When did OutRun release?

OutRun was first released on September 25, 1986.

OutRun

Sep 25, 1986RacingArcadeArcadeSharp X68000Sega Master System/Mark III Sega Mega Drive/GenesisCommodore C64/128/MAX

OutRun — frequently asked questions

What platforms is OutRun on?: OutRun was released on Arcade, Sharp X68000, Sega Master System/Mark III, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Commodore C64/128/MAX, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, Amiga, DOS, PC-88, PC Engine, Sega Game Gear, Sega Saturn, PC (Microsoft Windows), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine.
When did OutRun release?: OutRun was first released on September 25, 1986.

About OutRun

OutRun is a racing game originating in the arcades. The player can race across varied terrain in a readily available Ferrari, complete with a female passenger, over a series of short tracks. Gameplay is viewed form just above and behind the car. The roads are full of sharp bends and hazards, contact with which can cause the car to roll and lose the player's time. On each section of track there is a fork in the road, allowing the player to choose which direction he or she wishes to go in. The player has to to complete five track sections in total, out of the fifteen in the game.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Arcade, Sharp X68000, Sega Master System/Mark III, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Commodore C64/128/MAX, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, Amiga, DOS, PC-88, PC Engine, Sega Game Gear, Sega Saturn, PC (Microsoft Windows), TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
Developer: Sega AM2
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Non-fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

71/100

from 97 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Master System Details ↓	1987	$13	$22	$120	6 reviews	Low (look-alike)
Sega Genesis Details ↓	1991	$38	$95	—	5 reviews	Low

The cheapest way to own it loose is the Sega Master System version ($13).

Also released on: Arcade · Sharp X68000 · Sega Master System/Mark III · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis · Commodore C64/128/MAX · Amstrad CPC · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST/STE · Amiga · DOS · PC-88 · PC Engine · Sega Game Gear · Sega Saturn · PC (Microsoft Windows) · TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Prices are per version and are not interchangeable, and neither are the reviews: conversions in this era were often built by a different studio than the original, so a score earned on one machine says nothing about how another plays.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Master System · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-28

Loose

$13

Complete

$22

Sealed

$120

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$14	$39	$135
Japanese release	$30	$89	—

How often it sells

Loose: about 2 times a month
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about 3 times a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-28.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Known board
North America	October 1987	7003	171-5507D · MPR-11078 W04
Europe / PAL	October 1987	7003	171-5507D · MPR-11078 W04
Japan	30 June 1987	—	—

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Master System software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published only where both agree on the same cartridge dump; Japanese numbers also checked against Sega Japan's software list. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU+JP
Released: 1987
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages and Virtual Console, are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Sega Master System prices, all games & how to spot a fake

The Sega Master System version

A fast arcade driving conversion that one magazine said came closest to the coin-op among the home versions it compared, at a below-median price.

Out Run is Sega's own conversion of its 1986 arcade racer, released in Japan on June 30, 1987 and in North America and Europe in October 1987. Computer and Video Games praised it as capturing all the thrill of the arcade version, and The Games Machine said it came closest to the coin-op among the home versions it compared.

Looking back in October 1992, Mean Machines Sega remarked that it bears only the most superficial resemblance to the coin-op, but scores well on gameplay with just about every feature of the arcade present, and said it was still worth a look, though not as good as Fire and Forget II.

What the press said at the time

Mean Machines Sega Issue 1	October 1992	PRESENTATION 79% GRAPHICS 77% SOUND 69% PLAYABILITY 81%
ACE		852/1000
Computer and Video Games		9/10
Dragon		4.5/5
Génération 4		82%
The Games Machine		72%

“In actual fact, it bears only the most superficial resemblance to the coin-op, but in the gameplay stakes it scores quite well with just about every feature from the arcade machine present.”
— Mean Machines Sega, October 1992

Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Sega Master System version.

Also on other platforms

Arcade · Commodore 64 · Amstrad CPC · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST · Amiga · MS-DOS · PC-88 · PC Engine · Genesis · Game Gear · Sega Saturn · Windows

Game Gear. Mean Machines Sega said nearly all the courses and obstacles and the four tunes made it to the Game Gear, but found the game far too easy.
Arcade. Yu Suzuki had a small team and only ten months to program the arcade original, doing most of the work himself.

How the other versions reviewed

Commodore 64	ACE	610/1000
Atari ST	ACE	873/1000
Amiga	ACE	822/1000
Windows	Amstrad Action	37% (CPC)
Commodore 64	Computer and Video Games	24/40
Windows	Computer and Video Games	8/40 (CPC)
Atari ST	Computer and Video Games	7/10
TurboGrafx-16	Computer and Video Games	70%
ZX Spectrum	Crash	72%
Atari ST	Génération 4	78%
Game Gear	Joystick	79%
ZX Spectrum	Sinclair User	81%
ZX Spectrum	The Games Machine	61%
Atari ST	The Games Machine	79%
Amiga	The Games Machine	75%
ZX Spectrum	Your Sinclair	8/10
Arcade	Commodore User	9/10
Commodore 64	Commodore User	67%

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Before you buy

Three releases exist: the US cart, the European cart and the Japanese cart. Loose, the European cart costs about the same as the US one, but a complete European copy costs much more. The Japanese cart costs a good deal more than the US one in both conditions, and it is a different, smaller shape that does not fit a Western console without an adapter. This is a cheap cart by Master System standards, with low look-alike risk. Make sure the manual is included on a complete copy.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$38

Complete

$95

Sealed

—

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$37	$121	—
Japanese release	$35	$72	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a week
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $7.48 in Apr 2009, $50 five years ago, and $38 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$11.40	—
Jan 2011	$10.05	—
Jan 2012	$13.96	—
Jan 2013	$13.49	—
Jan 2014	$14.99	$26
Jan 2015	$15.90	$35
Jan 2016	$19.99	$39
Jan 2017	$27	$43
Jan 2018	$29	$40
Jan 2019	$25	$46
Jan 2020	$30	$52
Jan 2021	$40	$65
Jan 2022	$44	$80
Jan 2023	$40	$82
Jan 2024	$41	$92
Jan 2025	$42	$85
Jan 2026	$36	$79
Oct 2026	$38	$95

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Barcode	Known board
North America	1991	—	010086011258	—
Europe / PAL	1991	—	—	—
Japan	9 August 1991	G-4052	4974365540524	171-5978BA

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU+JP
Released: 1991
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

The Sega Genesis version

A music-heavy arcade conversion that critics at the time found too easy, and one of the pricier US carts.

This is the Genesis cartridge of Out Run, converted from Sega's 1986 arcade racer by Hertz and published by Sega. It reached Japan on 9 August 1991 and North America and Europe in 1991. The Mega Drive port keeps the arcade's music tracks and adds one exclusive new track, "Step On Beat", by Masayoshi Ishi.

Mean Machines called it a pretty good conversion of the coin-op but disappointing overall, mainly because it was very easy to finish on everything but the hardest setting. GameFan, writing about OutRunners in July 1994, still counted the original Genesis Out Run among that series' great drivers, and in 2017 GamesRadar+ ranked it 31st among the best Genesis games.

What the press said at the time

Joypad		90%
Joystick		90%
MegaTech		58%
Sega-16		9/10
Svenska Hemdatornytt		85%

“Yes, the graphics are nice, and yes, the sound is good, but sadly Outrun just isn’t challenging enough or fast enough to make it anything other than average.”
— Mean Machines, October 1991

“Which you choose is a matter of taste, but, for my money, Outrun is the first across the finish line.”
— Video Games & Computer Entertainment, December 1991

“It's a great game for young and old alike. OutRun ranks as one of the Wizard's top ten favorite games.”
— Game Informer, Spring 1992

“Experienced gamers are bound to finish it in one go and even novices will finish it within one session.”
— Mean Machines Sega, October 1992

Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Genesis version.

How the Sega Genesis version differs

Mean Machines found that the car on the Mega Drive version doesn't control anywhere near as well as in the coin-op, making for frustrating crashes.

Also on other platforms

Master System · Arcade · Commodore 64 · Amstrad CPC · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST · Amiga · MS-DOS · PC-88 · PC Engine · Game Gear · Sega Saturn · Windows

Arcade

Sega

How the other versions reviewed

Commodore 64	ACE	610/1000
Atari ST	ACE	873/1000
Amiga	ACE	822/1000
Windows	Amstrad Action	37% (CPC)
Commodore 64	Computer and Video Games	24/40
Windows	Computer and Video Games	8/40 (CPC)
Atari ST	Computer and Video Games	7/10
TurboGrafx-16	Computer and Video Games	70%
ZX Spectrum	Crash	72%
Atari ST	Génération 4	78%
Game Gear	Joystick	79%
ZX Spectrum	Sinclair User	81%
ZX Spectrum	The Games Machine	61%
Atari ST	The Games Machine	79%
Amiga	The Games Machine	75%
ZX Spectrum	Your Sinclair	8/10
Arcade	Commodore User	9/10
Commodore 64	Commodore User	67%

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Before you buy

Among US carts this is one of the pricier ones, well above the middle. The European and Japanese loose carts usually cost about the same as the US one. A complete European copy usually costs more than a complete US copy, while a complete Japanese copy usually costs less. The Japanese cartridge has a different shape and needs an adapter or two plastic tabs removed from a Western console's slot.