Software:Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color video game)

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Tomb Raider
European box art
Developer(s)Core Design
Publisher(s)THQ
Producer(s)Troy Horton
Designer(s)Darren Price
Artist(s)Matthew Charlesworth
Composer(s)Manfred Linzner
Bernhard Wodok
SeriesTomb Raider
Platform(s)Game Boy Color
Release
  • NA: 7 June 2000
  • EU: 28 June 2000
  • UK: 30 June 2000
  • AU: 18 July 2000
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Tomb Raider is a 2000 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by THQ for the Game Boy Color under license from series owner Eidos Interactive. Following series protagonist Lara Croft as she searches ruins in South America for a powerful artefact, the gameplay features platforming and puzzle-solving on a 2D side-scrolling environment.

Tomb Raider was the debut entry for the series on Nintendo platforms, with it being described by developers and journalists as technically impressive for the platform. It sold well for THQ, and was praised by critics for its technical achievements and emulation of the main series gameplay in portable form. Two sequels were released; Curse of the Sword in 2001, and The Prophecy in 2003.

Gameplay

In Tomb Raider, the player control Lara Croft though 14 levels spread across five areas.[1] In each level, the player must solve puzzles, jump over obstacles, and defeat enemies. Lara can perform up to 25 different moves, including ledge-grabbing, backflips, and cliff-diving.[2] The story of the game follows Lara's attempts to stop a group of treasure hunters from possessing the Nightmare Stone, a key capable of releasing the evil god Quaxet.[1]

Development and release

Tomb Raider was developed for the Game Boy Color (GBC) by series creators Core Design as the character's first title on Nintendo hardware. Eidos Interactive producer Mike Shmitt described the game as technically impressive for the platform given the character's origins on more powerful hardware. Lara's animations, numbering over two thousand, were rendered from the home console originals, with direct memory access used to make the animations work. Lara's model was 48 pixels, far more than other player characters on the console.[3] The music and audio were handled by Manfred Linzner and Bernhard Wodok of Shin'en; the GBC Tomb Raider was among the company's first projects.[4][5]

Eidos Interactive licensed the property out to THQ. In a press release, Eidos's Jeremy Heath-Smith explained the partnership as due to THQ's extensive library of GBC titles.[6] Announced in November 1999,[7] Tomb Raider was released in North America on 7 June 2000 under the title Tomb Raider Starring Lara Croft.[6] It later released in Europe on 28 June,[8] in the United Kingdom on 30 June,[9] and in Australia on 18 July.[10]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings79%[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GamesMaster90%[12]
GameSpot8.1/10[1]
IGN8/10[2]
N64 MagazineStarStarStarStar[13]
Nintendo Power7.6/10[14]
Planet Game Boy90%[15]

During a report on the Australian release, THQ noted that the game had sold out in the region on release.[10] THQ positively noted the game as part of its second quarter fiscal report for 2000.[16]

The game received an average score of 79% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 10 reviews.[11] Frank Provo of GameSpot praised the levels, stating that each features a different gameplay theme, ranging from rope climbing in the temple levels to swimming in the caverns and dash-jumping over volcanic lava flows.[1] Critics also highlighted Lara's smooth and acrobatic animations,[14][15] and the fact that the player can perform a wide variety of moves with the limited buttons of the Game Boy Color.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Frank Provo (2000-06-09). "Tomb Raider GBC Review". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tomb-raider-gbc-review/1900-2585359/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Craig Harris (2000-06-13). "Tomb Raider". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/06/14/tomb-raider-3. 
  3. ↑ "Tomb Raider: Lara Shines On Game Boy Color". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (120): 72-76. March 2000. 
  4. ↑ "Music". Shin'en. http://www.shinen.com/music/music.php3?ref. 
  5. ↑ "Shin'en". 17 September 2007. https://mcvuk.com/development-news/shinen/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Garrett, Mary Nelson (7 June 2000). "THQ Ships Tomb Raider Starring Lara Croft For Game Boy Color". THQ. http://www.thq.com/About/PressReleases/press-196.asp. 
  7. ↑ Kennedy, Sam (19 August 2000). "First Look: Tomb Raider on GBC". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/first-look-tomb-raider-on-gbc/1100-2440305/. 
  8. ↑ "News" (in German). THQ. http://www.thq.de/html/magazin/news/shortnews/. 
  9. ↑ "Big Adventure". Official Nintendo Magazine (Future plc) (94): 15. July 2000. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-official-magazine-uk-94-july-2000/page/14/mode/2up. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Aussies say G'day to THQ Asia Pacific". 18 July 2000. https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/18/aussies-say-gday-to-thq-asia-pacific. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Tomb Raider Starring Lara Croft". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/199039-tomb-raider/index.html. 
  12. ↑ Kirrane, Simon (April 2000). "Tomb Raider". GamesMaster (Future plc) (93): 88–89. 
  13. ↑ "Tomb Raider". N64 Magazine (Future Publishing) (41): 38. May 2000. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Tomb Raider". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (132): 125. May 2000. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Alex (Summer 2000). "Tomb Raider". Planet Game Boy (Future Publishing) (3): 18–19. 
  16. ↑ "THQ Second Quarter Operating Loss Smaller Than Expected". THQ. 20 July 2000. http://www.thq.com/About/PressReleases/press-205.asp. 
  • 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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