Software:Smarty Pants

From HandWiki
Short description: 2007 video game
Smarty Pants
Developer(s)Planet Moon Studios
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Platform(s)Wii
Release
  • NA: November 13, 2007
  • AU: November 22, 2007
  • EU: November 23, 2007
Genre(s)Quiz
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Smarty Pants: Trivia Fun for Everyone is a quiz video game by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Wii video game console in November 2007.[1] The title features over 20,000 trivia questions covering a variety of topics.

Gameplay

When setting up a game (using existing Miis if desired), players input their ages, allowing the title to tailor the trivia questions to fit the age of the players.


During typical competitive play, players attempt to answer multiple choice questions before others by quickly "buzzing in". While the question is displayed prior to someone buzzing in, the four available answers are not shown until afterwards, so players may think they know the answer only to be stymied when it is missing as one of the choices. Correct answers reward players with points, while incorrect answers result in a score penalty.

Scoring can be set to be either "Countdown", where points are awarded based on how quickly players answer, or "Wager", where players battle to decide how many points the upcoming set of questions will be worth in advance.

At the end of the game and between certain rounds of longer games, additional bonus rounds are played. During bonus rounds, players take turns answering trivia questions that only one player may answer. Players continue to receive questions until an incorrect answer is given, at which point that player is out of the bonus round. The bonus round continues until all players have given an incorrect answer.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic65/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer7.5/10[1]
GamePro3.75/5[3]
GameRevolutionC[4]
GameSpot6.5/10[5]
GameSpyStarStar[6]
GameZone7.4/10[7]
IGN7/10[8]
NGamer40%[9]
ONM78%[10]
VideoGamer.com7/10[11]
411Mania7.3/10[12]
USA TodayStarStarStarStarStarStarStar[13]

The game received "mixed or average reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[2] Reviewers were pleased with the actual trivia content but questioned the presentation and value. The GameSpot review summarized this sentiment: "It's bare-bones as far as console-based trivia games go, and at $50 it's a good $30 too expensive, but it's still a fun game to break out with groups of friends."[5] The IGN review agreed that the title was probably priced too high, but did note favorably, "Since the interface is easy to navigate and the fundamentals of trivia so inherently intuitive to understand, any casual player can pick this game up and have fun with it [...]"[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Helgeson, Matt (January 2008). "Smarty Pants". Game Informer (177): 92. http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/89D0D065-5215-45C8-B3F5-86167CE9AD82.htm?. Retrieved January 8, 2016. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Smarty Pants for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/smarty-pants/critic-reviews/?platform=wii. 
  3. ↑ "Review: Smarty Pants". GamePro: 82. February 2008. 
  4. ↑ Windy (March 24, 2008). "Smarty Pants Review". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/smarty-pants. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Thomas, Aaron (November 16, 2007). "Smarty Pants Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/smarty-pants-review/1900-6183052/. 
  6. ↑ Stratton, Bryan (November 27, 2007). "GameSpy: Smarty Pants". GameSpy. http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/wii-trivia-game/837897p1.html. 
  7. ↑ David, Mike (December 10, 2007). "Smarty Pants: Trivia Fun for Everyone - WII - Review". GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/smarty_pants_trivia_fun_for_everyone_wii_review. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Casamssina, Matt (November 13, 2007). "Smarty Pants Review". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/11/14/smarty-pants-review. 
  9. ↑ "Smarty Pants". Nintendo Gamer: 64. January 2008. 
  10. ↑ East, Tom (January 2008). "Smartypants Review [sic"]. Official Nintendo Magazine: 90. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/2033/reviews/smartypants-review/. Retrieved January 9, 2016. 
  11. ↑ Orry, Tom (December 1, 2007). "Smarty Pants Review". VideoGamer.com. http://www.videogamer.com/wii/smarty_pants/review.html. 
  12. ↑ Roling, Leland (November 29, 2007). "Smarty Pants (Wii) Review". 411Mania. http://411mania.com/games/smarty-pants-wii-review-2/. 
  13. ↑ Gudmundsen, Jinny (November 29, 2007). "'Smarty Pants' for Wii creates family trivia night". USA Today. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/jinnygudmundsen/2007-11-29-smarty-pants_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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