OutRun - Reception

Upon release in 1986, Out Run became one of the most popular games in the arcades at the time. It was the best-selling arcade game of the year, having sold over 20,000 arcade cabinets within a year. The 8-bit computer game ports published by U.S. Gold in 1987 sold over 200,000 copies within two weeks, during the pre-Christmas period, making OutRun the fastest-selling game in the UK up until that time. The home computer versions eventually sold over 250,000 copies by Christmas 1987, making Out Run the best-selling computer game of 1987 in the UK.

In 1988, Out Run was voted as 1987's Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, beating Renegade and The Last Ninja for the award. Out Run also received the Arcade Game of the Year award, beating Renegade and Bubble Bobble for the award.

The 8-bit console Sega Master System port released in 1987 was well received. It received a score of 9 out of 10 from the October 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, which concluded that "Out run on the Sega has all the thrill power of the arcade version." It also received scores of 852 out of 1000 from the British ACE magazine, and 17 out of 20 from the Finnish Tilt magazine. The Games Machine gave the Master System version a score of 72%, stating that, "Of all the versions," the Master System port "comes closest to the original coin-op" but that "nonetheless, it does suffer in comparison" to the arcade original. It was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #137 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column, where the reviewers gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars. They described it as a "racing simulation" with "refreshing differences," pointing to the branching paths and music selection choices, and praising the game as "a very fine Sega simulation that provides hours of entertainment." The French magazine Génération 4 gave it an 82% score that same year. OutRun 3-D, a 1989 version that supports the Master System's Sega 3-D Glasses, received a top A grade from The Video Game Critic in 2011.

The reception for the 8-bit personal computer ports published by U.S. Gold were generally mixed, depending on the quality of the conversions. The ZX Spectrum version received positive to average reviews. It received positive scores from Your Sinclair, which gave it 8 out of 10, and from Sinclair User, which gave it scores of 8 out of 10 in March 1988 and 81% in November 1990. Crash magazine gave the Spectrum version a 72% score based on three individual reviewers, Nick, BYM, and Mike, giving scores of 93%, 63%, and 59%, respectively, with the latter two reviewers expressing disappointment at the lower conversion quality in comparison to the arcade original. The Games Machine gave the Spectrum version a score of 61%, noting the machine's technical limitations in comparison to the Master System and Commodore systems.

The Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 versions received positive to average reviews. The Games Machine gave the Commodore 64 and 128 versions a 67% score, higher than the Spectrum port but lower than the Master System version. The Australian Commodore and Amiga Review magazine gave the Commodore 64 version a high 95% score. Computer and Video Games, which referred to the arcade original as "the ultimate coin-op driving game," described the Commodore 64 port as a "rushed" conversion and gave it an overall score of 24 out of 40. The Amstrad CPC port received a negative review from Computer and Video Games, which described this version as a "travesty" and gave it a score of 8 out of 40.

The 16-bit Atari ST version published by U.S. Gold in 1988 was more well received than their earlier 8-bit computer ports. Computer and Video Games gave the ST version a positive review and an overall score of 7 out of 10, including 7 out of 10 for each of the three categories of graphics, sound, and playability. The magazine stated that, though this version is "a far from perfect conversion," it comes closer to the arcade original than the other computer ports. ACE magazine gave the Atari ST version a high score of 873 out of 1000. while The Games Machine gave it a 79% score, noting that it is an "admitable conversion if an incredible coin-op" but is still lacking in comparison to the original arcade game.

In 1989, ACE magazine gave U.S. Gold's 16-bit Amiga port a score of 822 out of 1000, while The Games Machine gave it a 75% score. The 16-bit console Mega Drive / Genesis version of the game released by Sega in 1991 received a score of 85% from the Swedish Svenska Hemdatornytt magazine that same year. This version later received a score of 9 out of 10 from Sega-16 in 2004, and a top A grade from The Video Game Critic in 2008.