Software:Summer Games II

From HandWiki
Short description: 1985 video game
Summer Games II
Commodore 64 cover art
Developer(s)Epyx
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Chuck Sommerville
Kevin Norman
Larry Clague
Jon Leupp
Michael Kosaka
Scott Nelson
Composer(s)Randy Glover
Larry Clague
Platform(s)Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari ST, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga
Release
Genre(s)Sports (olympics)
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Summer Games II is a 1985 Olympic sports video game developed and published by Epyx in North America, and by U.S. Gold in Europe. Based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games, it is a sequel to Summer Games released by Epyx the previous year. Summer Games II was originally written for the Commodore 64 and ported to the Apple II, Atari ST, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Amiga.

Gameplay

The game was presented as a virtual multi-sport carnival called the "Epyx Games" (there was no official IOC licensing in place) with up to 8 players each choosing a country to represent, and then taking turns competing in various events to try for a medal. World records could be saved to the game disk.

The game features the following eight events: Triple jump, high jump, rowing, javelin throw, equestrian, fencing, kayaking and cycling.[2]

The game allows the player to compete in all of the events sequentially, compete in some events, choose just one event, or practice an event. This version also features both the opening and closing ceremonies, where the closing ceremonies features a "fan man", the flame extinguishing as the sky goes dark, a blimp passing by and some fireworks. Certain ports also allow for participants to compete in events from the original Summer Games events, but they had to have the original Summer Games diskette for this to happen.

Ports

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Zzap!6497%[3]
Awards
PublicationAward
Zzap!64Gold Medal
Golden Joystick Awards
Game of the Year		Runner up[4]

The original Commodore 64 version of Summer Games II was created by Scott Nelson, Jon Leupp, Chuck Sommerville, Kevin Norman, Michael Kosaka, and Larry Clague and published in 1985. The same year saw an Apple II version, ported by John Stouffer, Jeff Webb, Doug Matson, Greg Broniak, Tim Grost, Matt Decker, Vera Petrusha, Ken Evans, Pat Findling, Dr. Keith Dreyer, and Chris Oesterling. It became a bestseller in the UK.[5]

A year later it was ported to the IBM PC by Phil Suematsu, Jeff Grigg, Don Hill, and Jimmy Huey. Richard Wilcox and Steve Hawkes ported it to the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. In 1992 Adam Steele, Phillip Morris, and Dave Lowe ported it to the Atari ST and the Amiga.{{citation needed|date=February 2017} Summer Games II was re-released on the Virtual Console in Europe on June 27, 2008 and in North America on March 16, 2009.[6]

A port for the Atari Jaguar CD was under development by Teque London, but work on the port was discontinued sometime in 1995 and it was never released.[7][8][9]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Zzap!6497%[10]

Summer Games II was Epyx's second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987 after Winter Games.[11] Ahoy! said that "the production values of Summer Games II are absolutely top of the line, even better than the original Summer Games". The magazine cited equestrian and fencing as the best events, and concluded that it "covers itself with glory from the familiar opening ceremony to the closing festivities. Put simply, if you own a Commodore 64, this disk is a must".[12]

Reviews

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1985 Index". Computer Entertainer 4 (10): 6. January 1986. http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jan86.pdf#page=6. 
  2. ↑ "Commodore User Magazine Issue 23". August 1985. https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-23/page/n33/mode/1up?view=theater. 
  3. ↑ "Zzap!64 100th Issue Pull-Out Special Page 5". http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzap100/100thspec5.html. 
  4. ↑ "Computer & Video Games". http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue055/Pages/CVG05500090.jpg. 
  5. ↑ "Computer & Video Games". http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue049/Pages/CVG04900030.jpg. 
  6. ↑ "One WiiWare Game and One Virtual Console Game Added to Wii Shop Channel". Nintendo of America. 2009-03-16. https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/179YO1V8ivd04jZ2AkOPF0AVIUZLQXqc. 
  7. ↑ Dragon, Lost (July 6, 2017). "The EPYX Titles Atari Wanted on Lynx...". http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/3333-the-epyx-titles-atari-wanted-on-lynx/. 
  8. ↑ Vendel, Curt (August 26, 1995). "Payment Schedule for Jaguar games to Developers". http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/consoles/jaguar/jagfiles/jag64-payments.PDF. 
  9. ↑ Dragon, Lost (July 5, 2017). "The Ultimate Jaguar Unreleased/Beta/Source/Dev Master List! - Page 5". http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/2674-the-ultimate-jaguar-unreleasedbetasourcedev-master-list/page-5#entry34184. 
  10. ↑ Zzap!64 review, Newsfield Publications, issue 5, page 16
  11. ↑ Ferrell, Keith (December 1987). "The Commodore Games That Live On And On". Compute's Gazette: pp. 18–22. https://archive.org/stream/1987-12-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_54_1987_Dec#page/n17/mode/2up. 
  12. ↑ Kunkel, Bill (November 1985). "Summer Games II". Ahoy!: pp. 49. https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_23_1985-11_Ion_International_US#page/n53/mode/2up. 
  13. ↑ "GAMES Magazine #70". December 1985. https://archive.org/details/games701985december/page/n49/mode/2up. 
  • 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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