Software:Winter Games

From HandWiki
Short description: 1985 video game
This page is about the Epyx video game series. For the international sporting event, see Winter Olympic Games. For the song, see Winter Games (2PM song). For the upcoming Russian television series, see Game2: Winter. For other uses, see winter games (disambiguation).
Winter Games
Amiga cover art
Developer(s)Epyx
Action Graphics (C64)
Free Radical Software (Atari ST, Amiga)
Atelier Double (Famicom Disk System/NES)
Publisher(s)Epyx (US)
U.S. Gold (EU)
Acclaim (NES)
Pony Canyon (Famicom Disk System)
Programmer(s)Richard A. Ditton (C64, Amiga, Atari ST)
Elaine Hodgson (Amiga, Atari ST)
Chris Oberth (Apple II)
Fumiko Murakami (Famicom Disk System/NES)
Artist(s)Lonnie D. Ropp (C64)
Michael Kosaka (C64)
Timothy Skelly (Atari ST, Amiga)
Masashi Fujishima (Famicom Disk System/NES)
Composer(s)David Thiel
Kenichi Tomizawa (Famicom Disk System/NES)
Platform(s)Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, MSX, NEC PC-8801 ZX Spectrum, IBM PC, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, NES, Famicom Disk System, Virtual Console, Apple Macintosh
ReleaseCommodore 64
Apple II
Genre(s)Sports game
Mode(s)Single-player

Winter Games is a 1985 sports video game developed by Epyx and released in Europe by U.S. Gold. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful Summer Games, Winter Games was released in 1985 for the Commodore 64 and later ported to several popular home computers and video game consoles of the 1980s.

Based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games, the game was presented as a virtual multi-sport carnival called the "Epyx Winter Games" (there was no official IOC licensing in place) with up to 8 players each choosing a country to represent, and then taking turns competing in various events to try for a medal.

Events

The events available vary slightly depending on the platform, but include some or all of the following:

  • Slalom skiing
  • Ski jumping[2]
  • Biathlon[3]
  • Bobsled[3]
  • Figure skating[3]
  • Speed skating[2]
  • Luge[4]
  • Freestyle skiing; the aerial skiing discipline, called "Hot Dog Aerials" in the game[3]
  • Free skating[2]

The game allows players to compete in all of the events sequentially, choose a few events, choose just one event, or practice an event.

Ports

C64 screenshot of the "Hot Dog Aerials" event

Winter Games was ported to the Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Apple Macintosh, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and IBM PC computer platforms, and to the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Family Computer Disk System video game consoles. In 2004, it was featured as one of the games on the C64 Direct-to-TV. A Virtual Console version was released in Europe in February 2009.

Reception

Reception
Awards
PublicationAward
CrashCrash Smash
Sinclair UserSU Classic

Winter Games was Epyx's best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987.[5] Its sales had surpassed 250,000 copies by November 1989.[6]

Info rated Winter Games four-plus stars out of five, stating that each event was good enough to be sold separately, and concluding that it was "sports simulation at its best!".[7] In 1985, Zzap!64 gave 94% for the game calling it "another classic sport simulation from Epyx". Lemon64 website users have given average vote of 8.6 which places the game on top 20 list on the site. The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #132 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.[8] The Spectrum version topped the charts for the month of April.[9] However, the NES and Famicom Disk System versions were critically panned for unresponsive controls, abysmal music and poor graphics.

The Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed the NES version of the game in December 2009. In it, he calls the game's controls some of the worst in a game ever.

In 1996, Next Generation listed the "Games" series collectively as number 89 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time". The magazine wrote that though the games had great graphics for their time, their most defining qualities were their competitive multiplayer modes and "level of control that has yet to be equaled".[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "1985 Index". Computer Entertainer 4 (10): 6. January 1986. http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jan86.pdf#page=6. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Commodore User Magazine Issue 26". November 1985. https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-26/page/n25/mode/2up?view=theater. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Zzap Issue 007". November 1985. p. 104. http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=007&page=104&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap. 
  4. ↑ "Atari 2600 Reviews U-Z by the Video Game Critic". https://videogamecritic.com/2600uz.htm#Winter_Games. 
  5. ↑ Ferrell, Keith (December 1987). "The Commodore Games That Live On And On". Compute's Gazette: pp. 18–22. https://archive.org/stream/1987-12-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_54_1987_Dec#page/n17/mode/2up. 
  6. ↑ Staff (November 1989). "Chart-Busters; SPA Platinum". Game Players (5): 112. 
  7. ↑ Dunnington, Benn; Brown, Mark R. (December 1985 – January 1986). "C-64/128 Gallery". Info: 4–5, 88–93. https://archive.org/stream/info-magazine-09/Info_Issue_09_1985_Dec-Jan_1986#page/n5/mode/2up. Retrieved 2019-03-19. 
  8. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (April 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (132): 80–85. 
  9. ↑ "The YS Rock'n'Roll Years - Issue 4". Ysrnry.co.uk. http://ysrnry.co.uk/ys4.htm. 
  10. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (21): 39. September 1996. 
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.



Template:Epyx Games series



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Winter_Games&oldid=3960914"