Motocross Madness (1998 video game)

Motocross Madness

Developer(s)| Rainbow Studios
Publisher(s)| Microsoft
Designer(s)| Robb Rinard
Programmer(s)| Mark DeSimone
Glenn O'Bannon
Artist(s)| Brian Gillies
Kevin Riley
Composer(s)| Mark Stratford
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows
Release|

* NA: August 18, 1998[1]
* EU: 1998

Genre(s)| Racing
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer

Motocross Madness is a motocross racing video game developed by Rainbow Studios[2] and published by Microsoft.

A sequel, Motocross Madness 2, was released in 2000. In 2013, a sequel for Xbox 360 was released, titled Motocross Madness. In the game, one can earn money by utilizing "career mode", but play for fun in Baja, Stunts, Enduro, Supercross, and National levels as well.

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Development
* 3 Reception
* 3.1 Sales
* 3.2 Awards
* 4 References
* 5 External links
* 6 Features
* 7 History
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Gameplay

The player races on the Baja track Arizona Waypoint #1.

The game is known for its realism, including terrain, audio, and "bone-chilling" motorcycle wrecks. If the player is in Stunt mode and goes out of bounds after climbing a large cliff, an "invisible slingshot" will cause the player and the bike fly across the map while a funny sound plays until both objects hit the ground.[3] The "invisible slingshot" effect was also used in the game ATV Offroad Fury, also created by Rainbow Studios.[4]

## Development

The game went gold on July 24, 1998.[5]

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate score

Aggregator| Score
GameRankings| 87%[6]
Review scores
Publication| Score
AllGame| [7]
CGSP| [9]
CGW| [10]
Game Informer| 8/10[11]
GameSpot| 8.4/10[12]
IGN| 8/10[13]
PC Gamer (US)| 92%[15]
PC Zone| 91%[16]
The Cincinnati Enquirer| [17]

The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[6]

### Sales

The game sold 35,922 units during 1998. These sales accounted for $1.54 million in revenue that year.[18]

### Awards

The game won Computer Games Strategy Plus' 1998 "Racing Game of the Year" award. The staff hailed it as "perhaps the best motorcycle racing game of all time."[19] PC Gamer US also named it the best racing game of 1998.[18] During the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Motocross Madness as a finalist for "PC Sports Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering", both of which were ultimately awarded to FIFA 99 and The Legend of Zelda, respectively.[20][21] It also received a nomination for GameSpot's 1998 "Driving Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Need for Speed III.[22]

## References

1. ↑ GameSpot staff (August 18, 1998). "Today's Releases [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000""]. Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/todays-releases/1100-2464151/.
2. ↑ Walker, Trey (November 7, 2001). "THQ acquires Rainbow Studios". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/thq-acquires-rainbow-studios/1100-2823367/.
3. ↑ "Motocross Madness". IGN Entertainment. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/motocross-madness/.
4. ↑ Contritus (June 19, 2013). "ATV Offroad Fury Funny Crashes". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwlw3M2nbZs.
5. ↑ GameSpot staff (July 24, 1998). "Motocross Madness Goes Gold [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000""]. Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/motocross-madness-goes-gold/1100-2464097/.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Motocross Madness for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/90397-motocross-madness/index.html.
7. ↑ Peters, Terry. "Motocross Madness - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14068&tab=review.
8. ↑ Chick, Tom (August 25, 1998). "Motocross Madness". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-2037,00.html.
9. ↑ Bauman, Steve (August 31, 1998). "Motocross Madness". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/014/026/motocross_madness_review.html.
10. ↑ Fortune, Greg (December 1998). "Mud in Your Eye! (Motocross Madness Review)". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (173): 388. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_173.pdf. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
11. ↑ Bergren, Paul (November 1998). "Motocross Madness". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (67): 74.
12. ↑ Dulin, Ron (September 8, 1998). "Motocross Madness Review [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000""]. Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/motocross-madness-review/1900-2542647/.
13. ↑ Harris, Craig (September 2, 1998). "Motocross Madness". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/09/03/motocross-madness.
14. ↑ Lee, Ed (October 1998). "Motocross Madness". PC Accelerator (Imagine Media) (2): 104. https://archive.org/details/PCXL02Oct1998/page/n109/mode/2up. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
15. ↑ "Motocross Madness". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 5 (11). November 1998.
16. ↑ Hill, Steve (September 1998). "Motocross Madness". PC Zone (Dennis Publishing) (67): 88–89. https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_67_September_1998/page/n87/mode/2up. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
17. ↑ Bottorff, James (1998). "'Motocross' mayhem". The Cincinnati Enquirer (Gannett Company). http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/games/reviews/motocross_madness.html.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 PC Gamer staff (April 1999). "Does Award Winner = Best Seller?". PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 6 (4): 50.
19. ↑ CGSP staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998 (Racing Game of the Year)". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/017/163/racing_of_year.html.
20. ↑ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Personal Computer". http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html.
21. ↑ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Craft Award". http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_craft.html.
22. ↑ GameSpot staff (1999). "The Best & Worst of 1998 (Driving Game of the Year)". Ziff Davis. http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/genre3b.html.

## External links

* 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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* v
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Madness video games

Monster Truck Madness|

* Monster Truck Madness
* Monster Truck Madness 2

Motocross Madness|

* Motocross Madness (1998)
* Motocross Madness 2
* Motocross Madness (2013)

Midtown Madness|

* Midtown Madness
* Midtown Madness 2
* Midtown Madness 3

Related|

* 4x4 Evo
* 2
* MX vs. ATV
* Midnight Club

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Rainbow Studios

THQ Nordic

MX vs. ATV|

* ATV Offroad Fury
* ATV Offroad Fury 2
* MX Unleashed
* MX vs. ATV Unleashed
* MX vs. ATV
* MX vs. ATV Untamed
* MX vs. ATV Reflex
* MX vs. ATV Alive
* MX vs. ATV Supercross
* MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore
* MX vs. ATV All Out

Other games|

* The Hive
* Deadly Tide
* Motocross Madness
* Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000
* Motocross Madness 2
* Splashdown
* Star Wars Racer Revenge
* Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
* Splashdown
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