Software:Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy

From HandWiki
Short description: 2002 video game
Sherlock Holmes:
The Mystery of the Mummy
European cover art
Developer(s)Frogwares
Publisher(s)Wanadoo
The Adventure Company
Frogwares
SeriesSherlock Holmes
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS
ReleaseWindows
  • EU: December 29, 2002
Nintendo DS
  • AU: May 15, 2009
  • EU: May 22, 2009
  • NA: July 13, 2009
Genre(s)Adventure

Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy is an adventure game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Frogwares and released in 2002. The player controls Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he investigates the mysteriously abandoned mansion of British archeologist Lord Montcalfe. It is the first in the Sherlock Holmes series of adventure games developed by Frogwares and Viva Media, and was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2009.

According to Frogwares, Mystery of the Mummy was a surprise hit for the team and sold roughly 1 million units by 2013.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

The original version of the game is played from a first person perspective. The locations are rendered in three dimensions using pre-rendered backgrounds and feature limited movement; the player uses the mouse to move between a series of set positions in the environment. The player collects a series of items as they move through the gameworld, and a notepad records notes and papers which have been found. These items are pieces of information are used to solve a series of puzzles.

The Nintendo DS port of Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy is again played from a first-person perspective, using pre-rendered backgrounds to present a three-dimensional environment. The player uses the stylus both for interacting with objects in the environment and for movement. The two screens are used to display the environment and Holmes's inventory; the player can switch these depending on which they wish to interact with. The majority of the puzzles are based around opening locked doors, which require the collection of items which must be placed in sequence in order to proceed.


Reception

Sales

According to Olga Ryzhko of Frogwares, Mystery of the Mummy was a surprise hit for the company.[2] In North America, it achieved sales of 44,179 retail units during the year 2003,[3] with another 5,076 during the first two months of 2004.[4] Frogwares president Waël Amr said in August 2004 that the game had performed "extremely well" overall.[5] By late 2006, the game and its sequel, Secret of the Silver Earring, had reached combined sales above 500,000 copies in Europe.[6] The first four Sherlock Holmes titles from Frogwares—Mummy, Silver Earring, The Awakened and Nemesis—totaled roughly 1.5 million global sales by February 2009.[7]

In 2013, Ryzhko reported that Mystery of the Mummy's computer version alone had sold "around a million units worldwide".[2]

Critical reviews

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PC) 63.17%[8]
(DS) 51.80%[9]
Metacritic(PC) 61/100[10]
(DS) 57/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure GamersStarStarHalf star[12][13]
GameSpot5.4/10[14]
GameZone6/10[15]
IGN6.5/10[16]
PC Gamer (US)55%[17]
The Electric Playground6/10[18]

The game was met with mixed reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it 63.17% and 61 out of 100 for the PC version,[8][10] and 51.80% and 57 out of 100 for the DS version respectively.[9][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Parker, Sam (December 10, 2002). "Adventure Company unwraps mummy mystery". http://www.gamespot.com/articles/adventure-company-unwraps-mummy-mystery/1100-2901442/. Retrieved December 18, 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wingfield-Bennett, Kristian (May 8, 2013). "Developer Interview: Frogwares". ThisIsXbox. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130704031655/http://www.thisisxbox.com/360/developer-interview-frogwares. 
  3. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2004). "Sales December 2003 - The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040411223950/http://www.justadventure.com/articles/State_of_Adventure_Gaming/March2004/Dec03ret_gam.shtm. 
  4. ↑ Staff. "Total Sales for Jan/Feb 2004". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040411164609/http://justadventure.com/articles/State_of_Adventure_Gaming/Feb04/Sales_JanFeb2004.shtm. 
  5. ↑ Feuerstein, Michael (August 12, 2004). "Interviews: Waël Amr". Adventure-Treff. Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070820085107/http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/interviews.php?id=25&lang=eng. 
  6. ↑ "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Frogwares. Archived from the original on November 30, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061130233925/http://www.sherlockholmes-thegame.com/lejeu/lejeu.htm. 
  7. ↑ "Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper" (Press release). GamesIndustry.biz. February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The Mystery of the Mummy for PC". http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/563611-the-mystery-of-the-mummy/index.html. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy for DS". http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/951665-sherlock-holmes-mystery-of-the-mummy/index.html. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The Mystery of the Mummy for PC Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/sherlock-holmes-the-mystery-of-the-mummy/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy for DS Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/sherlock-holmes-the-mystery-of-the-mummy/critic-reviews/?platform=ds. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  12. ↑ Fournier, Heidi (February 14, 2003). "Mystery of the Mummy review (PC)". http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17589. Retrieved December 18, 2014. 
  13. ↑ Jones, Mark (September 7, 2009). "Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy (DS) review". http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18337. Retrieved December 18, 2014. 
  14. ↑ Park, Andrew (February 3, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy Review (PC)". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-mystery-of-the-mummy-review/1900-2910087/. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  15. ↑ Raymond, Justin (March 4, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy - PC - Review". Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080224010031/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r21324.htm. Retrieved December 18, 2014. 
  16. ↑ Krause, Staci (February 12, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy (PC)". Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130613054409/http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/02/12/the-mystery-of-the-mummy. Retrieved December 17, 2014. 
  17. ↑ "Mystery of the Mummy". PC Gamer: 94. May 2003. 
  18. ↑ James, Bonnie (February 20, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on January 31, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040131155616/http://elecplay.com/review.html?article=10717. 
  • Official website
  • 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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