Sega mandated that "Daytona USA" had to be better than Namco's 1993 racing game "Ridge Racer". Whereas "Ridge Racer" focused on simulation, "Daytona USA" instead aimed for "funky entertainment". AM2 split into two teams: one focused on "Daytona USA" while the other developed "Virtua Fighter". Nagoshi read books and watched videos on NASCAR, although he found it difficult to convey the emotions of the sport to his staff in Japan. Game planner Makoto Osaki said he purchased a sports car and watched the NASCAR film "Days of Thunder" more than 100 times. Programmer Daichi Katagiri was an avid player of arcade racing games at the time and leaned on that experience.