Software:Battle City (video game)

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Battle City
Front cover of Battle City (Famicom)
Developer(s)Namco
Dempa Shimbunsha (PCs)
Nova Games (Game Boy)
Publisher(s)Namco]
Micomsoft (PCs)
Nova Games (Game Boy)
Producer(s)Takefumi Hyoudou (Famicom)
Programmer(s)Ryoichi Ohkubo (Famicom)
Composer(s)Junko Ozawa (Famicom)
Norihiko Togashi (Game Boy)
Platform(s)Family Computer, Game Boy, Arcade (Nintendo VS. System), X1, FM-7, MZ-1500
ReleaseFamily Computer
  • JP: September 9, 1985
X1/FM-7/MZ-1500
Game Boy
  • JP: August 9, 1991
Genre(s)Action, Multi-directional shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a multi-directional shooter video game for the Family Computer produced and published in 1985 by Namco. It is a successor to Namco's 1980 Tank Battalion, and would be succeeded itself by the 1991 Tank Force.[1]

An arcade version for the Nintendo VS. System would follow, and the game would eventually end up with the Virtual Console release for the Wii and Wii U. There was also a related Game Boy game of the same name dating back to 1991, which was developed and published by Nova Games.

Gameplay

The player, controlling a Tank, must destroy enemy tanks in each level, which enter the playfield from the top of the screen. The enemy tanks attempt to destroy the player's base (represented on the map as a bird, eagle, or Phoenix), as well as the human tank itself. A level is completed when the player destroys all 20 enemy tanks, but the game ends if the player's base is destroyed or the player loses all available lives. Note that the player tank's weapon can destroy the base as well, so the player can still lose even after all enemy tanks are destroyed.

Battle City contains 35 different stages that are 13 units wide by 13 units high. Each map contains different types of terrain and obstacles. Examples include brick walls that can be destroyed by having either the player's tank or an enemy tank shoot at them, steel walls that can be destroyed by the player if he has collected three or more power-up stars, bushes that hide tanks under them, ice fields that make it difficult to control tank and pools of water which cannot be crossed by tanks. There are four progressively harder types of enemy tanks, with the toughest one requiring four shots to kill (while other tanks only require one shot). The game becomes more challenging in later levels, as enemy tanks may act as decoys to lure players away from their base so that another tank can destroy it. In addition, flashing tanks could be destroyed for power-ups. There are several types of power-ups:

  • Tank: a symbol that gives an extra life. Player also earns one extra life by reaching 20000 points;
  • Star: it improves player's tank (having one star make shots faster, having two stars allow two simultaneous shots, having three stars allow the player to destroy steel). Player's tank carries power-up across levels unless being destroyed, which resets its stats;
  • Bomb: destroys all visible enemy tanks;
  • Clock: freezes all enemy tanks for a period of time;
  • Shovel: adds steel walls around the Phoenix for a period of time. It also repairs any prior damage on the wall, unless the human player destroys the steel wall with their highest level tank;
  • Shield: makes player's tank invulnerable to attack for a period of time.

Battle City was one of the earlier games to allow two players to play simultaneously. Both players have to defend the base together, and if one player shoots the other, the friendly fire victim would be unable to move for a while (but can still shoot). In two player mode, at most six enemy tanks are spawned at the same time, compared to four in one player mode, and the player who kills more tanks at the end of a stage is also awarded a 1000 bonus points. It was also one of the first NES games to allow players access to an edit mode where they could create custom levels (called "Construction"), though these custom levels cannot be saved unlike in similar modes such as the one in Excitebike.[2]

The Game Boy version is more challenging, as the screen is too small to display the whole map and only enough to display one part of it; for this reason, a radar was added.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Tank Force arcade game
  2. ↑ [1] Battle City description
  • Battle City at Facebook
  • 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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