Software:Arcade America

From HandWiki
Arcade America
Developer(s)7th Level
Publisher(s)7th Level
BMG Interactive (Germany)[1][2]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Macintosh
Release1996
Genre(s)Platform

Arcade America is a 1996 platform game developed and published by 7th Level for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh.

Plot

Joey's band "Joey and the Monsters" is offered a deal to perform at Woodstock. The next day, the monsters try to wake Joey up, but he's a heavy sleeper. They decide to try blowing up his house in order to get him up in time, causing California to get destroyed and sending the monsters flying across America. Now Joey must travel across the US to save his friends and eventually make it to Woodstock in time.

Gameplay

The game stars Joey and his monsters. This is a side scrolling arcade platform game about traveling across America to find all of Joey's missing monsters.

Development

In the German version of Arcade America, German singer & songwriter Nina Hagen voices Joey's mother as well as three other characters;[1] this was a selling point present in advertisements,[2] and is featured on the front cover of the German version of the game.[3]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PC Games82% (Windows)[4]
PC PlayerStarStarStar (Windows)[5]
Next GenerationStarStarStar (Windows)[6]
PC Joker56% (Windows)[1]
Computer Game Review79/74/71[7]

Next Generation reviewed the Windows version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "It's an interesting platform puzzler, and some of the challenges will surprise even the most adept gamer. Still, if you're looking for a good action title, there are better ones out there."[6]

German gaming magazine PC Joker gave the Windows version of Arcade America an overall score of 56%, praising the game's "cute" graphics that are "animated with care", as well as the game's humor, but criticized the game's "limited" longevity and 'unoriginal' gameplay, summarizing the game as "getting the character from the bottom to the top of the screen without getting hurt". PC Joker praised Nina Hagen's "first-class" voiceover work and Arcade America's overall "witty" presentation, but expressed that while visually and aurally appealing, Arcade America is "boring".[1]

German gaming magazine PC Player gave the Windows version of Arcade America an overall score of three stars out of five,[5] and PC Games gave 82%.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Schnelle, Mick (April 1996). "Arcade America" (in German). PC Joker (Joker Verlag): 38. https://archive.org/details/pcjokerapril1996images/page/n37/mode/2up. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Arcade America Advertisement" (in German). PC Player (DMV-Verlag): 119. April 1996. https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1996-04. 
  3. ↑ "Arcade America Box Art Front Cover" (in German). BMG Interactive. 1996. https://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade-america/cover-art/gameCoverId,3301/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Menne, Oliver (April 1996). "Arcade America: Cannonball Fever". PC Games (Computec Verlag): 160-161. https://archive.org/details/PC.Games.N043.1996.04-fl0n. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lenhardt, Heinrich (May 1996). "Arcade America" (in German). PC Player (DMV-Verlag): 88. https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1996-05. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Finals: Arcade America". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (17): 94, 97. May 1996. https://archive.org/details/Next-Generation-1996-05/page/n99/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ "Bump and Grind". Computer Game Review. April 1996. Archived from the original on December 21, 1996. https://web.archive.org/web/19961221183551/http://www.nuke.com/cgr/reviews/9604/arcade/arcade.htm. 
  • 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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