Paperboy

ペーパーボーイ (Pēpā Bōi)Arcade, ZX Spectrum, NES, Game Boy +131985

  1. JP1985
  2. NA1985
  3. EU1985
  4. RU—

Paperboy kept its name everywhere and was released in Japan by Namco as ペーパーボーイ (Pēpā Bōi). No current digital store release could be confirmed; the arcade version has appeared in compilations such as Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2 (1998), and an Xbox Live Arcade version followed in 2007.

Paperboy is an Atari Games arcade game that came out in Europe in February 1985 and in North America in April 1985; Namco published it in Japan in October 1985. Dave Ralston conceived it in February 1983 and sketched the idea on a cocktail napkin, and the design team was John Salwitz, Dave Ralston, Russel Dawe and Carl Bedard. The cabinet is steered with a bicycle handlebar controller designed by mechanical engineer Milt Loper.

Early designs filled the route with bizarre enemies such as giant snails, ghosts and the Grim Reaper, but after negative focus-group reactions they were replaced with real-life people and animals. A playable papergirl was cut because of low memory.

The game was converted to a long list of home systems. The ZX Spectrum version by Elite Systems topped the UK sales chart in September 1986, and the paperboy himself later made a cameo in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph (2012).1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Paperboy Arcade April 1985 Atari Games 1
NA Paperboydeveloped by Eastridge Technology NES December 1988 Mindscape 1
NA Paperboy Game Boy July 1990 Mindscape 1
NA Paperboy Genesis February 1992 Tengen 1
NA Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2compilation with the arcade version PlayStation 1998 Midway 1
NA Paperboydeveloped by Digital Eclipse Game Boy Color May 30, 1999 Midway Home Entertainment 1
EU Paperboy Arcade February 1985 Atari Games 1
JP ペーパーボーイPēpā Bōi Arcade October 1985 Namco 1
EU PaperboyUK; Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 versions also 1986 in Europe ZX Spectrum Sep 15, 1986 Elite Systems 1
JP ペーパーボーイPēpā BōiFamicom NES Jan 30, 1991 — 1
JP ペーパーボーイPēpā BōiMega Drive Genesis Jun 26, 1992 Tengen 1
WW PaperboyXbox Live Arcade (North America and UK) Xbox 360 Feb 14, 2007 — 1
WW Paperboydeveloped by Vivid Games iOS Dec 18, 2009 Elite Systems 1

Also known as: ペーパーボーイ JP2Pēpā Bōi JP2

Box art by region

  • Paperboy box art, Europe release
    EU Paperboy

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.

Version differences

  • GameplayArcadehome versions

    The arcade cabinet is steered with a bicycle handlebar controller. Home versions use standard controls, which critics widely called imprecise, and even the Xbox 360 version lacks the handlebar.1

  • AudioGame Boy Color

    The Game Boy Color version drops the original's speech and was criticized for poor collision detection.1

  • AudioAmiga

    The Amiga version's sound was described as arguably better than the arcade's, though its graphics and gameplay were criticized.1

All differences (4)

Reception

Paperboy was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit in the US in December 1985 and the fifth most successful upright arcade unit in Japan in October 1985. The ZX Spectrum version topped the UK sales chart in September 1986, and the game was the seventh best-selling game of 1986 in the UK.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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