MobyGames

MobyGames

MobyGames' official logo
Screenshot  MobyGames frontpage as of April 2012
URL	MobyGames.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Gaming
Registration	Optional
Available language(s)	English
Owner	GameFly
Created by	Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt
Launched	March 1, 1999; 13 years ago (1999-03-01)
Current status	active

MobyGames is a website which catalogs computer and video games, both past and present. The site contains an extensive database of video game information. The website's goal is defined as the following by the website's FAQ: "To meticulously catalog all relevant information about electronic games (computer, console, and arcade) on a game-by-game basis, and then offer up that information through flexible queries and 'data mining'. In layman's terms, it's a huge game database." As of May 28, 2012, the catalog includes 125 gaming platforms (consoles, computers and handheld devices including mobile phones - some of them grouped as a family as in the case of Atari 8-bit; coin-operated arcade game machines are not included) and more than 66,000 game entries,^[1][2] spanning 40 years.

It was purchased by GameFly in 2010 for an undisclosed amount.^{[citation needed]}

Overview

MobyGames' database contains information on video and computer games, video game developers and publishers and categorizes them by year, manufacturer, platform and genres.

Content to MobyGames is added on a voluntary basis. The ideas are similar to a wiki, though not identical. Anonymous contributions are not allowed, each item is tracked to a user account (account registration is free) for auditing purposes. Furthermore, all information submitted to MobyGames is individually verified by users with Approver access before it goes into the database. The most commonly used sources are game packaging and manual or the game itself (title/credit screens), but also publishers' announcements, interviews with developers etc.

MobyGames also maintains a comprehensive list of developers, such as programmers, game designers and artists. This list is garnered from the credit information for games in their database. Some developer profiles have biographical information (similarly to how IMDb tracks credits for various film actors and crew).

Almost all information on a game can be included in MobyGames. Each entry can include:

• a brief description characterizing the gameplay and setting
• genres, themes, franchises
• credit information
• release information (across different countries and releases — including budget-price reissues) with product codes
• cover art scans
• screenshots (rules for contributing these are strict, they may not be borrowed from other websites)
• review excerpts (printed or online) and rating scores (aggregated into a MobyRank)
• technical specifications (medium, system requirements) for each platform
• tips & tricks (not necessarily cheat codes, but also hints, easter eggs, walkthroughs)
• advertising blurbs from the publisher
• content ratings (ESRB, PEGI, CERO, etc.)
• links to official or fan websites
• non-indexed information (such as awards) may be entered as trivia

MobyGames allows its registered users to rate their favorite games (by perceived gameplay value, audio-visual and presentation quality, educational value, etc.), the scores are aggregated into a MobyScore. The top rated games are then featured in a series of lists sorted by genre, system, year, etc. There is also a list for "The 25 Greatest Games of All Time".^[3] Users can also write own reviews for any game entry (they may be later re-edited by the author if necessary).

The site also features an integrated forum - apart from sections on general subjects and community related matters, each listed game can have its own subforum.

Uses with own account may create own "have list" and "want list" of games, which may be optionally made public - this can generate another list of games available for trade with other users.

Concepts and goals

The primary goal of MobyGames is to meticulously catalog all video games. MobyGames relies upon user contributions for accurate information of video games ranging anywhere from the 1970s to the 21st century. The goal is to record all historically relevant information about a game.

MobyGames relies upon the idea that the website is built largely upon the contributions of the members of the site. The games added to the site are all added by users that contribute a missing game or some aspect of the game like credits or screenshots. Games can range anywhere from the 1970s up until the release date before it is entered into the database (unreleased or in-developement titles are not allowed). Many games are missing relevant information such as credits, cheats, screenshots, and covers which can be contributed by users as long as the information is accurate. Almost all information relevant to the game is cataloged (this allows for complex database searches).

History

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard, Brian Hirt, and David Berk (joined 18 months after project started, but still credited as a founder), three friends since high school. Leonard had the idea of sharing information about electronic games with a larger audience; out of that desire came MobyGames.

MobyGames began with just entries for DOS and Windows games, since those were the only systems the founders were familiar with. On its second birthday, MobyGames started supporting other platforms, initially the leading consoles of the time such as the PlayStation, with classic systems added later.

Other 2005 additions include the MSX, Amstrad CPC, TRS-80, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Java ME, Xbox 360 and Gizmondo. According to David Berk, new platforms are added once there is enough information researched to design the necessary framework for them in the database, as well as people willing to be approvers for the new platform. In 2006, Atari 8-bit, Commodore PET, Macintosh computers, Channel F, Magnavox Odyssey, CD-i, Dragon 32/64, Magnavox Odyssey², iPod, PlayStation 3 and Wii were added to the database. The documentation of Spectravideo and iPhone/iPod Touch titles, and games developed for Web browser technology, was started in 2008. BBC Micro added in May 2010. CDTV, Game Wave, Microvision, bada, webOS, PlayStation Vita added in December 2011. Oric-1, Sharp X68000, Playdia, Super A'can, GP32, Supervision added in February 2012. Sega Pico, Pippin and RCA Studio II were added in March of 2012. Acorn 32-bit family, Commodore 16 and Commodore Plus/4 (as a single grouping), Nuon, SG-1000, ZX80, and the ZX81 were added in April 2012. Sharp X1, Amstrad GX4000, Casio Loopy, Casio PV-1000, GP2X, GP2X Wiz were added in May 2012.
Certain systems, such as the SAM Coupé are still absent.

In Summer 2010 MobyGames was acquired by GameFly.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

MobyGames was nominated for a Webby Award for Best Game-related Website^[4] by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences on April 11, 2006.

Platforms listed in the database

References

Further reading

• Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition (December 18, 2003), ISBN 0-07-223172-6
• Katherine Isbister, Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive 3D Technology), Morgan Kaufmann; Pap/Cdr edition (June 5, 2006), ISBN 1-55860-921-0
• Christy Marx, Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games, Focal Press (October 25, 2006), ISBN 0-240-80582-8
• Jean Swanson, Dean James, The Dick Francis Companion, Berkley Trade; Berkley Pr edition (July 29, 2003), ISBN 0-425-18187-1
• Sheri Graner Ray, Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding The Market (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series), Charles River Media; 1 edition (September 2003), ISBN 1-58450-239-8
• Jason Rutter, Jo Bryce, Understanding Digital Games, Sage Publications Ltd (May 24, 2006), ISBN 1-4129-0033-6
• Ari Feldman, Designing Arcade Computer Game Graphics, Wordware Publishing; Bk&CD-Rom edition (November 1, 2000), ISBN 1-55622-755-8
• Dave Morris, Leo Hartas, Strategy Games, Thomson Course Technology (2004), ISBN 1-59200-253-6
• Diane Carr, Computer Games: Text, Narrative and Play, Polity (2006), ISBN 0-7456-3401-X
• Torben Kragh Grodal, Bente Larsen, Iben Thorving Laursen, Visual Authorship: Creativity and Intentionality in Media, Museum Tusculanum Press (2005), ISBN 87-635-0128-7

External links

• Official website