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MobyGames

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MobyGames
MobyGames' official logo
Screenshot
MobyGames website screenshot
MobyGames frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerGameFly
Created byJim Leonard and Brian Hirt
URLMobyGames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional, Free

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 July 17, 2012, the catalog includes 131 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) and more than 67,000 game entries,[2][3] spanning 40 years.

It was purchased by GameFly in 2010 for an undisclosed amount.[4]

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:

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".[5] 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. 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. FM-7, SAM Coupé, and SuperGrafx were added in June 2012. It has been argued on the MobyGames' message boards that Amstrad GX4000 and SuperGrafx should not be separate entries. Amstrad GX4000 has no games, so far, that are exclusive to that system. GX4000 cartridges will also run on an Amstrad 464Plus. SuperGrafx is already listed as a separate media type on MobyGames. Philips Videopac+ G7400, Acorn Atom, Thomson TO and Sinclair QL were added in July 2012.
Certain systems are still absent.

In Summer 2010 MobyGames was acquired by GameFly.

Awards

MobyGames was nominated for a Webby Award for Best Game-related Website[6] by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences on April 11, 2006.

Platforms listed in the database

Limitations of scope

Not all games can have entries at MobyGames, either due to authors' design decisions or limitations of the as of Summer 2012 database structure (a problem going beyond the addition of a new platform):

  • cancelled (unreleased) games (this information may be entered as trivia for company/developer or relevant game series)
  • unreleased games still in developement (as all information is subject to change)
  • games which appeared only in a compilation, without stand-alone release
  • fan-made mods/total conversions of other games (this information may be entered as trivia for relevant game) - as opposed to commercially released ones[7]
  • platform-independent games, such as online MUDs, MUSHes etc. played over Telnet
  • coin-operated arcade game machines (using wide range of hardware)
  • pirated releases

Sometimes it may be debatable whether a given title should be allowed, as it's somewhat ambiguous what is a game[8], and there's no official definition in The MobyGames Standards and Practices so far.

References

  1. ^ "Mobygames.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ^ Ports for different platforms count towards this number. Without ports, compilations or special editions the number of unique titles is over 30,000. [1]
  3. ^ MobyGames database stats. Retrieved from MobyGames 2012-07-17.
  4. ^ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-07-02.
  5. ^ "The 25 Greatest Games of All Time" list from MobyGames
  6. ^ "2006 Webby Nominees, Games-Related category". Webbyawards.com. 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  7. ^ such as Green Berets based on Myth II, included with package
  8. ^ compare various programs called "idle games" of little to none interactivity [2]

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
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