Software:Top Gear Pocket

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Top Gear Pocket
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North American box art
Developer(s)Vision Works
Publisher(s)
SeriesTop Gear
Platform(s)Game Boy Color
Release
  • NA: March 30, 1999[1]
  • JP: April 23, 1999
  • EU: 1999
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). known in Europe as Top Gear Rally, is a racing video game developed by Kemco and released for the Game Boy Color handheld console in 1999. A sequel, Top Gear Pocket 2, was released in 2000.

Gameplay

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The player races against a computer-controlled opponent. The player's position and best time are shown at the top of the screen.

Top Gear Pocket is a racing video game where the player drives rally cars through a series of tracks. As the player wins races, new cars and tracks are unlocked.[2] The game features a total of 14 cars and eight tracks.[3] Races can take place in cities, savannas, grasslands, and snowy trails.[3] Both two-wheeled and four-wheeled cars are featured in the game and the handling of each car varies significantly.[3] The game cartridge features a built-in rumble feature that vibrates when the player crashes into other cars or slides on the track,[2] but does not feature a battery to save the game progress, so passwords must be used to restore the game to a specific state.[3] The game also includes a multiplayer mode where two players can race against each other.[3] The Game Link Cable is required for multiplayer.[4]

Release and reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings63%[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStar[2]
CVGStarStarStar[6]
Game Informer6/10[7]
GameSpot5.3/10[8]
IGN7/10[3]
N64 MagazineStarStarStar[9]
Nintendo Power5.1/10[4]
Consoles +89%[10]
Nintendo Acción60/100[11]

Top Gear Pocket was the first Game Boy Color game to introduce a rumble feature in North America.[4] In Europe, the game was released as Top Gear Rally.[9][10] Critical reception for the game was generally mixed.[5] N64 Magazine criticized it for its lack of challenge and variety, stating that tracks are "either a mixture of looooong straights or fairly simple curves", but highlighted its graphics and sense of speed.[9] In contrast, Computer and Video Games felt that the game was very challenging, stating that players might get both frustration and joy in equal measure.[6] IGN remarked that the graphics are sharp and clear and that the game "creates a very realistic feeling of movement".[3]

The French video game magazine Consoles + praised the game's rumble feature, stating that it enhances the gameplay experience significantly.[10] The Spanish official Nintendo magazine Nintendo Acción agreed, but criticized the car handling and their small size.[11]

References

Notes
Citation
  1. ↑ "GameBoy Station - Archives | March 1999". March 29, 1999. http://gbstation.com/archives/mar99.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Woods, Nick. "Top Gear Pocket - Review". Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116092431/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=17959&tab=review. Retrieved May 25, 2017. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Jones, Tim (June 11, 1999). "Top Gear Pocket". Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161212101912/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/12/top-gear-pocket. Retrieved May 25, 2017. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Top Gear Pocket". Nintendo Power (120): 129. May 1999. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Top Gear Pocket". Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135730/https://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/199068-top-gear-pocket/index.html. Retrieved May 25, 2017. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Top Gear Rally". Computer and Video Games (EMAP) (212): 41. July 1999. 
  7. ↑ "Top Gear Pocket". Game Informer (73). May 1999. 
  8. ↑ Davis, Cameron (January 28, 2000). "Top Gear Pocket Review". Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190630191023/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/top-gear-pocket-review/1900-2536213/. Retrieved May 25, 2017. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Top Gear Rally". N64 Magazine (30): 39. July 1999. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Top Gear Rally" (in French). Consoles + (M.E.R.7) (89): 140. June 1999. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Top Gear Rally" (in Spanish). Nintendo Acción (Hobby Press) (81): 59. August 1999. 
  • 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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