Software:Cricket 97

From HandWiki
Short description: 1997 video game
Cricket 97
Developer(s)Beam Software
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesCricket
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Windows
Release1997[1]
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Cricket 97 is a sports video game developed by Beam Software for MS-DOS and Windows. It was published by EA Sports in January 1997 in Australia, April 1997 in the United Kingdom,[1] and throughout the rest of Europe on May 9, 1997.[2]

Gameplay

The game stars cricketer Michael Atherton.[3] Ritchie Benaud and Ian Botham provided commentary for the game.[4]

Tour Edition

A Tour Edition of the game was released in late 1997.[2] It featured actual photographs, real player names, portraits, and statistics of all major Australian and international cricketing personalities.[2]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
The Sydney Morning Herald5/5[4]
PC PowerPlay87%[5]
Computer Gaming World3.5/5[6]
Game-Over!5/10[7]

Richard Moore for The Age called the game "very realistic" but criticized the "play-balance-driven parity of the sides".[3]

George Soropos for PC PowerPlay rated Cricket 97 Ashes Tour Edition at 87% and stated that "Really, this is the game that Cricket '97 should have been in the first place and all credit to Beam for sticking with it until they got it right."[5]

The game shipped 50,000 units.[1] It was the No. 1 best-selling sports title in Australia and the No. 3 best-selling title in Australia overall when it was released.[1] In the UK, the game entered the Top Ten UK Charts straight into 8th position for PC CD-ROM games.[2]

Reviews

  • Power Unlimited (Sep, 1997)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Chairman's Report to Beam International Limited Shareholders". March 11, 1997. Archived from the original on June 7, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970607085724/http://www.beam.com.au/1103972.htm. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Cricket 97 hits Top Ten in the UK charts". Archived from the original on October 21, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19971021033714/http://www.beam.com.au/3005971.html. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Moore, Richard (April 22, 1997). "Cricket's armchair fans gets some real action". p. 41. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97792630/the-age/. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Camm, Mark (February 13, 1997). "Playing God with flanneled fools". p. 92. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97792707/the-sydney-morning-herald/. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Soropos, George (October 1997). "Cricket 97 Ashes Tour Edition". p. 60,61. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-017-1997-10/page/n59/mode/2up. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  6. ↑ "Cricket 97 Ashes Tour Edition". June 1998. p. 242. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_167/page/n241/mode/2up. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  7. ↑ Wilks, Dale (July 13, 1997). "Cricket 97". http://www.compulink.co.uk/~go1/reviews/july97/cricket97.htm. Retrieved March 17, 2022. 
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari




Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Cricket_97&oldid=4139985"