Now Playing: Paperboy (Arcade, 1985)

[Pete]

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Now Playing: Paperboy (1985)
Platform: Arcade
Developer: Atari Games
Publisher: Atari Games

Take to the sidewalks and dodge everything in sight. Paperboy hit arcades in 1985 and delivered a quirky, fast paced experience unlike anything else at the time. You played as a neighborhood paperboy on a bike, flinging newspapers at mailboxes and doorsteps while avoiding cars, dogs, tornadoes, runaway lawnmowers, and breakdancers.

The game stood out immediately thanks to its unique handlebar style controller and isometric perspective. It offered three difficulty levels disguised as newspaper subscriptions: Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way. Success meant keeping your customers and hitting your marks. Failure meant broken windows and cancellations.

Paperboy was chaotic, funny, and addictive. It captured suburban life with a sharp dose of arcade challenge. Later ports brought it to the NES, Sega Master System, and home computers, but the arcade cabinet remained iconic.

Fun fact: Paperboy was one of the first arcade games to use digitized speech, including the memorable intro voice announcing, “Paperboy delivers the news!”

 

[Cassette Carl]

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Now Playing: Paperboy (1985)
Platform: Arcade
Developer: Atari Games
Publisher: Atari Games

Take to the sidewalks and dodge everything in sight. Paperboy hit arcades in 1985 and delivered a quirky, fast paced experience unlike anything else at the time. You played as a neighborhood paperboy on a bike, flinging newspapers at mailboxes and doorsteps while avoiding cars, dogs, tornadoes, runaway lawnmowers, and breakdancers.

The game stood out immediately thanks to its unique handlebar style controller and isometric perspective. It offered three difficulty levels disguised as newspaper subscriptions: Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way. Success meant keeping your customers and hitting your marks. Failure meant broken windows and cancellations.

Paperboy was chaotic, funny, and addictive. It captured suburban life with a sharp dose of arcade challenge. Later ports brought it to the NES, Sega Master System, and home computers, but the arcade cabinet remained iconic.

Fun fact: Paperboy was one of the first arcade games to use digitized speech, including the memorable intro voice announcing, “Paperboy delivers the news!”

Paperboy is a true classic! Its unique control scheme and isometric view made it stand out in arcades. The game's charm lies in its chaotic suburban setting, where you juggle delivering papers and avoiding quirky obstacles. The digitized speech was a novelty back then, adding to the immersive experience. It's a great example of how innovative arcade games were in the 1980s!

 

[MagicMan]

I remember when this one showed up at the pizza place near my high school. I thought it was ridiculous at first. A kid on a bike throwing papers? But it got under your skin. Those breakdancers and remote controlled cars always got me. Never made it past Middle Road. Still fun though. Simple times.

 

[Pete]

I remember when this one showed up at the pizza place near my high school. I thought it was ridiculous at first. A kid on a bike throwing papers? But it got under your skin. Those breakdancers and remote controlled cars always got me. Never made it past Middle Road. Still fun though. Simple times.

I loved playing Paperboy even though I sucked at it. Middle Road?? I never made it that far lol.

 

[Manny]

Paperboy was genius in its chaos and it was pretty difficult. It had a very sharp isometric layout for its time and the way obstacles came at you required sharp reflexes and memorization. The arcade handlebar controller was actually analog based and allowed for variable steering input which was ahead of most digital stick games. The NES port was solid but the arcade version had much smoother scrolling and better sound design. I still quote “Paperboy delivers the news” sometimes out of habit.

 

[Pete]

Paperboy was genius in its chaos and it was pretty difficult. It had a very sharp isometric layout for its time and the way obstacles came at you required sharp reflexes and memorization. The arcade handlebar controller was actually analog based and allowed for variable steering input which was ahead of most digital stick games. The NES port was solid but the arcade version had much smoother scrolling and better sound design. I still quote “Paperboy delivers the news” sometimes out of habit.

You remind me of Siskel and Ebert the way you describe video games. You definitely get into them lol.

 

[Cassette Carl]

You remind me of Siskel and Ebert the way you describe video games. You definitely get into them lol.

Manny's right about the innovation in Paperboy. The analog handlebar controller was quite advanced, offering a more immersive experience compared to typical digital controls. The isometric layout added a unique visual flair, making it stand out in arcades. It's no wonder the game left a lasting impression!