Software:Prince of Persia 3D

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
"Prince of Persia 3" redirects here. For the third game in the Sands of Time series, see Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones.

Prince of Persia 3D
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Andrew Pedersen
Designer(s)Todd Kerpelman
Programmer(s)Peter Lipson
Artist(s)
  • Jacques Hennequet
  • Chris Grun
Writer(s)
  • John Morgan
  • Jordan Mechner
Composer(s)
  • Jonelle Adkisson
  • Greg Rahn
SeriesPrince of Persia
EngineNetImmerse
Platform(s)Windows, Dreamcast
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: September 17, 1999
  • EU: October 1, 1999
Dreamcast
  • NA: December 6, 2000
Genre(s)Action-adventure, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Prince of Persia 3D is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by Mindscape and published by Red Orb Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. A port for the Dreamcast was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive in North America the following year under the title Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights. It is the first 3D installment in the Prince of Persia series, and the final game in the trilogy that started with the original 1989 game. Taking the role of the titular unnamed character rescuing his bride from a monstrous suitor's schemes, the gameplay follows the Prince as he explores environments, platforming and solving puzzles while engaging in combat scenarios.

Production began in 1997 and lasted over two years. While series creator Jordan Mechner acted as a creative consultant and contributed to the narrative, he was mostly uninvolved. The visual design drew from Medieval Persia with added fantastical elements. A planned PlayStation port was cancelled in favour of the Dreamcast version. Reception of the title was mixed, with most of the criticism focusing on its gameplay and several bugs. Following its sale to Ubisoft, the series was rebooted under Mechner's guidance with 2003's Software:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Gameplay

Prince of Persia 3D is an action-adventure video game. The player controls the main protagonist, an unnamed Prince from a kingdom in Persia; the Prince is navigated through fifteen levels. Environments are seen through a fixed third-person view which tracks with the Prince's movements.[1][2] When the Prince is standing still, the player can take manual control of the camera to examine the environment.[2] The Prince is guided through levels using tank controls.[1][3] While exploring levels, he can jump across gaps and up onto platforms, climb up and explore along ledges, deal with traps, and swim through bodies of water.[2][4] Many puzzles found during levels, which must be solved to progress, involve activating levers and triggering pressure plates and switches.[5] Potions can be found through the environments, with effects ranging from replenishing and increasing health to turning invisible or curing poison.[1][4]

While exploring, the Prince can engage individual enemies in close-range combat with three weapon types; the sword, the spear or staff, a bow and twin blades. The bow can only be used outside normal combat to shoot enemies from a distance, and can also be used in some puzzle types.[1][5] The health of the Prince and their current opponent is shown along the bottom of the screen.[1] Combat is initiated when drawing a weapon with an enemy nearby, with the camera switching to a side perspective which adjusts with the Prince's movements.[2][5] While always facing the enemy, the Prince can move in any direction. During battle, the player can strike from both sides and above, block attacks, and feint a move to create an opening for an attack.[5] If a character's blow is blocked, then the attacker is stunned for a short time and the opponent can launch a faster counterattack.[1] Some scenarios in levels allow the Prince to either sneak past enemies or use environmental elements to kill them.[3] If the Prince runs out of health, the game ends and must be restarted either from a save point or the beginning of a level.[1]

Plot

The Sultan, together with the recently married Prince and Princess, visit the kingdom of his brother Assan south of Persia. During an entertainment, Assan's guards kill the Sultan's own guard and imprison the Prince. The Sultan had previously promised the Princess's hand to Assan's son Rugnor, a vow the Sultan broke when the Prince married her. The Prince escapes captivity and makes his way to the Sultan, who unsuccessfully attempts to persuade the Prince to give the Princess up. Assan attempts to kill the Prince, but kills the Sultan when he steps between them. The Sultan asks the Prince to save the Princess before he dies, and the Prince flees as Assan accuses the Prince of the Sultan's murder. Rugnor, revealed to be a half-human half-tiger creature, kidnaps the Princess and has multiple run-ins with the Prince. When the Princess refuses to yield to Rugnor, going as far as cutting off his hand with a sword, he decides to kill her by tying her to a large gear machine in his lair to crush her to death. The Prince arrives in time, killing Rugnor by knocking him into the gears and stopping the machine. The Prince then spirits the Princess away to an unknown destination.

Development

Prince of Persia 3D began active development in 1997 at Mindscape.[6] Preproduction had begun in April 1996 when the first proposals were made.[7] During its production period, the Prince of Persia brand changed ownership from Broderbund after the company was purchased by The Learning Company in mid-1998,[8] then by Mattel Interactive in December of that same year through a merger with The Learning Company.[9] The game was published under the Red Orb Entertainment brand, which was split away from Broderbund during the buyout and continued to support Mindscape.[6][10] Series creator Jordan Mechner was brought in as a creative consultant, and co-authored the scenario; the cutscene dialogue was written by John Morgan.[1][11] Mechner was brought on board after finishing work on The Last Express.[12] He never felt connected to the project, saying that it was always the brainchild of producer Andrew Pederson. He described his role as simply giving the go-ahead, and being brought in to consult on proposed mechanics.[11] Mechner disliked the project as it evolved, seeing as little more than a clone of Tomb Raider, which was very popular at the time.[13] He also felt a disconnect with the Prince character, as executive pressure had forced the Prince into becoming a character he barely recognised.[14] Around 20 people worked on the game, plus a few contractors in Canada helping out on cutscenes.[15]

During the design phase, the team put a lot of effort into creating the narrative and the environmental design.[7] Environments and architecture, together with enemy designs, drew inspiration from the history and religion of Medieval Persia.[7][16] The storyline itself was meant to emulate the style of One Thousand and One Nights.[7] Much of the architecture was based on Persia during the 9th and 12th century, with the team consulting Mechner with incorporating "more contemporary" traps.[17][16] The game's characters and enemies were worked on by artist Chris Grun, who was described by Mechner as someone who was "not Disney, not realistic, just Prince of Persia". Grun drew inspiration for his designs from the work of Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen, who created illustrations for One Thousand and One Nights, and the work of artist Edmond de Lack. In portraying different cultures, he was directly inspired by the conflicts caused by the spread of Islam through the region.[12]

The battle sequences drew inspiration both from earlier Prince of Persia titles, and other titles including Bushido Blade.[16] The more realistic fighting was influenced by the two weapon and fighting consultants hired for the project, one involved with weapon props for movies (Richard Pallaziol) and the other an ex-Marine. The two were filmed acting out fighting moves, which were then mimicked inside the game environment. For the Prince's athletics, the team had an Olympic gymnast perform them on camera, then they used the footage to replicate the actions in-game.[17] This style, while not true motion capture, was a style similar to Mechner's rotoscoping technique for the original Prince of Persia titles.[6]

The game used the third-party NetImmerse game engine, with character animation and AI behaviour handled by Motion Factory's Motivate middleware system.[16][18] The team considered creating their own game engine during early production, but settled on third-party software so they could focus on game development.[16] NetImmerse was used to manage polygon models and particle effects, while Motivate was used for animation development. Other actions and elements were otherwise handled by the in-house programming team.[16] The engine's versatility allowed the developers to create both indoor and outdoor environments without many restrictions.[6] Further graphical elements included warping polygon models to allow actions such as the Prince's breathing to be visible.[19] Several different graphical options were supported, and 3D acceleration was a requirement for the title.[17][20] The music was co-composed by Tom Rettig, Jonelle Adkisson and Greg Rahn.[1]

Release

Prince of Persia 3D was announced by Broderbund in April 1998, planned for a release in "early 1999". It was later shown off at that year's E3.[21] As part of the promotion, a developer's blog was originally operated on the game's website, although due to workload the blog was not greatly expanded.[20] The game was released for Microsoft Windows[22] in North America on September 17, 1999, followed by Europe on October 1.[23][24] Multiple patches were released for the game over the following weeks, focusing on fixing reported bugs.[25]

The port of Prince of Persia 3D for the Dreamcast was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive.[22][26] For the port, the game was retitled Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights.[27] The Dreamcast version was released in North America on December 6, 2000.[28] A port was also being developed for the PlayStation, based on the PC version and featuring gameplay alterations to appeal to fans of action games; however, the port was cancelled so staff could focus on the Dreamcast port.[26]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
DreamcastPC
CGSPN/A3/5[32]
CGWN/A3.5/5[33]
Consoles +78%[34]N/A
EdgeN/A5/10[35]
EGM2/10 4/10 6/10[36]N/A
GamePro[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
GameRevolutionN/AC−[39]
GameSpotN/A6/10[2]
GameSpyN/A79%[40]
IGN7.1/10[41]8.2/10[5]
Next GenerationN/A4/5[42]
PC Gamer (US)N/A70%[44]
PC PowerPlayN/A65%[3]
Dreamcast Magazine54%[45]N/A
Official Dreamcast Magazine (US)3/10[46]N/A
Aggregate scores
GameRankings61%[29]64%[30]
Metacritic58/100[28]N/A

The Dreamcast version received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[28] In retrospective opinions from Mechner and game journalists, Prince of Persia 3D is considered one of the weakest titles in the series and a key reason for a growing lack of interest from the gaming community.[13][14][47][48]

IGN praised the PC version's unique score, fluid animations and well made graphics, and the jumping mechanics.[5] GameSpot criticised the same version's rough character models, difficult camera effects, and unresponsive controls, but praised the action.[2] John Lee of NextGen gave a positive review to the PC version of the game, but noted the controls as "sluggish" and the occasional problems with the camera.[42] Peter Olafson of GamePro was generally positive to the PC version of the game, but was critical to the controls and camera.[38] Later, however, Dr. Zombie called the Dreamcast version a "solid fun for Dreamcast, providing a good mix of action with challenging puzzle solving", but deemed it inferior compared to other adventure games such as Software:Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.[37]

Legacy

Main article: Software:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Following the poor performance of Prince of Persia 3D, Mechner distanced himself from the video game industry, feeling burned out and disconnected from the series.[14][49] In 2001, Mattel sold off The Learning Company's entertainment division, which included rights to the Prince of Persia series catalogue, to Ubisoft.[50][51] At that time, Mechner retained the IP rights, and Ubisoft contacted him about rebooting the series.[51] While Mechner was reluctant, Ubisoft won him over and he decided to start over with both the series and its lead character.[13] That reboot, Software:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, was released in 2003 to commercial success and positive reviews.[13][48] The game saw multiple sequels, and is cited as the reason players and critics returned to the Prince of Persia series following Prince of Persia 3D.[14][47][52][48]

Notes

  1. ↑ Graphics: 4/5, Sound: 4/5, Control: 4/5, Fun Factor: 4/5[37]
  2. ↑ Graphics: 4/5, Sound: 3/5, Control: 2.5/5, Fun Factor: 3.5/5[38]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Prince of Persia 3D User Manual. Red Orb Entertainment. 1999. https://archive.org/details/PrinceOfPersia3DUsersManual/mode/2up. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dulin, Ron (17 September 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D Review". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/prince-of-persia-3d-review/1900-2545864/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wildgoose, David (December 1999). "Review: Prince of Persia 3D". PC PowerPlay (Next Media Pty Ltd) (43): 74–75. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-043-1999-12/page/n73/mode/2up. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Olafson, Peter (22 October 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D fulfills its heritage". http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9910/22/prince.of.persia.idg/index.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Ward, Trent C. (24 September 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/09/25/prince-of-persia-3d-2. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Moltenbrey, Karen (October 1999). "All The Right Moves". Computer Graphics World (PennWell) 22 (10): 28–32. https://archive.org/details/cgw_1999-10/page/n29/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Making of Prince of Persia 3D". p. 1. http://www.pop3d.com/html/mak/mak.html. 
  8. ↑ Pelline, Jeff (22 June 1998). "The Learning Co. buys Broderbund". Red Ventures. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/the-learning-co-buys-broderbund/. 
  9. ↑ Dignan, Larry (14 December 1998). "Mattel/The Learning Co. in $3.8B merger". Red Ventures. https://www.zdnet.com/article/mattelthe-learning-co-in-3-8b-merger/. 
  10. ↑ Dunkin, Alan (2 October 1998). "Red Orb Stays With Mindscape". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/red-orb-stays-with-mindscape/1100-2465105/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "18: Jordan Mechner". Game Design, Theory and Practice (2 ed.). Jones and Bartlett Publishers. September 2004. ISBN 978-1-55622-912-1. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "NG Alpha: Prince of Persia 3D". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (40): 71–76. May 1998. https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_41/page/n71/mode/2up. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Rouse III, Richard (24 December 2004). "Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner'". Informa. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2180/game_design_theory__practice_.php. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Mechner, Jordan; Sina, A. B. (27 April 2010). "Afterword by Jordan Mechner". Prince of Persia: The Graphic Novel. First Second Books. pp. 193–199. ISBN 978-1-59643-602-2. 
  15. ↑ "Prince of Persia 3D Interview". http://www.gemonthly.com/features/pop3d_interview/index2.htm. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 "Inside Prince of Persia". Imagine Media. 6 July 1998. http://www.next-generation.com/jsmid/news/3876.html. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Prince of Persia 3D Interview". 1999. http://www.gemonthly.com/features/pop3d_interview/index.htm. 
  18. ↑ "Today's Top Gaming News – Prince Of Persia Engine Selected". 4 May 1998. http://www.fgnonline.com/archives/1998-05-04.html. 
  19. ↑ "Making of Prince of Persia 3D". p. 3. http://www.pop3d.com/html/mak/mak_sub03.html. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Making of Prince of Persia 3D". p. 4. http://www.pop3d.com/html/mak/mak_sub04.html. 
  21. ↑ "The Prince Returns – Red Orb Entertainment™ Confirms Internal Development Team Creating Prince of Persia® 3D". 15 April 1998. http://www.pop3d.com/press.html. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Gantayat, Anoop (11 April 2000). "Prince of Persia 3D Confirmed For Dreamcast". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/11/prince-of-persia-3d-confirmed-for-dreamcast. 
  23. ↑ IGN staff (17 September 1999). "News Briefs". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/09/18/news-briefs-106. 
  24. ↑ "Gone Gold: EuroGold". 2001-02-10. http://www.gonegold.com/golden/eurogold99.shtml. 
  25. ↑ "Prince of Persia 3D – Patches". http://www.pop3d.com/html/dow/patch.html. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Video Game Graveyard – Sony PlayStation". CNET. 2000. p. 10. http://videogames.gamespot.com/features/universal/graveyard/sony10_01.html. 
  27. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (28 July 2000). "Prince of Persia Gets a New Identity". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/28/prince-of-persia-gets-a-new-identity. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 "Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights for Dreamcast Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/prince-of-persia-arabian-nights/critic-reviews/?platform=dreamcast. 
  29. ↑ "Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights for Dreamcast". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/914323-prince-of-persia-arabian-nights/index.html. 
  30. ↑ "Prince of Persia 3D for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/56700-prince-of-persia-3d/index.html. 
  31. ↑ Chick, Tom (30 September 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0%2C6%2C0-3210%2C00.html. 
  32. ↑ Bauman, Steve (26 September 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/023/030/princep3d_review.html. 
  33. ↑ Ardai, Charles (December 1999). "Third Person Singular (Prince of Persia 3D Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (185): 124, 126. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_185.pdf. Retrieved 14 June 2022. 
  34. ↑ Toxic (February 2001). "Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights" (in fr). Consoles + (109): 104. https://archive.org/details/ConsolesPlus_109/page/n103/mode/2up. Retrieved September 2, 2025. 
  35. ↑ Edge staff (November 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". Edge (Future Publishing) (78): 80. https://retrocdn.net/images/c/c7/Edge_UK_078.pdf. Retrieved 14 June 2022. 
  36. ↑ Boyer, Cripsin; Lockhart, Ryan; Mielke, James "Milkman" (March 2001). "Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights (DC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (140). http://www.zdnet.com/egm/stories/main/0,11589,2675789,00.html. Retrieved 30 April 2014. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Dr. Zombie (February 2001). "Prince of Persia [Arabian Nights"]. GamePro (IDG) (149): 81. https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:GamePro_US_149.pdf&page=83. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Olafson, Peter (20 October 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG). http://www.gamepro.com/computer/pc/games/reviews/2536.shtml. Retrieved 29 April 2014. 
  39. ↑ Liu, Johnny (October 1999). "Prince of Persia [3D – PC Review"]. CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/32788-prince-of-persia-review-2. 
  40. ↑ Madigan, Jamie (4 October 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". IGN Entertainment. http://www.gamespy.com/legacy/reviews/pop3d_a.shtm. 
  41. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (20 December 2000). "Arabian Nights: Prince of Persia [sic"]. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/20/arabian-nights-prince-of-persia. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Lee, John (December 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". NextGen (Imagine Media) (60): 116. https://archive.org/details/NextGen60Dec1999/page/n117/mode/2up. 
  43. ↑ Osborn, Chuck (December 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (16): 83. https://archive.org/details/PCXL16Dec1999/page/n85/mode/2up. Retrieved 14 June 2022. 
  44. ↑ Poole, Stephen (December 1999). "Prince of Persia 3D". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (12). http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/archives/review_2000-08-16aq.html. Retrieved 29 April 2014. 
  45. ↑ Griffin, Simon (September 2001). "Arabian Knights: Prince of Persia 3D". Dreamcast Magazine (26): 44–45. https://archive.org/details/dreamcastmagazine26/mode/2up. Retrieved September 2, 2025. 
  46. ↑ Chen, Dave (March 2001). "Prince of Persia: Arabian Knights". Official Dreamcast Magazine (12): 58. https://archive.org/details/Official_Dreamcast_Magazine_The_Issue_12_2001-03_Imagine_Publishing_US/mode/2up. Retrieved September 2, 2025. 
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Mclaughlin, Rus; Collura, Scot (18 May 2010). "IGN Presents The History of Prince of Persia". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/05/18/ign-presents-the-history-of-prince-of-persia. 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 GameTrailers (November 21, 2005). Prince of Persia Retrospective. YouTube (Video). Google. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  49. ↑ Keighley, Geoff (10 November 2003). "The Final Hours of Prince of Persia". Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-final-hours-of-prince-of-persia/1100-6079652/. 
  50. ↑ "The Learning Company Is Profitable 75 Days After Purchase From Mattel; Agrees To Sell Its Non-Core Entertainment Division To Ubi Soft Entertainment". 5 March 2001. http://www.gores.com/pressreleases/the-learning-company-is-profitable-75-days-after-purchase-from-mattel-agrees-to-sell-its-non-core-entertainment-division-to-ubi-soft-entertainment/. 
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Mallat, Yannis. "Postmortem: Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". Game Developer (UBM TechWeb) (April 2004): 48–51. http://graphics.cs.williams.edu/courses/cs12/reading/SandsOfTimePostmortem.pdf. 
  52. ↑ Edge staff (29 July 2006). "The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century". Edge (Future plc). http://www.next-gen.biz/features/the-top-100-games-21st-century?page=0%2C1. Retrieved 2 July 2015. 
  • 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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