Software:Spectrobes (video game)

From HandWiki
Short description: 2007 video game
Spectrobes
European box art
Developer(s)Jupiter
Publisher(s)Disney Interactive Studios
Director(s)Aguru Tanaka
Producer(s)Kentaro Hisai
Hatao Ogata
Artist(s)Kouji Kiriyama
Writer(s)Hidemi Shimomura
Composer(s)Masahiko Kimura
SeriesSpectrobes
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: March 6, 2007
  • AU: March 15, 2007
  • JP: March 15, 2007
  • EU: March 16, 2007
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Spectrobes, known in Japan as Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist., is an action role-playing video game developed by Jupiter and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Nintendo DS. Disney Interactive Studios has stated that Spectrobes is its first original intellectual property; that is, a game not based on any film or TV program from its parent company.

The game was considered a commercial success and Disney Interactive Studios announced that more than 700,000 copies of the game had shipped worldwide in the first month and it was the best-selling third-party (not published by Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony) game for March 2007, ranking #7 over all that month.

The game was re-released in November 2007 as part of a special Spectrobes: Collector's Edition bundle, which included the game itself, all thirty-eight input code cards plus two exclusive Geo input cards, and a mini-guide.[1]

Gameplay

Nintendo Wi-Fi

The Download feature allowed the player to use DL (Downloader) Points earned from accessing the download system on Friday to purchase video clips, special Spectrobes, custom parts, minerals, and more.

The Upload feature allows players to upload their Sequence Battle scores from the Great Black Holes scattered on the various planets and moons in the Nanairo star system. In Sequence Battle, the player must win a certain number of Krawl battles to obtain the prize: an Evolve Mineral or a special Geo. Before beating the game, only one Great Black Hole is available to the player: in the Area 2 Desert of Nessa. Here, the prize is always an Evolve Mineral. After beating the game, six more Great Black Holes appear throughout Nanairo. The rest of the Geos may be obtained from these black holes.

Plot

Out on a routine mission, Nanairo Planetary Patrol Officers Rallen and Jeena respond to a strange distress signal and discover the wreckage of an escape capsule in which an old man has been in a cryogenic sleep for over a decade. Once conscious, the man, whose name is Aldous, relays an unbelievable tale of the attack on his home planet by a vicious horde of creatures known as the Krawl. Rallen, Jeena, and Aldous then set out on a mission to save Nanairo from the destructive planet-eating Krawl.

After fighting the Krawl on five of Nanairo's seven planets, Rallen's boss, Commander Grant, reveals that the Krawl had established a base on the seventh planet, Meido; however, their spaceship is incapable of reaching this planet. Aldous reveals that ancient ruins found on one of the planets are actually a spaceship from an earlier civilization, and that it may be able to reach Meido. After gathering a number of Keystones, they are able to resurrect the spaceship and reach the Meido. After fighting through more hordes of Krawl, Rallen fights a large Krawl called Xelles that has the ability to heal whatever comes near it. After defeating it, Rallen fights a final Leader Krawl and kills it, thus ending the invasion - temporarily.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic63/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge5/10[3]
Eurogamer6/10[4]
Famitsu(DS+Wii) 29/40[5]
26/40[6]
Game Informer6.5/10[7]
GameProStarStarStar[8]
GameSpot6/10[9]
GameSpyStarStarHalf star[10]
GameTrailers6.3/10[11]
GameZone6.9/10[12]
IGN7/10[13]
Nintendo Power8/10[14]
Anime News NetworkD[15]
Detroit Free PressStarStar[16]

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one six, two sevens, and one six for a total of 26 out of 40,[6] while Famitsu DS + Wii gave it a score of one eight and three sevens for a total of 29 out of 40.[5]

Detroit Free Press said that "The character designs aren't on Pokémon's level, but the effort you devote to finding and raising these characters creates a level of attachment even Nintendo hasn't quite achieved."[16] The Sydney Morning Herald said that the game is "Not what you might expect from Disney, Spectrobes is initially refreshing but quickly becomes dull."[17] Anime News Network said that the game is "not necessarily a terrible game: in fact, it features quite a number of admirable traits. However, it's not a compelling one either. Gamers that have short attention spans and don't mind boring, repetitive gameplay may want to give it a try. However, everyone else will be wise to wait for the next true Pokémon releases to hit the system."[15]

Sequels

The sequel to Spectrobes, entitled Spectrobes, was released in the U.S. on October 7, 2008. It features a new third-person 3-D field perspective and a map on the top screen. With this sequel, players can choose to play as either Rallen or Jeena. They are also able to play as the Spectrobes themselves when in battle. It was the second game to use Disney's online game and social network service DGamer,[18] the first being The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.[18] The third and final game in the series, Spectrobes, was released for the Wii on August 18, 2009.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (November 6, 2007). "Spectrobes Collects Special Edition". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/11/06/spectrobes-collects-special-edition. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Spectrobes for DS Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/spectrobes/critic-reviews/?platform=ds. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  3. ↑ Edge staff (March 2007). "Spectrobes". Edge (Future plc) (173): 82. 
  4. ↑ Parkin, Simon (March 16, 2007). "Spectrobes". Gamer Network. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spectrobes-review. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gantayat, Anoop (March 22, 2007). "Gaming Life in Japan (Page 3)". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/22/gaming-life-in-japan-56?page=3. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Collection of every DS-game reviewed in Famitsu (Page 2)". NeoGaf LLC. October 25, 2007. https://www.neogaf.com/threads/collection-of-every-ds-game-reviewed-in-famitsu.115237/page-2. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  7. ↑ Miller, Matt (April 2007). "Spectrobes". Game Informer (GameStop) (168). http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/0120E30D-78E2-4E18-8A69-E37B9C48FFCB.htm. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  8. ↑ Papa Frog (March 13, 2007). "Review: Spectrobes". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/ds/games/reviews/106049.shtml. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Magrino, Tom (March 14, 2007). "Spectrobes Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/spectrobes-review/1900-6167406/. 
  10. ↑ Graziani, Gabe (March 19, 2007). "GameSpy: Spectrobes". Ziff Davis. http://ds.gamespy.com/nintendo-ds/spectrobes/773957p1.html. 
  11. ↑ "Spectrobes Review". Viacom. March 28, 2007. http://gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=2729. 
  12. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (March 27, 2007). "Spectrobes - NDS - Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/spectrobes_nds_review/. 
  13. ↑ DeVries, Jack (March 13, 2007). "Spectrobes Review". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/13/spectrobes-review. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  14. ↑ "Spectrobes". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 214: 86. April 2007. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Yoon, Andrew (June 9, 2007). "Spectrobes". https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/nintendo-ds/spectrobes. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "'Spectrobes'". Detroit Free Press (Gannett Company). April 15, 2007. 
  17. ↑ Hill, Jason (April 9, 2007). "Spectrobes". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). http://www.smh.com.au/news/game-reviews/spectrobes/2007/04/08/1175970930798.html. Retrieved February 21, 2018. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Magrino, Tom (July 13, 2007). "E3 '07: DGamer heads to DS [date mislabeled as "September 5, 2007""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-07-dgamer-heads-to-ds/1100-6175026/. 
  • Official Spectrobes Community Site
  • 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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