Software:Actua Soccer

From HandWiki
Not to be confused with VR Soccer.
Short description: 1995 video game
Actua Soccer
Developer(s)Gremlin Interactive
Publisher(s)
  • EU: Gremlin Interactive
  • NA: Interplay Productions
SeriesActua Sports
Platform(s)MS-DOS, PlayStation, Saturn
ReleaseMS-DOS
  • EU: 1995
  • NA: 31 March 1996
PlayStation
  • EU: March 1996
  • NA: 31 October 1996
Saturn
  • EU: 1996
  • NA: 30 November 1996
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Actua Soccer (VR Soccer in North America) is a sports video game developed and published by Gremlin Interactive for MS-DOS, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. The game features a variety of teams and leagues to choose from, including national teams and club teams from various countries. Players can create their own teams and customize team kits, as well as participate in various game modes, such as exhibition matches, leagues, and tournaments. Actua Soccer received positive reviews upon its release for its realistic gameplay and depth of features.[1]

Gameplay

Actua Soccer contains only 32 national teams, each containing 22 players.[2] However, in 1996 a new version containing clubs was released: Actua Soccer: Club Edition. It contained 20 Premier League teams from the 1996/1997 season, with players displayed in "Panini-style" photos and with individualised statistics.[2][3]

Development

This was the first football video game to include a full 3D graphics engine with players rendered as three-dimensional figures. Sheffield-based Gremlin used Sheffield Wednesday's Andy Sinton, Chris Woods and Graham Hyde as motion capture models.[4][2] Commentary was provided by Barry Davies.[5] The Club Edition was developed using the engine used for Gremlin's previous football title UEFA Euro 96 England.[5]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarStar (MAC)[6]

Reviewing the Club Edition Saturn Power's Dean Mortlock gave a score of 65/100, criticising "sloppy controls and poor artificial intelligence", and called the game inferior to Worldwide Soccer.[5] Sega Saturn Magazine's Lee Nutter argued that "very little has been changed from its Euro 96 incarnation" and that it lacked "the speed, playability and overall polish of Sega's seemingly untouchable Worldwide Soccer '97".[7] Lisa Savignano of AllGame had similar notes for the gameplay, expressing the learning curve for the controls took time and thinking. A user manual for Mac was not included in the game, adding to the learning difficulty.[1]

In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Actua Soccer 85th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time".[8] By 1997, the game had sold over a million copies for MS-DOS and PlayStation around the world.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "VR Soccer - Review - allgame". 2014-11-16. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7154&tab=review. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Langshaw, Mark (27 September 2014). "Actua Soccer retrospective: Put one past the mighty FIFA in 1995". Digital Spy. London: Hearst UK. https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/retro-gaming/a599271/actua-soccer-retrospective-put-one-past-the-mighty-fifa-in-1995/. 
  3. ↑ "News: More Actua Sports". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK (Future Publishing) (15): 11. January 1997. 
  4. ↑ Parada, Jaime (23 July 2007). "Actua Soccer (1995)" (in Spanish). Insert Coin. https://www.insertcoinclasicos.com/2007/07/23/actua-soccer-1995/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mortlock, Dean (28 May 1997). "Review: Actua Soccer Club Edition". Saturn Power (Future Publishing) (2): 70–71. 
  6. ↑ Lisa Karen Savignano. "VR Soccer (Macintosh) Review". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7154&tab=review. 
  7. ↑ Nutter, Lee (11 June 1997). "Review: Actua Soccer Club Edition". Sega Saturn Magazine (EMAP) (21): 68–69. 
  8. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time". GamesMaster (44): 75. July 1996. https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cf/GamesMaster_UK_044.pdf. 
  9. ↑ Webster, Garrick (June 22, 1997). "UK games without frontiers". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86060582/. Retrieved August 15, 2021. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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