Software:Backyard Soccer

From HandWiki
Short description: 1998 video game
Not to be confused with Backyard Football, a game based on American football.
Backyard Soccer
Cover art for the original PC release as taken from the game's AutoRun menu. Depicted are Ricky Johnson (left) and Gretchen Hasselhoff, two of the "Backyard Kids".
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
Publisher(s)Humongous Entertainment[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]
SeriesBackyard Sports
EngineSCUMM
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh, PlayStation, iOS
ReleaseWindows, Macintosh
  • NA: October 13, 1998
  • EU: 1999
PlayStation
  • NA: September 28, 2001
  • EU: November 2, 2001
iOS
  • NA: October 31, 2008
'98 remaster (Windows)
  • WW: November 27, 2024
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Backyard Soccer, known in Europe as Backyard Football (PC)[1] or Junior Sports Football (PlayStation) and in Australia as Junior Sports Soccer, is a children's association football video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment; Infogrames published the PlayStation version. It is the second game in the Backyard Sports series, following Backyard Baseball, and the first installment of the Backyard Soccer sub-series. It was first released on October 13, 1998,[2] for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, in 2001 for the PlayStation, and in 2008 for iOS. The PC and PlayStation versions of the game, alongside the PlayStation 2 version of Backyard Basketball, were the only Backyard Sports titles released in Europe.

The game spawned two sequels, both of which would include players from Major League Soccer and the USWNT; the sequels were Backyard Soccer MLS Edition, released in 2000[3] and Backyard Soccer 2004, released in 2003.[4]

A remastered version of the game entitled Backyard Soccer '98 was released for Windows via Steam on November 27, 2024,[5][6] becoming the second remaster in the Backyard Sports franchise after its 2024 reboot, following Backyard Baseball '97 the previous month and preceding four more remasters.[5][6]

Gameplay

Backyard Soccer is a 6-a-side soccer video game with hybrid youth and professional soccer rules.[7] The game has five modes: "Pick-Up Game", "Friendly Match", "Practice Penalty Kicks", "Spectator" and "League Play". The PlayStation version also includes two additional modes: "Mini-League" and "Beach Tournament".[8]

In league play, the player takes a managerial role by selecting 8 players from a pool of 30 Backyard Kids. The team enters the "Backyard Soccer League", aiming to win promotion from the B Division to the A and then Premier Division. If in the top four by mid-season in any division, the player's team will be invited to the Off-The-Wall Indoor Invitational, an indoor soccer tournament. After winning the Premier Division, the player's team will be invited to represent the United States in the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament (a spoof of the FIFA World Cup). Regardless of the tournament's outcome, the player's team will be placed back in the Premier Division for another chance at the Cup.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStar (PC)[9]
StarStarStar (PS)[10]
GameZone8/10 (PC)[11]
7.5/10 (PS)[12]
PSM2/10[13]

Backyard Soccer received moderate reviews. Its gameplay was criticized for the hard-to-use controls for the PC version and long loading time, while its graphics were praised on all platforms.[9][10][11][12] Brad Cook of Allgame was critical to the controls for the PC version.[9] PSX Nation gave the game a score of 49 out of 100.[14]

2024 remaster

Reviews of the 2024 remaster have been positive.[15][16] Mark O'Callaghan of CBR, in particular, praised the remaster for retaining all of the original game's features as well as the addition of achievements, but he expressed concern that players who were unfamiliar with soccer may lose interest due to the game's lack of a proper tutorial.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to the PlayStation by Runecraft.
  2. ↑ The remastered version (Backyard Soccer '98) was developed by Mega Cat Studios.
  3. ↑ The PlayStation version was published by Infogrames.
  4. ↑ The remastered version (Backyard Soccer '98) was published by Playground Productions.

References

  1. ↑ "Junior Sports Backyard Football Game: Amazon.co.uk: Software". https://www.amazon.co.uk/Junior-Sports-Backyard-Football-Game/dp/B00004UCUX. 
  2. ↑ "Backyard Soccer MLS Edition In Stores Now!". http://www.humongous.com/About_Us/parents/Pr/More/News/bys_mls_retail.html. 
  3. ↑ "Infogrames - Corporate Information.". 2003-04-09. http://infogrames.com/corp_pressreleases.php?op=story&sid=360. 
  4. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Moore, Logan (2024-10-10). "Backyard Football, Basketball, and Soccer Remasters "Coming Soon" to PC" (in en-US). https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/backyard-sports-baseball-football-basketball-soccer-pc-steam/. 
  5. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dierberger, Tom (2024-11-19). "'Backyard Sports' Franchise Currently Developing First Next-Generation Video Game". Sports Illustrated. https://www.si.com/mlb/backyard-sports-franchise-first-next-generation-video-game. Retrieved 2024-11-19. 
  6. ↑ "Contact: Mike Salvadore, Communications Manager". http://www.humongous.com/about/pr/more/news/soccer.html. 
  7. ↑ "GameZone.com - PlayStation Game Reviews - Backyard Soccer". 2002-02-24. http://psx.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r12306.htm. 
  8. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Cook, Brad. "Backyard Soccer (PC)". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=22856&tab=review. Retrieved 12 April 2014. 
  9. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Beam, Jennifer. "Backyard Soccer (PS)". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=35815&tab=review. Retrieved 12 April 2014. 
  10. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Backyard Soccer MLS Edition - PC - Review". GameZone. 25 October 2000. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/2000/10/25/backyard_soccer_mls_edition_pc_review_pc_review. Retrieved 12 April 2014. 
  11. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Backyard Soccer - PSX - Review". 28 October 2001. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/2001/10/28/backyard_soccer_psx_review. Retrieved 12 April 2014. 
  12. ↑ Junior Sports Football game review, Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Future Publishing issue 80
  13. ↑ "Backyard Soccer for PS". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/565484-backyard-soccer/index.html. Retrieved 6 April 2014. 
  14. ↑ Hogeweide, Will (FncWill) (2024-12-18). "Review: Backyard Soccer '98" (in en-US). https://www.rectifygaming.com/review-backyard-soccer-98/. 
  15. ↑ 16.0 16.1 O’Callaghan, Mark (2024-11-30). "Backyard Soccer '98 Almost Scores a Perfect Goal" (in en). https://www.cbr.com/backyard-soccer-98-review/. 
  • 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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