Looney Tunes: Space Race is a 2000 kart-racing video game published by Infogrames for the Dreamcast and developed through Infogrames' own Melbourne House studio.[4] A version of Nintendo 64 was developed, but it was never released.[5][6] It was ported to PlayStation 2 in 2002 (under the name "Space Race") with a new tournament mode and different soundtrack.[7]
Looney Tunes: Space Race is a kart racing game where a player can play as and race against characters in the Looney Tunes series.[8] There are eight selectable characters, from Bugs Bunny to Wile E. Coyote,[9] with 12 race tracks being in the game.[8] Each track has Acme boxes with gags in them that act as power-ups that may be used as weapons against other racers.[8] Gags include things such as anvils, pianos, and black holes.[8] Along the tracks are green canisters, after collecting five of them, a player will be able to use a turbo boost.[8][9]
Modes featured are single or multiplayer (up to four players) races, Challenge and Acme Events.[10] The PlayStation 2 version got an exclusive Tournament mode.[11][10]
Development
Looney Tunes: Space Race was first announced in March 1998,[5] the game was being developed by New Wave USA.The game was shown at E3 1999 along with Infogrames other Looney Tunes game for the Nintendo 64, Taz Express.[12] In August 1999, they moved the project to the Dreamcast and development moved from New Wave USA to Infogrames Melbourne House.[4] It was then shown at E3 2000, where it was 70% complete.[13]
The Dreamcast version received "favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation 2 version received "mixed" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[16][17] Evan Shamoon of NextGen said of the former console version, "Despite one frustrating design decision, this is a beautifully presented and eminently likable game—and easily the best kart racer on Dreamcast."[33]
Notes
↑In GameFan's viewpoint of the Dreamcast version, three critics gave it each a score of 81, 87, and 82.
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 lengthy 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]
See also
IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions