Software:Young Thor

From HandWiki
Short description: 2010 video game
Young Thor
Japanese box art
Developer(s)Frima Studio
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 (PSN)
Release
  • NA: July 20, 2010
  • EU: July 21, 2010
  • JP: November 25, 2010
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Young Thor is an American-Canadian action-adventure video game developed by Frima Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Like Zombie Tycoon, it is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada. It was first released in 2010 as a downloadable PlayStation Network title for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. Young Thor is about the childhood of the eponymous Norse god, Thor, as he embarks on a quest to save the world tree, Yggdrasil. The game was met with mixed or average reviews from critics upon release.

Gameplay

A child with a golden, winged hat is seen with lightning emanating around him as a large, orange dragon spreads it wings behind him.
Thor battles one of the bosses from the game, Nidhogg, using his Mjolnir hammer and lightning magic

The game is a side-scroller beat 'em up and is broken up into four levels.[1] Players control the Norse god Thor and unleash his lightning magic and powerful hammer, Mjölnir, to blast any foes in his way.[1] As the game progresses, Thor gains XP which increases his character stats; however, the stats are not customizable, leading Joystiq to comment, "leveling seems to exist for the sole purpose of encouraging replays. Somebody out there will want to achieve a level 100 character, right?"[1] Each level introduces new types of enemies and new complicated platform layouts.[1] Treasures are hidden in certain levels which, if found, grant Thor powers such as extra health and magic regeneration, or the ability to double jump.[1] Levels must be repeated multiple times both to find the treasures and to gain enough experience to defeat tougher enemies in later levels.[1] To explain the Norse mythology present in the game, as the game progresses players unlock dictionary entries which can be accessed through the extras section of the game's menu.

Plot

The game follows the Norse god Thor as he travels through Midgard and Asgard on a quest to restore balance to the world.[2] The three Norns charged with keeping the world tree Yggdrasil – Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi – are being held captive by Hel and her two accomplices Níðhöggr and Ratatoskr. Yggdrasil will die if the Norns do not return, and with its death Hel will gain great power. Thor thus embarks on a quest to find eight godly artifacts that will help him defeat the captors and rescue the Norns.

Development

Young Thor is the second PlayStation Portable mini developed by Frima Studio, the first being Zombie Tycoon released on October 29, 2009.[3][4] The game was shown at the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe booth at E3 2010, a video game trade fair held in Los Angeles , California in June 2010.[5] Young Thor was released in the PlayStation Store on July 20, 2010.[3] In November 2010, Sony created a "Western Game Buyer Selection" on the PlayStation Network in Japan to offer Western-developed digitally distributed games to the Japanese market.[6][7] Young Thor was translated and localized for Japanese players,[8] and was among the first three games to be released in this section of the PlayStation Network.[6]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71 / 100[9]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.com(PS3) B−[10]
GameProStarStarHalf star[11]
GamesRadar+StarStarHalf star[12]
JoystiqStarStarStarStar[1]
Push SquareStarStarStarStarStarStarStar[13]

Young Thor received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9] Joystiq's Andrew Yoon enjoyed the scaling levels but thought the game was too short: "I anticipated a far grander adventure, especially after the impressive, fully-voiced opening cutscene raised my expectations."[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Yoon, Andrew (2010-07-22). "Review: Young Thor". Yahoo. https://www.engadget.com/2010-07-22-review-young-thor.html. 
  2. ↑ Rick, Christophor (2010-08-09). "Young Thor Review (PS Mini)". http://www.gamersdailynews.com/article-2535-Young-Thor-Review-PS-Mini.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yoon, Andrew (2010-07-07). "Young Thor hammers its way to Minis on July 20". Yahoo. https://www.engadget.com/2010-07-07-young-thor-hammers-its-way-to-minis-on-july-20.html. 
  4. ↑ Ransom-Wiley, James (2009-10-29). "Zombie Tycoon reanimates PSP minis movement today". Yahoo. https://www.engadget.com/2009-10-29-zombie-tycoon-reanimates-psp-minis-movement-today.html. 
  5. ↑ "Young Thor at E3 2010". 2010-06-12. http://www.gamershell.com/news_97318.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (2010-11-24). "Sony announces Western Game Buyer Selection for PSN users in Japan". Gamer Network. https://www.vg247.com/sony-announces-western-game-buyer-selection-for-psn-users-in-japan. 
  7. ↑ Yip, Spencer (2010-11-24). "Sony Opens Western Game Section On PlayStation Network". Gamurs. https://www.siliconera.com/sony-opens-western-game-section-on-playstation-network/. 
  8. ↑ IGN staff (2010-11-29). "Young Thor Heads to Japan". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/11/29/young-thor-heads-to-japan. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Young Thor for PSP Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/young-thor/critic-reviews/?platform=psp. 
  10. ↑ Neigher, Eric (2010-08-09). "Young Thor Review (PS3)". Ziff Davis. http://www.1up.com/reviews/young-thor-review. 
  11. ↑ Noble, McKinley (2010-07-26). "Young Thor". GamePro (GamePro Media). http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/215934/young-thor/. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 
  12. ↑ Groen, Andrew (2010-08-31). "Young Thor review". Future plc. https://www.gamesradar.com/young-thor-review/. 
  13. ↑ Barker, Sammy (2010-07-29). "Young Thor Review [Incomplete"]. Gamer Network. https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/psminis/young_thor. 
  • 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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