Software:Virtua Tennis: World Tour

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Short description: 2005 video game
Virtua Tennis: World Tour
European cover art which includes Tim Henman, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova
Developer(s)Sumo Digital
Publisher(s)Sega
SeriesVirtua Tennis
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable
Release
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player

Virtua Tennis: World Tour, known in Japan as Power Smash: New Generation, is a tennis video game which was released for the Sony PlayStation Portable.

Overview

Virtua Tennis: World Tour was first released on September 1, 2005 in Europe with a North American release following shortly afterwards on October 6. It was later released in Japan on January 26, 2006 under the title Power Smash: New Generation.

The game features 14 real-life professional tennis players, four court surfaces (with multiple arenas of each surface) and multiple game modes.

Game modes

World Tour

This is the main 1-player mode of Virtua Tennis: World Tour. In this mode, the players create one male and one female character for use in all tournaments in the game to become the No. #1-ranked player in the world. In between tournaments, skill levels may be raised by competing in a variety of quick minigames.

Quick Match

As it sounds, Quick Match just throws into a match, automatically selecting the players and court.

Ball Games

A few minigames for a short play time. These are Blocker, Balloon Smash, Fruit Dash and Blockbuster.

Tournament

The players select a player and attempt to play through 6 matches in order to win a tournament. Courts are automatically selected. There is also a retry option which enables the player to try to win again and again.

Exhibition

The player selects a player, opponent and a court.

Multiplayer

Using the PSP's Wi-Fi capabilities, up to 4 players can compete in a tennis match.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic84/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGMStarStarStarStarHalf star[5]
Edge7/10[6]
EGM7.33/10[7][lower-alpha 1]
Eurogamer9/10[8]
Famitsu27/40[9]
Game Informer8.5/10[10]
GameProStarStarStarStar[11]
GameSpot8.2/10[12]
GameSpyStarStarStarStar[13]
Hardcore Gamer3.75/5[14]
IGN8.5/10[15]
OPM (US)StarStarStarStar[16]
Pocket GamerStarStarStarHalf star[17]
MaximStarStarStarStar[19]
The Sydney Morning HeraldStarStarStarStar[20]

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] Many critics were disappointed, however, by the added element of two fictional female players, on the account of the high numbers of top players in the WTA. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of three sevens and one six for a total of 27 out of 40.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the game, one critic gave it 6/10, and the rest gave it each a score of 8/10.

References

  1. ↑ Castro, Juan (2005-09-12). "What's Left for 2005?" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/09/12/whats-left-for-2005. 
  2. ↑ "PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) Launches Today Across Europe". 1 September 2005. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/pspplaystationportable-launches-today-across-europe. 
  3. ↑ Chris-Leigh (29 August 2005). "Updated Australian Release List - 29/08/05". http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=2954&sid=7b7984ff736abd9f2b8060f1236324bd. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Virtua Tennis: World Tour for PSP Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/virtua-tennis-world-tour/critic-reviews/?platform=psp. 
  5. ↑ "Review: Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Computer Games Magazine (theGlobe.com) (181): 93. December 2005. 
  6. ↑ Edge staff (October 2005). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Edge (Future Publishing) (154): 96. 
  7. ↑ Lee, James; Tsao, Jennifer; Mauro, Patrick (November 2005). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (197): 154. 
  8. ↑ Reed, Kristan (2005-09-01). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/r-virtuatennis-psp. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Gantayat, Anoop (2006-01-31). "Now Playing in Japan". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/01/31/now-playing-in-japan-196. 
  10. ↑ Kato, Matthew (November 2005). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Game Informer (GameStop) (151): 182. 
  11. ↑ Mr. Marbles (November 2005). "Virtua Tennis [World Tour Review for PSP on GamePro.com"]. GamePro (IGD Entertainment): 130. http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psp/games/reviews/48896.shtml. Retrieved 2023-05-16. 
  12. ↑ Davis, Ryan (2005-10-21). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/virtua-tennis-world-tour-review/1900-6136321/. 
  13. ↑ Leeper, Justin (2005-10-05). "GameSpy: Virtua Tennis: World Tour". IGN Entertainment. http://psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/multiplayer-battle-sports-game-untitled-sega-project/656215p1.html. 
  14. ↑ Hulegaard, Dave "Shoegazer"; Off, Greg "Roger Danish" (November 2005). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Hardcore Gamer (Prima Games) 1 (5): 62. https://archive.org/details/hardcore-gamer-magazine-v1i5/page/n31/mode/2up. Retrieved 2023-05-16. 
  15. ↑ Castro, Juan (2005-10-04). "Virtua Tennis World Tour". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/10/04/virtua-tennis-world-tour. 
  16. ↑ "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (99): 138. December 2005. 
  17. ↑ James, Chris (2005-10-18). "Virtua Tennis World Tour". Steel Media Ltd. https://www.pocketgamer.com/virtua-tennis-world-tour/virtua-tennis-world-tour/. 
  18. ↑ Jones, Darren (2006-05-25). "Virtua Tennis: World Tour". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (25). 
  19. ↑ Semel, Paul (2005-10-06). "Virtua Tennis World Tour". Maxim (MaximNet, Inc.). http://www.maximonline.com/entertainment/reviews.aspx?p_id=10728. Retrieved 2023-05-16. 
  20. ↑ Hill, Jason (2005-09-15). "Perfect match". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/perfect-match-20050915-gdm2bi.html. 
  • 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 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]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

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. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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