Software:Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride

From HandWiki
Short description: 2003 video game
Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride
Developer(s)Graphic State
Publisher(s)Sega
SeriesCrazy Taxi
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
  • NA: April 8, 2003
  • AU: June 13, 2003
  • EU: August 1, 2003
Genre(s)Racing, action
Mode(s)Single-player

Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride is a racing action video game for the Game Boy Advance, part of the Crazy Taxi series. It was developed by Graphic State and published by Sega. This game is an attempt to port the original Crazy Taxi to the Game Boy Advance, featuring two cities (one unlockable), nine Crazy Box minigames and all four cabbies from the original game.

Gameplay

Gameplay of Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride. One of the few Game Boy Advance games to feature 3D graphics.

The main objective for the player is to make as much money as possible as a cab driver. The player selects one of two cities to play in where they maneuver around the city to find passengers for their cab. Players receive money based on; how fun the trip was for the passenger, hitting jumps within the map, driving close to traffic, drifting and how quickly the cab ride is accomplished.[1] Players can choose from four characters, Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena and Gus.[2] In addition to the main game, nine different mini-games are also available for play.[2] The game also features multiple save slots per cartridge, allowing for the player to save their progress through the game.[1]

Development and release

Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride was developed by Graphic State. The game was originally announced by THQ in March 2002.[3] Graphic State developed a 3D graphics engine for the game which was named "Rush". One of the biggest challenges for Graphic State was recreating the city environment and traffic on the streets. Due to licensing issues, the game couldn't use any of the music or brands from the original game.[4] The game was first released in the United States on April 8, 2003,[5] and in Europe on August 1.[6] Infogrames distributed the European release for Sega Europe.[7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic48/100[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarHalf star[9]
Edge2/10[10]
Eurogamer4/10[11]
Game Informer4/10[12]
GameSpyStarStar[13]
GameZone6.8/10[14]
IGN6.5/10[1]
Nintendo Power3/5[15]
X-PlayStarStar[16]

As an attempt to port a 3D game to a small handheld system, Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic,[8] mostly due to visual problems.

In a more forgiving review of the game, IGN awarded it a score of 6.5 out of 10 and wrote: "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride is definitely a fun GBA game, but you have to work through the game's blocky graphics and very inconsistent, chuggy framerate".[1] The reviewers also felt the developers needed to use the strengths of the Game Boy Advance to bring the console design to the hand held, "instead of trying to recreate the exact experience in portable form".[1] Chris Hudak of X-Play wrote that the game is "just simply on the jittery, crunchy, slow, and empty side".[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 IGN staff (2003-04-08). "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/04/08/crazy-taxi-catch-a-ride. Retrieved 2014-10-13. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Marriott, Scott Alan. "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride - Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116033139/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=35064&tab=overview. Retrieved 2014-11-16. 
  3. ↑ "Sega and THQ Reveal More GBA Goodies". IGN. 27 March 2002. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/03/27/sega-and-thq-reveal-more-gba-goodies. Retrieved 2019-07-30. 
  4. ↑ jkdmedia (4 May 2012). "GZ Interview: Catch a ride in full 3D with Crazy Taxi for Game Boy Advance". https://www.gamezone.com/news/gz_interview_catch_a_ride_in_full_3d_with_crazy_taxi_for_game_boy_advance/. Retrieved 14 January 2018. 
  5. ↑ "PR - 4/8/03 - CRAZY TAXI: CATCH A RIDE SHIPS FOR GAME BOY ADVANCE". 2004-04-16. http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-563.asp. 
  6. ↑ "What's New?" (in en-gb). Eurogamer.net. 2003-08-01. https://www.eurogamer.net/news010803whatsnew. 
  7. ↑ "Crazy Taxi". http://www.uk.atari.com/index.php?pg=game_detail&productID=95. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/crazy-taxi-catch-a-ride/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance. Retrieved 2013-05-13. 
  9. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116032942/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=35064&tab=review. Retrieved 2014-11-16. 
  10. ↑ Edge staff (July 2003). "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". Edge (125). 
  11. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (2003-06-30). "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_crazytaxi_gba. Retrieved 2014-10-13. 
  12. ↑ "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". Game Informer (121): 94. May 2003. 
  13. ↑ Turner, Benjamin (2003-04-29). "GameSpy: Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-12-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20051216200046/http://gba.gamespy.com/gameboy-advance/crazy-taxi-catch-a-ride/5829p1.html. Retrieved 2014-10-13. 
  14. ↑ Zacarias, Eduardo (2003-06-04). "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20090116015644/http://gameboy.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20420_GBA.htm. Retrieved 2014-10-13. 
  15. ↑ "Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride". Nintendo Power 169: 139. June 2003. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Hudak, Chris (2003-05-29). "'Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride' (GBA) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on 2003-06-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20030609203409/http://www.techtv.com/xplay/reviews/story/0%2C24330%2C3433189%2C00.html. Retrieved 2014-10-13. 
  • 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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