highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game of 1987 in Japan, below Out Run, Super Hang-On and Darius. On the Coinslot dedicated arcade game charts in the United Kingdom, WEC Le Mans was number-three in July 1988, below Street Fighter and Continental Circus. The arcade version was critically acclaimed upon release. Following its debut at the Preview '87 show in September 1986, Computer and Video Games gave it a positive review in its January 1987 issue, with Clare Edgeley declaring it her favourite game at show, describing it as a "fast and realistic racing simulation" and praising the rotating cockpit cabinet, concluding it to be the most " game" she played in months. She gave it "the edge" over Out Run, mainly for better "movement", but noted "many seem to prefer Out Run". At the ATEI (Amusement Trades Exhibition International) show in January 1987, both Out Run and WEC LE Mans "stole the January show" according to Computer and Video Games. Clare Edgeley reviewed it again in the February 1987 issue of Sinclair User, stating it "is far and way the most sophisticated and certainly the most thrilling game I've ever played", describing it as "like Hang-On" but "with a racing car which you actually sit inside" and a "movement system" that "is entirely different from anything experienced before" where "you really get thrown around" and "which simulates each action, even spinning" and "shakes the whole car" when going off track or skidding on the marked border lines. She stated "there are hazards to avoid, other cars bombing past you", "great graphics and high speed". Top Score newsletter called it a "superb driving simulator that was unfortunately overshadowed" by Out Run. The Spectrum version of the game also earned critical acclaim. The Spectrum version was also commercially successful, reaching 4th place on the UK Spectrum chart in May 1989. Konami's Tanaka Fumihaki cited WEC Le Mans as the chief inspiration for Konami's 1995 game Speed King. The Spanish magazine Microhobby valued the game with the following scores: Originality: 30% Graphics: 70% Motion: 80% Sound: 50% Difficulty: 80% Addiction: 80% Notes References See also Hot Chase Out Run 1986 video games 24 Hours of Le Mans Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Commodore 64 games Konami games Banpresto games ADK (company) games MSX games Racing simulators ZX Spectrum games Konami arcade games Video games developed in Japan