Software:Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade

From HandWiki
Short description: 1998 educational video game
Reader Rabbit's 1st Grade
Cover art
Developer(s)KnowWare
Publisher(s)The Learning Company
SeriesReader Rabbit
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh, Wii
ReleaseWin/Mac: January 14, 1998[1]
Wii: May 4, 2010
Genre(s)Edutainment
Mode(s)Single-player

Reader Rabbit's 1st Grade (known as Reader Rabbit Key Stage 1: Year 1 in the United Kingdom ) is an educational video game, part of the Reader Rabbit series, developed by KnowWare and published by The Learning Company on January 14, 1998. The game was re-released on the Nintendo Wii by Graffiti Entertainment on May 4, 2010.[2][3]

Plot

The Old Theatre has everything ready for a performance. However the porcupine Spike feels dissatisfied about not being the star of the show, so he takes and hides the musical instruments, costumes, scripts, props and other necessities so the performance cannot start. Reader Rabbit and his friends have only a number of hours to make preparations before tonight's performance.

Gameplay

The players encounter interesting characters and take part in educational activities through the game's point-and-click interface, with a goal being to get everything ready for the show. The game focuses on vocabulary, phonics, addition and subtraction.[4]

Commercial performance

The game was the second top-selling home education title across nine software retail chains (representing more than 40 percent of the U.S. market) in the week that ended on April 4, 1998.[5] It was also the seventh top-selling educational titles across 13 software chains (representing 57 percent of the U.S. market), for the week ending on March 20, 1999.[6]

Critical reception

Reception
Award
PublicationAward
Parents' ChoiceGold Award[7]

Common Sense Media said the game has a "nice mix of animation, song, and solid educational gaming",[8] and declared it the "top first-grade title".[9] Superkids deemed it "lightweight", "lively", and "entertaining".[10] Tech With Kids thought the activities were "supportive, funny, and always upbeat",[11] and described the learning activities as "fabulous".[12] Edutaining Kids wrote the game was highly entertaining and positively compared it to Reader Rabbit Reading Learning System.[13] Discovery School praised the game for its "exciting adventure storyline", "gorgeous cartoon world to explore", and "outstanding learning activities".[14] The Washington Post said "this title makes the grade", unlike other Reader Rabbit titles.[15] Reading Tutor said the game was a prime example of how Reader Rabbit puts educational games in the context of an interesting story line.[16] Jeffrey Kessler who worked as a Learning Specialist for the Reader Rabbit franchise described the game as a clever mix of math, reading, art and emotion rather than a year's curriculum.[17] During the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, the PC version received a nomination for "PC Edutainment Title of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[18]

In their review of the 2010 Nintendo Wii port of the game, USA Today thought the game wasn't perfect, as the controls of the point-and-click game were not well suited to the Wii remote, especially for children still developing their manual dexterity skills.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Reader Rabbit Keeps Hopping With New First Grade Multi-Subject Program From The Learning Company". January 14, 1998. Archived from the original on December 2, 1998. https://web.archive.org/web/19981202205529/http://www.learningco.com:80/news/news98/980114.htm. Retrieved June 4, 2022. 
  2. ↑ "Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade". https://www.metacritic.com/game/reader-rabbit-1st-grade/critic-reviews/?platform=wii. 
  3. ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/graffiti-entertainment-announces-reader-rabbit-1st-grade-2nd-grade-nintendo-wii-reach-pinksheets-sdvi-1506054.htm [|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  4. ↑ (in en) Working Mother. Working Mother Media. 1999-12-01. https://books.google.com/books?id=5aA1CjS2rMcC&q=%2522Reader%2520Rabbit%25201st%2520Grade%2522&pg=PT65. 
  5. ↑ BESTSELLERS. 1998-04-20. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-649265.html. 
  6. ↑ Bestsellers. 1999-04-05. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-586555.html. 
  7. ↑ "Parents' Choice Awards - Reader Rabbit: 1st Grade". 1998. http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=507. 
  8. ↑ "Reader Rabbit 1st Grade - Game Review". 27 May 2011. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/reader-rabbit-1st-grade. 
  9. ↑ "Reader Rabbit 1st Grade Learning System - Game Review". 12 October 2004. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/reader-rabbit-1st-grade-learning-system. 
  10. ↑ "SuperKids Software Review of Reader Rabbit's 1st Grade.". http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/multisub/1stgrade/1/rr1st/merge.shtml. 
  11. ↑ "Reader Rabbit 1st Grade (Wii) Review - TechWithKids.com". http://www.techwithkids.com/Review_SR00826S_reader-rabbit-1st-grade-wii. 
  12. ↑ "Reader Rabbit 1st Grade Learning System Review - TechWithKids.com". http://www.techwithkids.com/Review_SR00413S_reader-rabbit-1st-grade-learning-system. 
  13. ↑ "Reader Rabbit 1st Grade Children's Software Review". http://www.edutainingkids.com/reviews/rr1stcloud.html. 
  14. ↑ "DiscoverySchool.com - Review Corner". http://school.discoveryeducation.com/parents/reviewcorner/software/readerrabbit1stgradecapers.html. 
  15. ↑ INSTALL NOW?. 2001-09-07. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-473453.html. 
  16. ↑ Linge, Mary Kay (2000-01-01) (in en). Reading Tutor: How to Help Your First Or Second Grader Become Great at Reading. LearningExpress. ISBN 9781576853405. https://archive.org/details/readingtutorhowt0000ling. "%22Reader Rabbit 1st Grade%22." 
  17. ↑ "Thinking Like A Kid". 2001-01-31. http://www.baychi.org/calendar/files/mm200101web/mm200101web.pdf. 
  18. ↑ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Reader Rabbit's 1st Grade". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=1998&idGame=780. 
  19. ↑ "Reader Rabbit hops over to the Wii - USATODAY.com". http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2011-05-27-reader-rabbit-wii_n.htm. 
  • 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. 
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