Software:Big Scale Racing

From HandWiki
Short description: 2002 video game
Big Scale Racing
Developer(s)BumbleBeast
Publisher(s)HD Interactive
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: August 16, 2002
Genre(s)Racing

Big Scale Racing is a 2002 racing video game by BumbleBeast.

Development

The studio began as a subsidiary of digital company Virtual Environments Systems & Consultancy (VESC), which was spun-off to create PC CD-ROM games on April 1, 2001. The company consisted of seven employees, which created scale models of racing cars (90 cm long) for the racing game.[1] The company anticipated an Autumn 2002 launch date, and aimed to distribute the game to big retailers and entertainment shops over the world, while accepting online orders over the Internet.[1]

The company started production on February 9, 2001.[2] In Spring of that year, BumbleBeast signed license agreements with various race tracks to have the tracks featuring in current and future games.[2] The company hired cartoon artist Patrick Schoenmaker[3] on June 1, his debut video game.[2] An internal beta was released on August 2, followed by an internal demo on September 9.[2] The BumbleBeast website - premiering content about the game - was uploaded September 14.[2] Summitsoft (Omaha) signed a publishing/distribution deal for the North American continent on March 10, 2002.[2] On March 12, an August release date for retail was set.[2] Weather effects were added March 28.[2] In response to beta and demo testers regarding Multiplayer LAN, developers announced 8 player LAN gaming on April 1, 2002.[2] On April 11, Dutch company HD Interactive signed a publishing/distribution deal for Europe.[2] A public demo was released April 14.[2]

On April 18, Japanese company Aqua Systems signed a publishing/distribution deal for Japan.[2] On May 25, Summitsoft and HD-Interactive presented the game at E3.[2] By June 14, the US/Canada version of BSR was set for the second week of August 2002, the EU version was set for September 20, and the Japanese version was set for mid August.[2] On July 10 it was announced the game would have dedicated versions in Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, French, German and English.[2] On July 7, QVSoftware signed a distribution deal for release in Australia/New Zealand for early October 2002.[2] On July 28 it was announced that in the previous week 50 thousand demos were downloaded from various sites.[2] First screenshots were released on July 31.[4] On August 16, the game was released in the US, and in the online stores Navarre, EB Games, and Amazon.[2] An estimated 1,500,000 downloads of the demo occurred from August–October. A special edition of the game (Big Scale Racing Special Edition) was released in 2003.[2]

Gameplay

Players race with 1/5 scale RC racing cars. The game features weather, multiple tracks and cars, and internet competition.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic60/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGMStarStarHalf star[6]
GameSpot6.1/10[7]
GameSpyStarStarStar[8]
GameZone5/10[9]
IGN6.5/10[10]
PC Gamer (UK)67%[11]
PC Gamer (US)75%[12]

Eurogamer thought in its hands-on preview that the game was a serious simulator but also fun and playable.[13] On release, the game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "VESC". http://bigscaleracing.com/eindex.htm. 
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 "BumbleBeast Game Development | News". http://www.bumblebeast.com/news.html. 
  3. ↑ "Bumblebeast & Big Scale Racing". http://www.ukgamer.com/articles/166/1/Big_Scale_Racing.html. 
  4. ↑ Calvert, Justin (July 31, 2002). "First look: Big Scale Racing". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/first-look-big-scale-racing/1100-2876122/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Big Scale Racing for PC Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/big-scale-racing/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  6. ↑ "Review: Big Scale Racing". Computer Games Magazine (theGlobe.com) (150): 86. May 2003. 
  7. ↑ Osborne, Scott (August 29, 2002). "Big Scale Racing Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/big-scale-racing/1900-2878817/. 
  8. ↑ Smolka, Rob (November 21, 2002). "GameSpy: Big Scale Racing". IGN Entertainment. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/big-scale-racing/569653p1.html. 
  9. ↑ Ovaldog (September 10, 2002). "Big Scale Racing Review". Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080913221631/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20104.htm. 
  10. ↑ Polak, Steve (July 24, 2003). "Big Scale Racing". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/07/25/big-scale-racing. 
  11. ↑ "Big Scale Racing". PC Gamer UK (Future plc). December 2002. 
  12. ↑ Smolka, Rob (November 2002). "Big Scale Racing". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 9 (11): 126. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060315132549/http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/big_scale_racin.html. Retrieved March 6, 2020. 
  13. ↑ Bye, John "Gestalt" (September 3, 2002). "Big Scale Racing (Hands-on)". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ho_bigscale_ects02. 
  • Main page
  • 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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