Paperboy is a 1985 action arcade game by Atari Games in which players deliver newspapers along a suburban street.
Quick Facts
| Title | Paperboy |
| Year | 1985 |
| Manufacturer | Atari Games |
| Designer(s) | John Salwitz, Dave Ralston, Russel Dawe, Carl Bedard |
| Genre | Action |
| Hardware | Atari System 2 arcade hardware with 10 MHz DEC T-11 processor. Features custom handlebar controls (modified Star Wars yoke with throw buttons) and advanced sound with two POKEY chips, Yamaha YM2151, and TMS5220 speech synthesis. |
| Ports | 19 ports, including ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Amstrad CPC — see Ports section |
History
Paperboy grew out of a February 1983 brainstorming session at Atari, where designer Dave Ralston pitched an idea rooted in his own boyhood newspaper route. He sketched the concept on a cocktail napkin before Atari greenlit development. Programmer John Salwitz joined the project alongside Russel Dawe and Carl Bedard, and the team built the cabinet around Atari System 2 hardware driven by a 10 MHz DEC T-11 processor. Rather than a joystick, Atari fitted the cabinet with modified Star Wars yoke handlebars, giving players a bicycle-style grip with throw buttons for hurling newspapers.
The arcade version reached European operators in February 1985 and North American floors that April. It sold well through the year, and trade coverage credited Paperboy as the top-grossing arcade conversion kit in the United States for December 1985. According to the arcade preservation archive Museum of the Game, Atari Games manufactured 3,442 upright cabinets, which originally sold to operators for roughly $2,495 apiece. Home computer publishers moved quickly to license the game, and the ZX Spectrum conversion became a chart-topping seller in Britain within a year of the arcade release.
Atari released a direct arcade sequel, Paperboy 2, in 1991, and the original later resurfaced in compilations such as Arcade’s Greatest Hits and Midway Arcade Treasures. The paperboy character crossed into film decades afterward, making cameo appearances in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph and 2015’s Pixels.
Gameplay
Players steer a paperboy on a bicycle down a scrolling suburban street rendered from a distinctive oblique, 60-degree isometric viewpoint. The objective is to deliver newspapers to subscribing houses by throwing them onto porches or into mailboxes, while skipping non-subscriber homes and avoiding damage to windows. Along the route, hazards including oncoming cars, skateboarders, dogs, and rolling tires threaten to knock the paperboy off his bike, ending the run early. A full playthrough spans seven levels representing each day from Monday through Sunday, with traffic and obstacles growing steadily more aggressive as the week progresses. Controls run entirely through the cabinet’s custom handlebars: turning the bars steers the bike, while dedicated buttons release a paper toward the left or right side of the street.
- Throwing newspapers accurately onto porches and into mailboxes for points
- Avoiding traffic, skateboarders, and other street hazards while riding
- Progressing through seven increasingly difficult days, Monday through Sunday
- Steering and throwing via custom bicycle-handlebar controls instead of a joystick
Cabinet & Hardware
Paperboy runs on Atari System 2 arcade hardware built around a 10 MHz DEC T-11 processor. Sound is handled by a pair of POKEY chips working alongside a Yamaha YM2151 FM synthesizer and a Texas Instruments TMS5220 speech chip, letting the cabinet bark short spoken lines during play. The cabinet’s signature feature is its control panel: rather than a joystick, Atari adapted the yoke previously used for its Star Wars cockpit cabinet into a set of bicycle-style handlebars fitted with throw buttons, physically reinforcing the delivery-boy theme.
Ports & Re-releases
| Platform | Year |
|---|---|
| ZX Spectrum | 1986 |
| BBC Micro | 1986 |
| Amstrad CPC | 1986 |
| Commodore 64 | 1986 |
| NES | 1988 |
| Apple II | 1988 |
| Amiga | 1989 |
| Atari ST | 1989 |
| MS-DOS | 1989 |
| Game Boy | 1990 |
| Master System | 1990 |
| Atari Lynx | 1990 |
| Genesis/Mega Drive | 1992 |
| Game Gear | 1992 |
| Game Boy Color | 1999 |
| Nintendo 64 | 1999 |
| Xbox 360 | 2007 |
| iPhone | 2009 |
| iPod Touch | 2009 |
Paperboy has also reappeared on modern hardware through compilation packages including Midway Arcade Treasures and Arcade’s Greatest Hits, keeping the original arcade build playable without an original cabinet. See the NES, Master System, and Atari Lynx platform pages for details on those specific ports.
Where to Play Legally Today
- Official compilation releases such as Midway Arcade Treasures and Arcade’s Greatest Hits on past-generation consoles and PC
- MAME, run only with legally owned ROM dumps from a cabinet or licensed source you own
- Arcade museums and retro arcade venues that keep a working Paperboy cabinet with its handlebar controller on the floor
Collector Value
Original Paperboy cabinets are moderately scarce on the secondary market, a legacy of the roughly 3,442 upright units Atari Games manufactured, and examples with intact handlebar controllers and unmodified side art draw the strongest interest since that control assembly is the part most often broken or missing on survivors. Bare PCBs circulate less often than for higher-volume Atari titles of the era, so collectors typically hunt for complete cabinets rather than swappable boards. Home ports on 8-bit computers and consoles such as the Commodore 64 and NES remain inexpensive and widely available, offering a low-cost way to experience the game without acquiring a full cabinet.
FAQs
Who made Paperboy?
Paperboy was designed by John Salwitz, Dave Ralston, Russel Dawe, and Carl Bedard, and was manufactured by Atari Games.
What year did Paperboy come out?
Paperboy came out in 1985, first appearing on European arcade floors in February of that year and reaching North America in April.
What genre is Paperboy?
Paperboy is an action arcade game in which the player delivers newspapers along a suburban street while avoiding traffic and other obstacles.
What hardware did Paperboy run on?
Paperboy ran on Atari System 2 arcade hardware with a 10 MHz DEC T-11 processor, custom bicycle-handlebar controls adapted from a Star Wars yoke, and sound from two POKEY chips, a Yamaha YM2151, and a TMS5220 speech chip.
Has Paperboy been ported to home consoles?
Yes, Paperboy has been ported to at least nineteen platforms since 1986, including the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, NES, Amiga, Master System, Atari Lynx, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, and iPhone.
See also the related Tapper and Tron arcade pages, and browse the Golden Age of Arcade Games hub for more classic action titles.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperboy_(video_game)
- https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/paperboy
Facts on this page last verified 2026-07-15.