Software:Showdown: Legends of Wrestling

From HandWiki
Short description: 2004 video game
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
Cover art featuring Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, André the Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Developer(s)Acclaim Studios Austin
Publisher(s)Acclaim Entertainment
SeriesLegends of Wrestling
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is a professional wrestling video game developed by Acclaim Studios Austin and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. It is the sequel to the 2002 video game Legends of Wrestling II. A GameCube version of the game was also planned, but was cancelled. Showdown is the third and final game in the Legends of Wrestling video game series. It was the last game developed by the Austin studio prior to its closure later that year, and the last game released by Acclaim Entertainment in North America.

Roster

The game features a variety of legendary professional wrestlers featured in previous games, including André the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Eddie Guerrero. Wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam depart the series, and are replaced with the likes of Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, Randy Savage and more.

A significant addition for Showdown: Legends of Wrestling was the inclusion of Ultimate Warrior who had been in legal disputes with WWE and successfully had his likeness excluded from WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain the previous year. Also noteworthy is the absence of two Von Erich brothers, Mike and David, who were in both previous Legends of Wrestling games.

Some minor new features included a tribute to deceased legendary wrestlers as well as a tutorial fully narrated by Bret Hart.

New Legends

  • "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
  • Diamond Dallas Page
  • "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
  • Jake "The Snake" Roberts
  • Nikita Koloff
  • "The Macho Man" Randy Savage
  • "Ravishing" Rick Rude
  • Sting
  • Ultimate Warrior

Returning Legends

  • Hulk Hogan
  • Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
  • The Road Warriors
  • Bret "Hitman" Hart
  • Owen Hart
  • "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
  • The Iron Sheik
  • Mr. Fuji
  • Terry Funk
  • Don Muraco
  • Jerry "The King" Lawler
  • George "The Animal" Steele
  • "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas
  • Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
  • Nikolai Volkoff
  • The Nasty Boys
  • Ted DiBiase
  • Tito Santana
  • King Kong Bundy
  • Koko B. Ware
  • One Man Gang
  • Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
  • Harley Race
  • "Soulman" Rocky Johnson
  • The Steiner Brothers
  • Eddie Guerrero
  • Dynamite Kid
  • Ricky Morton
  • Robert Gibson
  • "Flyin'" Brian Pillman
  • "Superstar" Billy Graham
  • "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert
  • Rick Martel
  • Ivan Koloff
  • Ivan Putski
  • "Cowboy" Bob Orton
  • The Sheik
  • Kerry Von Erich
  • Fritz Von Erich
  • Kevin Von Erich
  • Dory Funk, Jr.
  • Sabu
  • "Captain" Lou Albano
  • "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Music

The theme music in the last two games was composed by "The Mouth of The South" Jimmy Hart. Hart appears as a playable character in all three games. He also composed some of the theme music for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment. The 1983 song "Metal Health" by Quiet Riot is used in promo videos for the game and is played at the main menu and Create-a-Legend screens.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PS2Xbox
EGM3/10[2]3/10[2]
Game Informer6/10[3]6/10[3]
GameProStarStarStarStar[4]StarStarStarStar[4]
GameSpot6.5/10[5]6.5/10[5]
GameSpyStarStar[6]StarStar[6]
GameZone5/10[7]6.5/10[8]
IGN5.9/10[9]5.9/10[9]
OPM (US)StarHalf star[10]N/A
OXM (US)N/A5.9/10[11]
X-PlayStarStar[12]N/A
Aggregate score
Metacritic55/100[13]57/100[14]

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13][14]

Xbox Nation called it "a steaming doodie. With extra stank on it."[15] Consumer reaction was negative too, though not excessively so, primarily tempered by the stellar roster available in the game. The inclusion of former WCW commentary team of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Tony Schiavone, "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko and ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta was welcomed. The commentary system turned out to be a failure, however, being unsophisticated and repetitive. It has arguably the best roster of popular 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s pro-wrestlers, including many 'legends' who didn't appear in the first two games.

The game was riddled with many serious bugs, glitches, crashes, and lock-ups. This suggested that Showdown: LoW was a rushed product with little attention to quality assurance on Acclaim's part. Other major negative aspects of the game are terribly lacking opponent AI, sluggish character movement, and clumsy game controls. Errors and omissions in the accompanying instruction booklet compounded this. The game's box also advertised commentary from Jerry "The King" Lawler which also was omitted from the game.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "acclaim.com > press releases > Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Ships". 2004-08-12. http://www.acclaim.com/company/pressReleases/product/ShowdownShips.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 EGM staff (September 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". Electronic Gaming Monthly (182): 99. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Zoss, Jeremy (August 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". Game Informer (136): 96. http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/3D18102E-0502-48DE-B869-8EF454476107.htm. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tokyo Drifter (June 23, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050209083424/http://gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/36198.shtml. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Navarro, Alex (June 22, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/showdown-legends-of-wrestling-review/1900-6101134/. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Leeper, Justin (June 24, 2004). "GameSpy: Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 16, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051216073332/http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/showdown-legends-of-wrestling/526166p1.html. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  7. ↑ The Bearer (August 19, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling – PS2 – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080226022803/http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r23248.htm. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  8. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (July 18, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling – XB – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080315223833/http://xbox.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r23248.htm. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dunham, Jeremy (June 23, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/06/23/showdown-legends-of-wrestling. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  10. ↑ "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 93. August 2004. 
  11. ↑ "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling". Official Xbox Magazine: 83. August 2004. 
  12. ↑ Speer, Justin (July 19, 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Review (PS2)". X-Play. Archived from the original on August 10, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040810003349/http://www.g4techtv.com/feature.aspx?article_key=47759. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/showdown-legends-of-wrestling/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/showdown-legends-of-wrestling/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. Retrieved February 24, 2015. 
  15. ↑ Orlando, Greg (September 2004). "Showdown: Legends of Wrestling – Wrestling for dummies". Xbox Nation (18): 89. 
  16. ↑ "Showdown - Legends of Wrestling (Xbox) - Review - Show this the door". http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/xbox-game/showdown-legends-of-wrestling/1027325/. 
  • 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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