Stadium Events

From HandWiki - Reading time: 6 min


Stadium Events
North American box art
Developer(s)Human Entertainment
Publisher(s)Bandai (Stadium Events)
Nintendo (World Class Track Meet)
Platform(s)NES
Release
  • JP: December 23, 1986
  • NA: September 1987
  • EU: 1988
Genre(s)Exergaming, sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Stadium Events[lower-alpha 1] is a sports fitness game developed by Human Entertainment and published by Bandai for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This and Athletic World are the two games in the Family Fun Fitness series, designed and branded for the short-lived Family Fun Fitness mat accessory for the NES. Stadium Events allows players to compete in four different Olympic inspired sporting events, using the mat to move as they compete in running and jumping focused gameplay.

The North American version was rebranded by Nintendo after its 1987 release. The game was re-released as World Class Track Meet and the new mat was titled the Power Pad. Original North American copies of Stadium Events are now considered to be among the rarest video games, leading to high prices in the secondary video game collecting market.

Gameplay

Stadium Events is a fitness game that allows the players to compete in four different sporting events: 100M dash, 110M hurdles, long jump, and triple jump.[1]: 1–3  The game utilizes the Family Fun Fitness control mat which supports up to two players simultaneously, although up to six alternating players can be registered for each event.[1]: 4–7  The left side of the mat must be used for the dash and hurdle events, while the other events can use either side. The top speed of the player's runner is dependent upon which row of buttons on the mat is used. If the player lifts their feet slightly before the starting signal, it is considered a false start.[1]: 8–11 

A player competes against the computer in the 110M hurdles.

The 100M dash event places two players against each other in a race. The 110M hurdles event is similar to the dash, but the players must jump when white box markers appear along the edge of the screen. The long jump has the players running and then jumping and staying in the air as long as possible to record a longer distance. The triple jump is similar to the long jump but includes three separate jump markers.[1]: 12–19  In tournament mode, the player must compete against computer players at the 100M dash and 110M hurdle events. The player must beat each of the six computer players at both the dash and hurdle events in order to win. In this mode, three false starts results in a disqualification.[1]: 8–11  In another mode, "The Olympics", numerous players can compete in all four events consecutively. In this mode, the Guinness 1982 world track record is used as a reference for scoring standards.[1]: 20–21 

Release

Stadium Events was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in September 1987.[2] Nintendo saw promise in the Family Fun Fitness technology, so purchased the mat and re-branded it as the Power Pad. Stadium Events was also re-released as World Class Track Meet.[3]

The North American version of Stadium Events is considered one of the rarest NES games.[3][4][5][6][7] The total number of copies sold to consumers is unknown. The standard minimum initial run for an NES game was around 10,000 copies, but collectors believe the game's scarcity is much higher. A popular rumor that the game was sold at one Woolworth's store was proven false. Howard Phillips, a former spokesman for Nintendo of America, did not believe the cartridges were destroyed and claimed that reworking all of the cartridges would have been impractical.[3] Stadium Events copies have been sold for up to US$35,100 in the video game collecting market.[3][4][5][6][7]

The 2015 documentary Nintendo Quest considered it the single rarest NES title.[8]

Notes

  1. Known in Japan as Running Stadium (Japanese: ランニングスタジアム, Hepburn: Ranningu Sutajiamu).

References

  • 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

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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Software:Stadium_Events
86 views |
↧ Download this article as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF