Software:Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition

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Tecmo Super Bowl II
Cover art (Super NES)
Developer(s)Tecmo
Publisher(s)Tecmo
Composer(s)T. Kanai
S. Okuda
H. Suzuki
SeriesTecmo Super Bowl
Platform(s)Super NES, Genesis
ReleaseSuper NES:
  • JP: December 20, 1994
  • NA: January 1995
Genesis:
  • NA: January 1, 1995
  • JP: December 20, 1994
Genre(s)Sports, American football
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tecmo Super Bowl II (テクモスーパーボウルII スペシャルエディション) is an update of the previous Tecmo Super Bowl released for Super NES and Genesis.

Features

Tecmo Super Bowl II was released for the Super NES and Genesis in 1994. The game still had all of Tecmo's features from the previous games and more and once again had a full license from the NFL and the NFL Players Association. All rosters and attributes reflected the 1994 NFL season.

The game added many new features, with trade player being one of them. A pre-season three-week period allows up to three trades to be made. If the offered team accepts the trade, a message along with other trades from other teams will be posted. Any trades not listed means the trade was rejected and the trade period moves on to the next week. All rosters had been increased to 37 players for each team. Unlike the previous versions, defensive players can now be injured or adjusted around in the depth chart. Although new features included the fair catch and choosing a particular defensive play formation, penalties continued to not be one of them. Along with an isometric look to the field, a new style of game graphics were also created to allow random player animations such as dragging defensive players and random spin moves and jumps to avoid diving tacklers. User controlled ballcarriers can now dive at any time and anywhere on the field. The fair catch and two-point conversion (which was first introduced to the NFL in the season the game was released) options were added. Timeouts can now be called right after the whistle blows instead of waiting for the playbook screen to display. Punt and field goal fakes are now possible as well. The offensive playbook was expanded to 16 plays, and the defense was now allowed to choose either a normal, goal line, nickel or dime formation before guessing his opponent's offensive play. In addition to the increased playbook choices, audibles can now be called while on the field to change previous selected plays. The defense can also audible into different defensive formations that are listed above.

The game was packaged with the 1992, '93 and '94 schedules, as well as the three team rosters corresponding to those years. Alternate and unofficial schedules can be generated by the CPU, but only in Trade Season Mode. Game quarter lengths (in preseason and probowl only) can be either shortened or extended. Fumbles and injuries can also be turned off, but neither the previous and later options are available in regular season mode. To keep with the traditional "arcade style" feel of the previous games, the game clock remained the same (accelerated), and both penalties and the 40 second play clock were excluded.

Reception

The game saw a relatively limited release, with only 15,000 units of the Super NES version being shipped to US retailers in January 1995.[1] In November 1995, the SNES version sold an estimated 30,634 units in the US, where it was the ninth best-selling SNES game of the month.[2]

In their review of the Super NES version, GamePro commented that "Year after year, Tecmo's football games remain popular with players, even though other carts boast better graphics and game play. Super Bowl II continues that trend: It's a decent game that'll still rank high in the sales." They cited the stats as the game's best feature, but criticized that the graphical style is outdated and there aren't as many plays as in other football video games. They nonetheless concluded that the game is "undeniably fun, especially for first-time players."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Pak Watch: Tecmo Super Bowl 2 A Very Special Edition!". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (68): 108. January 1995. 
  2. ↑ Top 10 16-Bit Software Titles NOV'95 (Sega of America)
  3. ↑ "Tecmo Football Squeezes into the Playoffs". GamePro (IDG) (68): 108. March 1995. 
  • 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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