Software:Reader Rabbit Preschool: Sparkle Star Rescue

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Short description: 2001 educational video game
Reader Rabbit Preschool:
Sparkle Star Rescue
File:300px
Cover art
Developer(s)The Learning Company
Publisher(s)The Learning Company
SeriesReader Rabbit
Platform(s)Mac OS X, Windows, Wii
ReleaseJune 27, 2001[1]
Genre(s)Educational
Mode(s)Single-player

Reader Rabbit Preschool: Sparkle Star Rescue is a game in the Reader Rabbit series by The Learning Company. The title was released in 2001.[1] The game is recommended for ages 3–6.[2][3] The game teaches "shape and size recognition, letter recognition and listening", among other skills, including maths-related ones.[4] The game was also released for the Nintendo Wii by Graffiti Entertainment, simply titled Reader Rabbit Preschool.

Plot

Somewhere in the night sky, Reader Rabbit's Dreamship is being pursued by the Pirats in their ship, but manage to lose them. Reader and his friends notice that the stars in the sky are disappearing. They are met by a firefly named Spark who tells them that the crater of Mount Brill in Sparkalot is blocked by a crashed Pirat ship. With Mount Brill blocked, new stars cannot appear in the sky. In order to remove the Pirat ship, Reader and Sam have to collect brillites.

Development

Artist Fred Dinada aided by Carla Cruttendan created new colourful characters for the game the firefly Spark and the glowworm Sparklers. Many of Fred's sketches did not make it into the game and ended up becoming artwork in his next project Starflyers.[5]

Critical reception

Tech With Kids said the game "cleverly interweaves innovative activities into an interesting storyline".[6] Superkids wrote that the game was a "wonderfully designed program".[7] Edutaining Kids praised the "fun, bright graphics",[8] though said that it was the "weakest title of the bunch" of Reader Rabbit games they reviewed.[9] New Straight Times commended the game for its animation and songs.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "TLC releases four new Reader Rabbit titles for kids". 2001-06-27. http://www.macworld.com/article/1018222/reader.html. 
  2. ↑ "Technology in Early Childhood Literacy Development: Family Literacy and Technology". New England Reading Association Journal. 2003-09-01. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-547398731.html. 
  3. ↑ "The Learning Company Ships State-of-the-Art Reader Rabbit CD-ROM Adventures. - Free Online Library". http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Learning+Company+Ships+State-of-the-Art+Reader+Rabbit+CD-ROM...-a075941759. 
  4. ↑ New games will have you and the kids on cloud nine. (Arts and Lifestyle). 2001-08-26. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77547209.html. 
  5. ↑ "An Interview with Fred Dianda". 22 July 2017. https://odysseynerds.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/an-interview-with-fred-dianda/. 
  6. ↑ "Reader Rabbit Preschool: Sparkle Star Rescue! Review - TechWithKids.com". http://www.techwithkids.com/Review_SR00149S_reader-rabbit-preschool-sparkle-star-rescue. 
  7. ↑ "SuperKids Software Review of Reader Rabbit Preschool Sparkle Star Rescue!". http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/multisub/preschoo/rrpressr/merge.shtml. 
  8. ↑ "Article: Preschool Educational Software Comparison". http://www.edutainingkids.com/articles/artpreschoolsoftware.html. 
  9. ↑ "Article: Get Hopping with Reader Rabbit Software". http://www.edutainingkids.com/articles/artreaderrabbitsoft.html. 
  10. ↑ Selecting educational software. 2003-03-27. https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-82767064.html. 
  • 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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