to leave the ground were pulled from the final version of MSR (as ordered by the car manufacturers and Honda respectively).

"MISSING" posters found in San Francisco (Pacific Heights)

I used the Free Roam option (within Time Attack) to search the area.  For more information on these posters, please visit the following link: http://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2017/09/the-great-msr-missing-persons-poster.html.

MSR post from jumpyspider (unsure if fact or fiction)

This post was found on an old website and was written two days after MSR was released (5 November).  As mentioned above, I don't know if this article is true or not.  The author had a penchant for horse puns though!    

After speaking to Lucky from the Guardian we met up with his mate Henry and another ex-Bizarre Creations employee who wishes to remain maneless nameless to ask them about some problems we've had with the game, (see the next article for the bug list we discussed with them). When questioned employee-X spoke frankly about the development of MSR.

"Some of the people working on Metropolis were monkeys.. literally, that's why it took so long to hit the shelves. Many people were unhappy on the team, there was a lot of rivalry between the monkey coders and the horses, who were mainly working on building the tracks."

Henry was less critical but admitted the project had it's fair share of problems..

"There were many external factors that caused the delays on MSR, city planners were continually knocking down condemned and erecting new ones which caused us endless problems build the levels ,it was just on hurdle after another!"While this was going on the coders were continually adding stuff, it wasn't so much a case of feature creep as full on feature charge! People adding things without consulting each other and the game become prone to random crashes and lock-ups.. in the end it was rushed through testing and as a result the finished version is bugged to shit.."

These opinions are not necessarily the opinions of Bizarre Creations. Both Henry and his friend have now moved on to pastures new....

Source: http://jumpyspider.freewebspace.com/nov2k.html

MSR remembered by Dreamcast-Europe

MSR REMEMBERED (24.10.2001)

Once around the block! We turn back the milometre on MSR!  Take some of the snazziest sports cars there are and hurl them around the streets of three of the world's most distinctive cities, all reproduced in stunningly accurate detail.' This is how we rattled on about MSR when it first pulled into our driveway about a year ago (was it really that long?), and boy we weren't far wrong!

In last week's Dreamarena poll we asked you which top Sega racer revved your engine most, and a whopping 64 per cent of you crazy drivers voted for MSR. Seeing as it won by a country mile we asked you for your memories of everyone's fave road racer...

Chapter and verse! Talking through your MSR's...

The roads and surroundings are so real that you really feel you're driving around and crashing into places like Piccadilly Circus.
Deepak, Northampton.

MSR - the undisputed top racer on the road!
Anthony, Cheltenham

The more I played it, the more I wanted to complete every chapter. Keep 'em coming Sega.
Jaz, Brixton.

Superb driving and control is required to master this game, but that's what it's all about. Unmissable. 
Kiran, Redditch.

The racing game of all racing games if you ask me - and with the Racing Controller it purrs like a kitten. 
Donovan, Sunderland.

The only chance to speed through London, Tokyo, and San Francisco without getting a ticket, or nearly knocking over a tourist!
Kellie, Luton

Burn rubber without burning a hole in your pocket. 
Ronnie, Aberdeen

Wheel-spinning a Porsche [?! - there are no Porsche's in MSR] around Leicester Square has never been so much fun! (not that I've done it in real life, you understand!) 
Axel F, Shrewsbury

MSR manages to be both an engrossing one player experience and a brilliant two player game - a rare feat for a driving game.
Jacques Swach, Kensington

The real-time weather ensures that MSR is never less than challenging - have you tried racing five cars around the back streets of Tokyo in the middle of the night? 
Jazzy, Staines

Source: http://www.dreamcast-europe.com/english/news/000138/000138.php

MSR flash promo video from score.sega.com/games/msr (circa 2001)

No sound.  Archived URL: https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20010624092429/http://score.sega.com:80/games/msr/ (Go to left of screen, right-click and select "Play".  Adobe required.

Lead Coder Of Metropolis Street Racer leaves Bizarre Creations

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/lead-coder-of-metropolis-leaves-bizarre/1100-2566008/

Date of news report is incorrect, probably an error done by IGN's archiving. He actually left sometime in mid-1999 as he joined Electronic Arts in June that same year.

Edit 17/05/2023: The correct date of the press release is 21 May 1999 (Friday).  Here is a link to the original 1999 version: https://web.archive.org/web/20000306123646/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_05/21_vg_metro/index.html.

MSR Alpha Video at Dreamcast Junkyard

Footage from the 4.11.99 build

http://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2015/11/msr-alpha-gameplay-footage.html