Software:The Corporate Machine

From HandWiki
Short description: 2001 video game
The Corporate Machine
North American cover art
Developer(s)Stardock
Publisher(s)Take-Two Interactive
Producer(s)Matthew Kreager
Designer(s)Brad Wardell
Programmer(s)Eric Heberling
Artist(s)Mike Snyder
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Business simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

The Corporate Machine (known in Europe as Business Tycoon) is a business simulation computer game from Stardock in which the goal is to create a corporation in one of four industries (automobiles, aircraft, computers, or soft drinks) and eventually dominate rival companies. To win the player must dominate the chosen market (getting 55% to 65% of the market share depending on the number of opponents). The Corporate Machine is a follow-up to the game Business Tycoon, which was itself a sequel to the game Entrepreneur, all developed by Stardock.

Gameplay

Starting Out

When starting a game, the player picks a company specialty. Three specialties are available: marketing, labor and research. Each specialty doubles productivity in that area. After picking a specialty, the start screen allows choice of how many opponents to be faced, the difficulty of the game, what map will be used (both real and fictional maps are available), starting funds, and what industry is to be competed in.

Exploring

The game is started at the home site (which is randomly chosen on the map) and with one sales executive. To introduce and sell the product to other regions, the region must be investigated. This process can take from 3 to 10 weeks depending on how far they are from the sites. After an area is explored, the player will know the market leader, if opponents have sites or units there, if the region has a resource, as well as statistics like what the targeted area desires in a product, their concerns with price, and how rich the region is.

The Sales Executives

The sales executives increase market penetration (the percentage of stores carrying the product) in their regions and all regions up to two spaces away from each executive. The sales executive can be moved around the map freely by plane; however, while in transit he will not grant any penetration benefit. To gain more sales executives the profit must be increased to a certain level by the end of a year. This gets harder later on as the amount to gain a new executive increases. It is also possible to get them through the use of Direct Action Cards.

Your Company Sites

These places are the player's base of operations. Manufacturing, research, and marketing buildings can be built and upgraded. Additional sites can be purchased but they become progressively more expensive. On the player's first site there will be a sales office and a garage, but every site after will only have a sales office and everything else has to be built. Other buildings include an intelligence facility, which will generate and display information in the form of graphs. Company stores can be built at any site to decrease employee expenses (and therefore lower employee cost).

To get better performance a training center will increase employee efficiency. Employee happiness becomes a factor as well, as an unhappy employee's performance will suffer, so a recreation center will boost morale. If market leadership is lost in an area where a site is, the employees' morale will drop sharply. Marketing, manufacturing, and researching buildings can be accessed in order to make adjustments to the multiple operations within the company. Sales buildings act similarly to sales executives that cannot be moved from region to region.

The Marketing Department

When a marketing building is built, it will be possible to hire and fire marketers. Marketing associates can be used to create marketing campaigns. As campaigns are created, marketing associate availability drops and the player is forced to build more marketing buildings in order to have more campaigns. These buildings can be upgraded to have more employees and to have more powerful marketing campaigns. Positive campaigns will boost the qualities of the player's product, or negative marketing campaigns to decrease the appeal of an opponent's product. For media, there are advertisements to print, and radio and television campaigns. Marketing campaigns can be moved from region to region similarly to a sales executive.

The Manufacturing

Starting with a simple garage, the player can upgrade to factories. Larger factories, and hire of additional employees, increase efficiency. Employees can be hired or fired as demand rises or falls. The production screen is where the price of the product is set. If the product is better compared to other companies then an overcharge can be made. The price should not be raised too far as demand will drop quickly if there are different companies in the same area and market leadership could be lost.

Research

This is where scientists develop new technologies to upgrade the product. The bigger the research building, the more scientists can be hired. Four projects can be queued so the player does not have to constantly have to come back to the screen and choose new technologies. Different projects also give different bonuses, such as decreasing the cost to manufacture or increase the appeal to consumers.

Direct Action Cards

Different regions may or may not have a resource in them. There are five resource types: Labor, Government, Intelligence, Marketing, and Underworld. Every year that a region is controlled that has a resource is one resource point. Having resource points allows the play of direct action cards.

The game is started with two cards and an additional card is received every year. Direct action cards cost resources, and may have a monetary cost in addition. Cards have effects such as receiving money from the government, a research boon, revealing large blocks of regions, twisting the desires of consumers, physical destruction of competitors assets, cutting costs through illegal activities, and publicity boosts. The direct action card system has been likened to the card game Magic: The Gathering.

Development

The Corporate Machine expands on themes introduced in an earlier Stardock game from 1997, called Entrepreneur.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic80/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStarStar[5]
GameSpot8.4/10[6]
GameSpy75%[7]
GameZone9/10[2]
IGN8.1/10[8]
PC Format64%[9]
PC Gamer (US)62%[10]

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] Brett Todd from GameSpot describes the game having "winning design, powerful artificial intelligence, and a great sense of humor".[11] GameSpy recommended it "if you're a fan of slower-paced games with more fun in the game itself than in its graphics."[12]

References

  1. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (2001-07-17). "Take Two Releases The Corporate Machine" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/07/17/take-two-releases-the-corporate-machine. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Da bomb mom (March 12, 2001). "The Corporate Machine Review". GameZone. http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18123.htm. 
  3. ↑ "GameSpot: PC Reviews: The Corporate Machine Review". 2001-11-09. https://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/reviews/0,10867,2801186,00.html/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Corporate Machine for PC Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-corporate-machine/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  5. ↑ Lackey, Jeff (June 2001). "Bill Gates Versus Gilligan (Industry Giant and The Corporate Machine Review)". Computer Gaming World (203): 96. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_203.pdf. Retrieved April 18, 2017. 
  6. ↑ Todd, Brett (August 2, 2001). "The Corporate Machine Review". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-corporate-machine-review/1900-2801186/. 
  7. ↑ McConnaughy, Tim (August 1, 2001). "The Corporate Machine". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com:80/reviews/july01/tcm/. 
  8. ↑ Blevins, Tal (August 13, 2001). "The Corporate Machine". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/13/the-corporate-machine. 
  9. ↑ "The Corporate Machine". PC Format (172): 113. March 2005. 
  10. ↑ Brenesal, Barry (May 2001). "The Corporate Machine". PC Gamer. http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/the_corporate_m.html. Retrieved April 18, 2017. 
  11. ↑ "GameSpot: PC Reviews: The Corporate Machine Review". 2001-11-20. http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/reviews/0,10867,2801186-2,00.html. 
  12. ↑ "GameSpy.com - Reviews: The Corporate Machine". 2001-10-06. http://gamespy.com/reviews/july01/tcm/index2.shtm. 
  • Official website
  • 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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