Software:Mario's Tennis

From HandWiki
Short description: 1995 video game
Mario's Tennis
North American box art
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Tose
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Masao Yamamoto
Hitoshi Yamagami
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi
Composer(s)Hitoshi Fukushima
Morihito Iwamoto
SeriesMario Tennis
Platform(s)Virtual Boy
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single player

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a 1995 sports game developed by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy video game console. The game was released at the launch of the Virtual Boy, and later as a pack-in game in North America.

Gameplay

Mario prepares to serve (screenshot taken from an emulator without 3D display).

Mario's Tennis is a sports game in which the player controls one of seven different Mario characters and engages in tennis matches.[2] The action on the court is viewed from directly behind the player character from a third person perspective. The Virtual Boy's stereoscopic 3D graphics allow the player to perceive depth within the tennis court, allowing for better perception in the distance between a tennis ball and the respective character.[1] Unlike later entries in the Mario Tennis series, which added gameplay elements not present in traditional tennis, such as "power up items", special "power shots", or external obstacles interfering with the game, Mario's Tennis simply focuses on tennis fundamentals.[1][3]

Mario's Tennis supports a number of different game modes and customization options. The player may choose one of seven Mario characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, Toad, and Donkey Kong Jr., all with differing attributes in regards to "speed", "power" or "racket area".[2] Either a single game, or a three-game tournament mode may be chosen, both having the option to play either singles or doubles matches on easy, normal, or hard difficulties.[2] Although a two-player function was announced, it was not implemented since the cable required to link two Virtual Boy units was never released.[4]

Development

The game initially had a working title of Mario's Dream Tennis upon its announcement.[5] The game was developed by Nintendo R&D1, with director Gunpei Yokoi, the same team that was responsible for the development of the Virtual Boy.[6] His success with the Game Boy line of systems, coupled with the public's general belief that it was too early for the next generation of systems, due to the failure of systems such as the 3DO and the Atari Jaguar, lead the team to brainstorm on different approaches that could be taken.[6] The team came up with a system that used stereoscopic 3D images to display conventional 2D graphics, the Virtual Boy being the result of the hardware end, and Mario's Tennis and Mario Clash the end results of the software end.[6] It was one of the four launch games that were released alongside the console[7] and the console's pack-in game in North America.[4][8] Like all other Virtual Boy games, Mario's Tennis uses a red-and-black color scheme and uses parallax, an optical trick that is used to simulate a 3D effect.[9]

Reception

The game received generally mixed reviews from critics. A common complaint cited by reviewers was the fact that it was a tennis/sports game that lacked a multiplayer mode.[1][10] Famicom Tsūshin scored the game a 26 out of 40.[11] Next Generation awarded the game three out of five stars. A writer for the magazine commented, "[I]f you're looking for an addictive title to play on your Virtual Boy, this is one of the best choices you can make."[12] GamePro remarked that "Mario's Tennis commits a fault only with its simplistic music and effects", applauding the impressive 3D visuals, exceptionally large variety of moves for a tennis game, and challenging opponents.[13] They later awarded it Best Virtual Boy Game of 1995.[14]

In a retrospective review 1UP.com praised the game's 3D effects, but criticized the game's lack of a multiplayer mode, or much to actually accomplish in the single player mode.[10] Nintendo Life gave the game a 7 out of 10 stars, calling it a "solid, if simple, tennis game" that possessed "Good music and graphics combined with...excellent 3D effect", though they too felt the game was held back by a lack of multiplayer mode, and a lack of characters, which led to the tournaments being too short.[1] IGN's Patrick Kolan compared the game to Wii Sports, another one of Nintendo's pack-in games for one of its consoles, the Wii, in that it showed off the system's unique strengths, but suffered in regards to non-impressive graphics and a lack of long-term game content.[15] GamesRadar echoed these sentiments, stating "Gameplay was rudimentary, and lacked all the flash and silliness that came to define the Mario Sports series, but as a 3D showpiece it worked fairly well".[3] The Rome News-Tribune referred to Mario's Tennis as "the only (...) decent stab at tennis" prior to the release of Sega's 2000 Dreamcast game Virtua Tennis.[16]

Legacy

Mario's Tennis started the Mario Tennis series of video games,[4] and has been credited as being the game that started up the sports-related sub-series of Mario video games in general.[3][17]

See also

  • List of Virtual Boy games
  • Mario Clash – another Mario game for the Virtual Boy by the same development team

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) Review". April 8, 2009. http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/04/marios_tennis_retro. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Alan, Scott (2010-10-03). "Mario's Tennis – Overview". allgame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2711&tab=overview. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brett Elston on June 23, 2012 (2012-06-23). "Page 2 – Nine Virtual Boy games the 3DS can completely redeem". GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/nine-virtual-boy-games-the-3ds-can-completely-redeem/?page=2. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Stevens, Tim (21 March 2011). "Nintendo Virtual Boy review". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2011/03/21/nintendo-virtual-boy-review/. 
  5. ↑ "Mario's Tennis (VB / Virtual Boy) News, Reviews, Trailer & Screenshots". Nintendolife.com. http://www.nintendolife.com/games/virtualboy/marios_tennis. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Nintendo's Portable History: Part 3, Virtual Boy | DS". Pocket Gamer. 11 February 2009. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/DS/History+of+Nintendo/feature.asp?c=11512. 
  7. ↑ Plante, Chris (13 August 2010). "10 Lessons the Virtual Boy Can Teach the Nintendo 3DS". UGO Networks. http://www.ugo.com/games/ten-lessons-from-virtual-boy-to-nintendo-3ds. 
  8. ↑ "Virtual Boy: Nintendo Names the Day". Next Generation (8): 18. August 1995. https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-008/page/n19/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ "Backwards Compatible: The Virtual Boy". Good Game. 2009-06-01. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/stories/s2585841.htm. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "25 Years of Super Mario Sports: A Retrospective from". http://www.1up.com/features/25-years-super-mario-sports?pager.offset=2. 
  11. ↑ NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: マリオズテニス. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.347. Pg.29. 11 August 1995.
  12. ↑ "Mario's Dream Tennis". Next Generation (9): 93. September 1995. https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-009/page/n93/mode/2up. 
  13. ↑ "ProReview: Mario's Tennis". GamePro (IDG) (85): 100. October 1995. https://retrocdn.net/images/c/c1/GamePro_US_075.pdf. Retrieved 2020-09-11. 
  14. ↑ "Editor's Choice Awards 1995". GamePro (IDG) (89): 26. February 1996. https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_079_February_1996/page/n27/mode/2up. 
  15. ↑ "Retro: Virtual Boy's Best Games". 15 January 2008. http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/01/15/ign-retro-virtual-boys-best-games. 
  16. ↑ Mayhew, Malcolm (September 23, 2000). "Finally, a good tennis video game". Rome News Tribune. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fmNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WEUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6735,7627071&dq=mario's-tennis+virtual-boy&hl=en. 
  17. ↑ "Laying the Virtual Boy to Rest". 2011-08-15. http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/08/16/laying-the-virtual-boy-to-rest. 

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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