Software:Harley-Davidson: Race Across America

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
Harley-Davidson: Race Across America
Developer(s)Canopy Games, G2M Games (PC)
Running Dog, Xantera (GBC)
Publisher(s)WizardWorks
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: September 21, 1999[1]
Game Boy Color
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Harley-Davidson: Race Across America is a racing game developed by Canopy Games and G2M Games, and published by WizardWorks in 1999. The game centers on racing Harley-Davidson motorcycles across different locales in the United States, with the ultimate goal being to reach the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

A version of the game was developed for the Game Boy Color by Running Dog and Xantera, released in 2000.[3][4] Race Across America was later followed by Software:Harley-Davidson: Wheels of Freedom, released in 2000.

Gameplay

Windows

Gameplay screenshot showing the player's motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson Super Glide, approaching a gas station.

In Race Across America, players take part in a series of point-to-point races on Harley-Davidson motorcycles across real-world locations in the United States.

The game offers two single-player modes: Practice Race, where players can select a single course and a bike to race on, and Tour Game, the game's main mode in which players participate in a tour leading to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. A number of pre-determined routes can be chosen by the player in Tour Game, all of which take place in numerous American locales, namely Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Harley-Davidson's home state of Wisconsin. Various landmarks are also featured in the game, namely the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota and dinosaur monuments in Utah, among others.[5]

Race Across America employs a number of motorcycles from the company—from the Twin Cam 88-powered Dyna Low Rider to the 1956 KHK; the latter can be unlocked by finishing the game's Tour mode. Each motorcycle is distinguished by its handling, performance and fuel economy characteristics, and can be altered with performance upgrades at the shop using money acquired from winning races. The player is given a limited amount of fuel which can be replenished at "67" gas stations scattered across each course.

A number of real-world landmarks are also featured in the game, particularly the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

In addition to the single-player mode, Race Across America also features a multiplayer mode on the PC version, allowing up to four players to engage in races in recreations of the single-player courses, with support for local-area network, modem, serial and Internet play.[6]

Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color version was developed by Running Dog and Xantera, and published by Infogrames. The game is presented similarly to the earlier Mindscape game Harley-Davidson: The Road to Sturgis in terms of graphics due to the Game Boy Color's hardware limitations, and only features four courses and four motorcycles compared to the six in the original Windows release.[7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings37%[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarHalf star[9]
CGSPHalf star[11]
GameFan51%[12]
GameSpot5.2/10[6]
IGN4.8/10[5]
Jeuxvideo.com5/20[13]
Nintendo Power(GBC) 5.4/10[14]
PC Gamer (UK)14%[16]

The PC version received unfavorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[8] Chris Gregson of GameSpot said, "Its uninspired arcade-style biking action doesn't come close to doing justice to the big-name license."[6] Vincent Lopez of IGN gave the same PC version a similarly negative review, criticizing the lackluster gameplay, along with the complex multiplayer and GPU configuration options menus which he viewed as being too complicated for its target audience.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Fudge, James (September 21, 1999). "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America Released". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524200207/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/023/008/harley_game.html. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  2. ↑ "Recently Released". November 21, 2000. http://gbstation.com/releases.html. 
  3. ↑ "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America (2000)" (in en). https://www.mobygames.com/game/203042/harley-davidson-race-across-america/. 
  4. ↑ "Xantara Company Profile". 2004-02-07. http://xantera.com/html/company_profile.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lopez, Vincent (October 4, 1999). "Harley Davidson : [sic Race Across America (PC)"]. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/10/04/harley-davidson-race-across-america-2. Retrieved July 16, 2017. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gregson, Chris (November 1, 1999). "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/harley-davidson-race-across-america-review/1900-2537431/. Retrieved July 11, 2017. 
  7. ↑ Nix, Marc (July 26, 2000). "Harley Davidson : [sic Race Across America (GBC; Preview)"]. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/27/harley-davidson-race-across-america. Retrieved July 16, 2017. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America for PC". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190607181934/https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/197524-harley-davidson-race-across-america/index.html. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Wigmore, Glenn. "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America (PC)". All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141115152438/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20470&tab=review. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  10. ↑ Goble, Gordon (October 28, 1999). "Harley Davidson: Race Across America (PC)". CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816095305/http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-3338,00.html. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Sones, Benjamin E. (October 8, 1999). "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America". Strategy Plus, Inc.. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030524203729/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/023/089/harleyd_review.html. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  12. ↑ "REVIEW for Harley-Davidson: Race Across America (PC)". GameFan (Shinno Media). October 5, 1999. 
  13. ↑ Kornifex (November 10, 1999). "Test: Harley Davidson: Race Across America (PC)" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00000336_test.htm. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  14. ↑ "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 139. December 2000. 
  15. ↑ Strauch, Joel (January 2000). "Harley Davidson: Race Across America". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (17): 78. https://archive.org/details/PCXL17Jan2000/page/n77/mode/2up. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  16. ↑ Pierce, Matthew (February 2000). "Harley-Davidson: Race Across America". PC Gamer UK (Future Publishing) (79). Archived from the original on January 11, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010111215900/http://www.pcgamer.co.uk/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=3604. Retrieved June 7, 2021. 
  • 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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