Software:Virtual Pool 3

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Short description: 2000 video game
Virtual Pool 3
Windows box art
Developer(s)Celeris
Publisher(s)Digital Mayhem (PC)
XS Games (PS)
SeriesVirtual Pool
Platform(s)Windows
PlayStation
ReleaseWindows
PlayStation
  • NA: August 11, 2003
PlayStation Network
  • NA: November 2, 2010
Genre(s)Sports (cue sports)
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Virtual Pool 3 is a 3D, first-person sports video game that simulates various cue sports, developed and released for Windows and PlayStation by Celeris. The game features 15 pool disciplines, snooker, and two varieties of carom billiards.

Overview

Initially, Virtual Pool 3 was released as a retail boxed version endorsed by champion pool player Jeanette Lee. The latest version is available on the Celeris site as a download and is supported via downloadable update patches.[3]

A Dreamcast version was referenced in the official Sega press kit for E3 2000 but did not materialise.[4][5]

Gameplay

Nine-ball in Virtual Pool 3 single-player mode

The game can be played in single-player mode against the computer (Career Mode, Tournament or Quick Play), or against other human opponents on the Internet or locally through a LAN.

The game features eight billiard venues the player can choose from, which include six pool tables, a snooker table, and a carom table for cushion caroms or three-cushion billiards. There are three preset table configurations available for all games (championship, professional, and amateur), but any table can be customized for roll speed and pocket dimensions.

Twenty-one variations are featured in the game, and most options simulate popular games including nine-ball, eight-ball, and straight pool, as well as snooker, and three-cushion, the inclusion of uncommon variations such as cowboy pool, Honolulu, and bowliards allows players to try out game for which finding real-life opponents might be difficult.

The disciplines featured in Virtual Pool 3 are as it follows:

  • Snooker
  • Nine-ball
  • Straight pool
  • Eight-ball – league
  • Eight-ball – midwest
  • Eight-ball – bar
  • Eight-ball – pub
  • Ten-ball
  • Six-Ball
  • Three-ball
  • One-pocket
  • Rotation
  • Bank pool
  • Honolulu
  • Cowboy pool
  • Bowliards
  • Cribbage pool
  • Fifteen-ball
  • Basic pocket billiards
  • Cushion caroms (one-cushion carom billiards)
  • Three-cushion billiards

Online play

Beginning a frame of snooker online

Players use the GameSpy Arcade client to access the game's main lobby and then create or join virtual rooms where they can participate in online play.

  • Challenge Mode creates a winner-stays-on style of play where the creator of the room selects the game and table.
  • Normal Mode allows the player to create a room where he, or the previous match winner can set the game type, table and players who play.

The Virtual International Players Ladder (VIPLadder) is a perpetual league for players of games in the Virtual Pool franchise.[6] Players compete in matches to earn points from other VIP Ladder players. As players earn points, they move up the ladder.

Besides other normal leagues ending with playoffs[7] (like the Eight-ball Pub League),[8] there are several regular weekly online tournaments that every player can attend. Each tournament usually takes a few hours, but some more prestigious events such as the Virtual 9 Ball World Championships and the Virtual Snooker World Championships can take several days or weeks to complete.[9]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings85%[10]
Metacritic82%[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot8.7/10[12]
IGN8.5/10[13]
PC Zone UK8.5/10[14]
PC Gamer8.5/10[15]

Virtual Pool 3 was mostly very well received by critics, with an average score of 85% at GameRankings,[10] which makes it the highest rated billiards game on Windows, as of 2007. industry standard video game aggregator website Metacritic also scored the game well, at another franchise high rating of 82 out of 100.[11][16]

GameSpot rated the game highly, with an 8.7 out of 10 rating, particularly citing the "gorgeous" visuals as well as the "better ball physics and better online support" than the previous titles in the series.[12] However, GameSpot did find that it was "disappointing" that the players were (as with all Virtual Pool games) invisible instead of fully rendered. GameSpot's review concluded that "you can't find a pool sim that looks and plays as much like the real thing as Virtual Pool 3 does."[12]

IGN were also positive about the game; scoring it an 8.5 out of 10,[13] calling Virtual Pool 3 "really a great game", and saying the "great gameplay that will keep you entertained for a long time since", and "it's a whole lot of fun". However, IGN also said that Virtual Pool 3 "won't replace the real thing".[13]

Sequel

Virtual Pool 4, the sequel to the game announced on July 6, 2012,[17] and was released on 15 August 2012 worldwide for Windows. The game features many graphical and feature updates from Virtual Pool 3. An online-only version of the game was released in 2015 that features online tournaments and rankings, similar to Virtual Pool 3.

References

  1. ↑ Bye, John (November 22, 2000). "Virgin births delayed". https://www.eurogamer.net/article-29799. 
  2. ↑ Walker, Trey (November 7, 2000). "Virtual Pool 3 Ships". http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2651307,00.html. 
  3. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 – Downloadable patches". Celeris.com. http://www.celeris.com/games/vp3/patch. 
  4. ↑ "Dreamcast – More Games". E3 2000 Press Kit. 2000. pp. 7. https://segaretro.org/images/e/ec/E32000_Dreamcast_MoreGames.pdf. 
  5. ↑ "New Games". Official Dreamcast Magazine. Dennis Publishing. June 8, 2000. pp. 25. https://retrocdn.net/images/b/b4/ODM_UK_09.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 – VIP Ladder". http://www.vipladder.com/vpmain.shtml. 
  7. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 – Eight-ball Pub League playoffs". VPHQTournaments.com. http://www.vphqtournaments.com/tourney_archive/tourney_results.asp?tid=2998. 
  8. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 – Eight-ball Pub League results". 8BallVP3.com. http://8ballvp3.awardspace.com/main.html. 
  9. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 – World champions (past and present)". 9BallDotCom.co.uk. http://www.9balldotcom.co.uk/virtualworldchampions.htm. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Virtual Pool 3 for PC". http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/913880-virtual-pool-3/index.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Virtual Pool 3". https://www.metacritic.com/game/virtual-pool-3/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Poole, Stephen (December 1, 2000). "Virtual Pool 3 Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/virtual-pool-3-review/1900-2660188/. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Staff (December 8, 2000). "Virtual Pool 3". http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/09/virtual-pool-3. 
  14. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 Review". PC Zone UK. August 13, 2001. 
  15. ↑ "Virtual Pool 3 Review". PC Gamer: 83. March 2001. 
  16. ↑ Hudak, Chris. "Virtual Pool 3: Preview". http://www.dailyradar.com:80/previews/game_preview_798.html. 
  17. ↑ "Virtual Pool 4 to be released for Windows". Inside Pool Magazine. July 6, 2017. http://www.insidepoolmag.com/201207/billiard-news/virtual-pool-4-to-be-released-for-windows.html. 
  • 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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