Software:Super Cobra

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Short description: 1981 video game
Super Cobra
File:Super Cobra Arcade Flyer.png
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Konami[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
  • WW: Konami
  • NA: Stern Electronics
[lower-alpha 2]
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemKonami Scramble

Super Cobra[lower-alpha 3] is a 1981 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was released in Japan in March 1981 and in North America by Stern on June 22, 1981.[5][4] It is a spiritual successor to Scramble, using the same arcade hardware.

The game was a commercial success, selling 12,337 arcade cabinets in the United States within four months, becoming Stern's third best-selling arcade game. Super Cobra was widely ported by Parker Brothers, and there are Adventure Vision and standalone versions from Entex.

Gameplay

The player controls a helicopter through tight caverns. A laser and bombs can be used to destroy defenders, tanks, and UFOs while infiltrating 10 Super Cobra defense systems. The ship has a limited fuel supply, which is depleted over time. More fuel can be acquired by destroying fuel tanks in the game. Players navigate through ten levels and a base, where they must safely make it through the level and extract loot.[6]

Ports

The game was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Odyssey², and Atari 8-bit computers by Parker Brothers. It was also released for Sord M5, MSX, Entex Adventure Vision and Casio PV-1000. Entex produced a standalone tabletop version.[7]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Arcade Express9/10 (Adventure Vision)[8]
Computer EntertainerStarStarStarStarStarStarStar (ColecoVision)[9]
Award
PublicationAward
Arkie Awards (1983)Best Action Videogame
(Certificate of Merit)[10]

The game was a commercial success, selling 12,337 arcade cabinets in the United States within four months, by October 2, 1981, becoming Stern's third best-selling arcade classic after Berzerk and Scramble. Scramble sold 15,136 cabinets in the U.S. in five months earlier that year, adding up to 27,473 U.S. cabinet sales for both.[11]

Arcade Express in November 1982 gave the Adventure Vision port a score of 9 out of 10. They concluded that it "takes real skill to master, and represents the state-of-the-art of scrolling shoot-outs".[8]

The Atari 2600 version was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the category of "Best Action Videogame" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards for 1983.[10]: 42  They compared it to Vanguard and said it "provides the same brand of relentless, multi-scenario action".[12]

Legacy

Super Cobra appeared alongside Scramble on the retro compilation Konami Arcade Classics, released for the PlayStation in 1999. Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in October 2020.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ports developed by Entex and Parker Brothers.
  2. ↑ Ports published by Entex and Parker Brothers.
  3. ↑ スーパーコブラ (Sūpā Kobura) in Japanese[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Atari VCS game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/atari-vcs-game-release-dates/. 
  2. ↑ "Colecovision game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/colecovision-game-release-dates/. 
  3. ↑ "Atari 5200 game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/atari-5200-game-release-dates/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "スーパーコブラ まとめ [アーケード"] (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain, Inc., Tokuma). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=25909. Retrieved 2018-07-25. 
  5. ↑ "Overseas Readers Column - Konami Industry Grants a License on "Super Cobra" to 3 Foreign Companies". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (173): 31. 15 September 1981. 
  6. ↑ Stern. Super Cobra Manual. p. 3. http://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/S/SuperCobra.pdf. Retrieved 7 November 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Entex Arcade Defender and Super Cobra Handhelds". May 3, 2013. http://www.retroist.com/2013/05/03/entex-arcade-defender-and-super-cobra-handhelds/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The Hotseat: Reviews of New Products". Arcade Express: pp. 6–8 [6]. November 7, 1982. http://www.digitpress.com/library/newsletters/arcadeexpress/arcade_express_v1n7.pdf. Retrieved 2 February 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Critically Speaking..ColecoVision-Compatible". Computer Entertainer 2 (10): 150. January 1984. https://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/video_game_update_jan84.pdf#page=6. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "Arcade Alley: The Arcade Awards, Part 1". Video (Reese Communications) 7 (10): 40–42. ISSN 0147-8907. 
  11. ↑ "Stern production numbers and more CCI photos". 2012-05-01. http://www.tokensonly.com/2012/05/misc/stern-production-numbers-and-more-cci-photos/. Retrieved 2013-07-21. 
  12. ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "1984 Arcade Awards". Electronic Games (Reese Communications) 2 (11): 71–72. ISSN 0730-6687. 
  13. ↑ Lane, Gavin (2020-03-13). "Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks" (in en-GB). https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/every-arcade-archives-game-on-nintendo-switch-plus-our-top-picks. 

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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