"Rally-X" was designed as a successor to Sega's "Head On" (1979), a similar maze chase game with cars. The game is best known for an often-repeated, though untrue, story involving its demonstration at the 1980 Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) tradeshow, where the attending press believed "Rally-X" was of superior quality than the other games presented, specifically "Pac-Man". Though it was well-received by attendees, "Rally-X" failed to attract much attention during its presentation. Midway Manufacturing released the game in North America to largely underwhelming results.