Software:Sydney 2000 (video game)

Sydney 2000
European PC cover art
Developer(s)	Attention to Detail
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Dreamcast
Release	PlayStation, Windows 22 August 2000 Dreamcast NA: 28 August 2000 EU: 4 September 2000
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Sydney 2000 is the official video game of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, hosted by Sydney, Australia in 2000. Developed by Attention to Detail and published by Eidos Interactive, it was released for the PlayStation, Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast. There were versions developed for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color, but both versions were cancelled.

Events

• 100 m sprint
• 110 m hurdles
• Javelin (F)
• Hammer
• Triple Jump
• High Jump (F)
• Skeet shooting
• Super Heavyweight Weight Lifting
• 100 m Freestyle Swimming (F)
• 10 m Platform Diving (F)
• Chase Cycling
• Kayak K1 Slalom

Playable nations

Playable countries

Up to 32 countries were available to be played on the game. They are:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Great Britain
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• India
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Kenya
• South Korea
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Portugal
• Russia
• South Africa
• Singapore
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Sweden
• Chinese Taipei
• United States of America

Gameplay

Sydney 2000 - Skeet Shooting

Although the button mashing-laden gameplay has not changed from previous games, the main competition itself become more complex with the inclusion of the Virtual Gym and a complete Olympics qualifying tour, composed by four stages, and the player can only run for the medals of the events they qualified for. While some of the events are the women's, each event is only set to one gender: it is not possible to run the women's 100 m hurdles or the men's high jump.

Individually, there is not much difference in gameplay from previous games: two action buttons control speed a third performs an extra action, such as jumping, passing a hurdle, setting the angle and releasing the hammer or javelin, or touching the wall. All events rely on this formula, except Skeet, K1 Slalom, and diving (which uses "click-a-long" rather than the freeform jumping of Olympic Gold). Chase Cycling also requires pacing by the player, or the final cyclist will run out of long pace before the final sprint.

The biggest difference from previous games in the series lies in the Olympic mode: instead of starting in the Olympics, the player must improve and qualify an athlete for the event. Each event has four stages (Open Trials, Invitation Event, The Championship, and Olympic Class), and for each stage the player must complete minigames in the Cyber Gym that range from running on a treadmill, climbing a pole, squats or reaction training, for a total of 20 minigames. Completing a Cyber Gym game improves the athlete in one of the three ratings temporarily, and to earn the new capacities definitively, the athlete must complete an event with a certain score. After the player is happy with the athlete's development, they can try to qualify for the next stage by running against other athletes at the same level. Although it is possible to compete in the Olympics as soon as the athlete reaches the Olympic Class, to get a perfect athlete (with 100% on all ratings) one must complete all minigames, including those on Olympic Class. As the game relies mostly on athletes' ratings, even players with lower button presses per minute can make World Record times without serious effort as long as they passed all the mini games. Other modes include an arcade mode, training and head to head, where two players can compete with their Olympic mode trained athletes. There are four difficulty levels.

Although generally stable, the game lacks tweaking in some events: the High jump uses men's results, and while some events such as the 100 m sprint and triple jump are quite easy, others such as the javelin and hammer throw require much training.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Dreamcast PC PS AllGame N/A CGW N/A N/A EGM 4.83/10 N/A 4/10 Eurogamer N/A 8/10 6/10 Famitsu 27/40 N/A 26/40 Game Informer 3.5/10 N/A 2.75/10 GameRevolution C− C− D+ GameSpot 5.6/10 4.2/10 5.8/10 GameSpy 2/10 35% N/A IGN 6/10 6.4/10 5/10 Next Generation N/A N/A OPM (US) N/A N/A PC Gamer (US) N/A 52% N/A Aggregate score Metacritic 53/100 51/100 57/100

Sydney 2000 received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, where the Dreamcast and PlayStation versions were ported for release and published by Capcom on 26 October 2000, Famitsu gave it a score of 27 out of 40 for the former, and 26 out of 40 for the latter. GameZone gave the PC version a score of nine out of ten and said, "The graphical quality of this program makes it a sure-fire winner. What it lacks in some areas, it makes up for in others. If you are a fan of Olympic-style action, this is a must-have." However, Computer Games Strategy Plus gave it one-and-a-half stars out of five and said that it was "a prime example of a game that should have stayed where it belonged--on the consoles," and that the game "simply isn't much fun; most of the time, it isn't any fun at all. It feels more like work than a good time and that's never a good recipe for success."

Edge gave the Dreamcast and PC versions each a score of seven out of ten, saying that the game was "as faithful an exponent of [the key-bashing dynamic] as any of Decathlon's distant children." Colin Williamson of PC Gamer US criticised the button mashing-gameplay and frustration game control of the latter version, and stated, "All in all, Sydney's quality is disturbingly inconsistent, and there are, sadly, more bad games than good in this particular collection. If you want to recreate the Olympic experience, break into the local high school track and run a few laps, or hop into the La-Z-Boy with a big tub of popcorn and leave it to the professionals." Kevin Rice of NextGen called the former version "A weekend rental at best. It's somewhat amusing to relive childhood memories of the local arcade, but the game's lack of depth and repetitive game mechanics grow old quickly."

Cheat Monkey of GamePro said of the PlayStation version, "If you're hankering for some Olympic competition and want to go beyond the standard track and field events, Sydney 2000 is a decent pick. It's not a gold medal winner, but it finishes the PlayStation invitational with a bronze." He then said of the Dreamcast version, "Overall, Sydney 2000 for the Dreamcast is a better game than the PlayStation version in more ways than one, but it's still held to a bronze medal finish in the sports games category. If you've got Olympic fever, Sydney 2000 will carry the torch for you, but only so far." Brian Wright, however, said of the PC version, "It seems that as long as computers continue to exist, companies will continue to release decathlon-style games. The button-mashing game mechanics may appeal to novice gamers or those on a nostalgia kick, but the familiar and repetitive gameplay means that Sydney 2000 doesn't get the gold."

References

• "Sydney 2000 [GBC - Unreleased"]. 8 October 2009. https://www.unseen64.net/2009/10/08/sydney-2000-gbc-unreleased/. 

External links

• 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. 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". This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months. 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. A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.

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. 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. 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.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount. This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign. 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). Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel, and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million. The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager. 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. This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue. Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.

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.

See also

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

External links

Preceded by Olympic Summer Games

Official videogame of the Summer Olympic Games

Succeeded by Athens 2004