Software:Barbie: Groovy Games

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Short description: 2002 video game
Barbie: Groovy Games
Developer(s)Digital Illusions Canada
Producer(s)Vivendi Universal Games
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance, PlayStation
ReleaseGBA September 2002
PlayStation November 2003
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Barbie: Groovy Games is a 2002 video game developed by Digital Illusions Canada and published by Vivendi Universal for the Game Boy Advance. A PlayStation version was released in 2003 as Barbie: Gotta Have Games. It was the first Barbie-licensed video game released for the Advance,[1] featuring variations of traditional games and puzzles. Upon release, the game received mixed reviews. Following release, the game was repackaged with Secret Agent Barbie.[2][3]

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Groovy Games is a collection of nine action and puzzle games played as Barbie or Ken. DJ Booth is a memory game where players must match CDs. Several titles are iterations of traditional game s: it features Four Scoops, a version of Connect Four, Tic Tac Toe, and Daisy Derby, a version of hangman. The games each feature three levels of difficulty.[4][5][6] The game supports multiplayer play for players for several of the activities.[7]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
GBAPS
AllGame2/5[7]
IGN3/10[5]3/10[5]
Nintendo Power2.5/5[8]
Total Advance82%[6]

Total Advance found the game simple but "colourful, fun and educational", writing that some of the games had "imaginative twists" on their traditional counterparts.[6] IGN found the games in Groovy Games to be "fun, simple diversions", but considered they had limited replayability and challenge, ad lamented the lack of a main game, narrative, save system, scoring or multiplayer play.[5] Electronic Gaming Monthly dismissed Groovy Games as a "collection of old games", considering it was made no more fun simply because of its cutesy design.[9] Game Rant retrospectively felt it was "not a good crop of mini-games" due to their simplicity.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Barbie's Been Shrunk!". Total Advance (33): 8. September 2002. https://archive.org/details/total-advance-33/page/n7/mode/2up?q=%22barbie%3A+groovy+games%22. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jurkovich, Tristan (27 July 2023). "Retro Barbie Games That Have Disappeared". https://gamerant.com/retro-barbie-games-that-disappeared/. Retrieved 28 April 2026. 
  3. ↑ "Barbie's Double Date". Nintendo Power (159): 21. August 2002. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-159-august-2002_202111/mode/2up?q=%22barbie%3A+groovy+games%22. 
  4. ↑ House, Michael. "Barbie: Groovy Games". Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141114145459/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=39574. Retrieved 28 April 2026. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Barbie Groovy Games". 11 October 2002. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/10/11/barbie-groovy-games. Retrieved 28 April 2026. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Barbie: Groovy Games". Total Advance (36): 38. December 2002. https://archive.org/details/total-advance-36/page/n37/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Barbie: Gotta Have Games". Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141115005943/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=44317. Retrieved 28 April 2026. 
  8. ↑ "Barbie Grooby Games". Nintendo Power (162): 228. November 2002. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-162-november-2002/mode/2up?q=%22barbie%3A+groovy+games%22. 
  9. ↑ "Barbie Groovy Games". Electronic Gaming Monthly (162): 216. January 2003. https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-162-january-2003/page/215/mode/2up?q=%22Barbie+Groovy+Games%22. 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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