Software:The Itchy & Scratchy Game

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The Itchy and Scratchy Game
Developer(s)Bits Studios
Publisher(s)Acclaim Entertainment
Producer(s)Robert Leingang
Designer(s)Cos Lazouras
Alan Grier
Programmer(s)Jason Austin
Doug Hare
Artist(s)Alan Grier
Composer(s)Shahid Ahmad
Platform(s)Super NES, Game Gear
ReleaseMarch 1995
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

The Itchy & Scratchy Game is a platform video game that was released for the Super NES, and Game Gear. It stars the cat and mouse pair Itchy & Scratchy from the adult animated sitcom The Simpsons, and features the classic gory violence from the show. The main character is Itchy, who has to fight Scratchy. Reception of the game has been generally negative.

The game was also developed for the Genesis but it was never commercially released.[1]

Gameplay

The Itchy & Scratchy Game is a side-scrolling platform game based on The Itchy & Scratchy Show, a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons.[2] There are seven levels in the game. The player controls Itchy, a mouse whose goal is to torture and kill the cat Scratchy. The game is played by running around the level and attacking Scratchy and various other enemies. Both Itchy and Scratchy carry mallets as their standard weapons, although various other weapons—coordinating with the theme of the level—can also be used. Every few moments, Scratchy will come onto the screen and then run away after attacking Itchy or Itchy has inflicted damage on Scratchy. Once Scratchy's health has been depleted, a boss battle will ensue.[3]

Development

The game was developed by Bits Studios and published by Acclaim.[3] The game was rated "Kids to Adults" (suitable for children aged six and older) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, "despite a plethora of chainsaws, axes, and flamethrowers," as a reviewer for Entertainment Weekly wrote.[4] The SNES version has several censored dying animations compared to the unreleased but dumped Mega Drive/Genesis version.

Reception

Reviews of The Itchy & Scratchy Game have been generally negative, with much criticism being directed at the gameplay. Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro commented that "If the video game industry ever comes crashing down, Itchy and Scratchy will be near the top of the 'Blame Us' list." They cited the overly easy gameplay and absence of the excessive violence and theme song which made Itchy and Scratchy popular.[5] A different GamePro reviewer made similar remarks of the Game Gear version, and further criticized it for its "grainy" sound and for omitting the boss battles of the console version.[6] Game Players gave the SNES version a 35/100 rating in March 1995, commenting that the "gameplay suffers from extensive repetition and poor control and, despite the large number of weapons included in the game, there are too few opportunities to pick them up."[7] Reviewing the SNES version, GamePro criticized the "mindless" gameplay, drab graphics, and tiresome animations, but concluded that "the control is the worst part. In a game of jumping and hitting, the lack of jumping attacks and the inaccurate weapons make you itch for a different game."[8]

The Game Players review noted that "for true Simpsons fans, the Itchy and Scratchy level in Bart's Nightmare [from 1992] is still the best place to look for this duo."[7] Entertainment Weekly gave the SNES game a grade of "C" in May 1995, and commented that "there's a reason Itchy & Scratchy cartoons rarely occupy more than 30 seconds of any Simpsons episode: stretch the concept to the full half-hour, and the ratings would plummet. It's the same for videogames. While Itchy and Scratchy appeared in a hilarious cameo on the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis game Bart's Nightmare, here they duke it out in an interminable, multistage whackfest."[4] The gaming website UGO Networks was more positive, writing that the game "had great animation and was actually (gasp!) pretty funny."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "April Release on Mega Drive - Itchy & Scratchy". New Releases Catalogue (Sega): 7. April 1995. https://segaretro.org/images/5/52/NewReleasesCatalogueApril-May1995AU.pdf. Retrieved 2020-12-06. 
  2. ↑ "The Itchy & Scratchy Game". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/itchy-scratchy-game. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Itchy and Scratchy Game". UGO Networks. http://simpsons.ugo.com/?cur=itchy-and-scratchy-game&gallery=true. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Strauss, Bob (1995-05-19). "The Itchy & Scratchy Game". Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/article/1995/05/19/itchy-scratchy-game/?amp=true. 
  5. ↑ "ProReview: The Itchy and Scrathy Game". GamePro (IDG) (68): 50. March 1995. https://retrocdn.net/images/0/07/GamePro_US_068.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "The Itchy and Scratchy Game". GamePro (IDG) (68): 123. March 1995. https://retrocdn.net/images/0/07/GamePro_US_068.pdf. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Itchy & Scratchy Game". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/itchy-scratchy-game/mobyrank. 
  8. ↑ "ProReview: The Itchy & Scratchy Game". GamePro (IDG) (82): 63. July 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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