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TV Sports

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 6 min

Short description: 1988 video game
TV Sports: Football
Developer(s)Cinemaware
Publisher(s)Cinemaware
Mirrorsoft
Victor Entertainment
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, TurboGrafx-16
Release
Genre(s)Sports

TV Sports: Football is a 1988 video game by Cinemaware for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and TurboGrafx-16.

Gameplay

TV Sports: Football is the first game released for a series of sports games which featured athletic action like on television.[1]

Reception

Wyatt Lee and J. D. Lambright reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and wrote that "action game fans who want a difficult game may not like this game as well as a strict arcade game like John Elway's Quarterback, but players who want to capture the atmosphere, flow of play, and fast-moving competition of professional football should love it".[2]

In the November 1989 edition of the British magazine Games International (issue 10), Ernesto Williams was not familiar with the American sport of football, but was able to learn about it through this video game. Although he liked most of the game, including the graphics and audio, he did not admire the appearance of sports announcers from time to time, and pointed out "mercifully this window dressing can be skipped in most cases, speeding up play considerably". He also noted that the incessant disk swapping slowed the game considerably. He concluded by giving both the game and its graphics above-average ratings of 4 out of 5, saying: "Simple but subtle, American Football is a game that needs time to fully appreciate".[3]

Matt Taylor reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and said that "despite the scattered flags on the play, as a multi-player game the call on TV Sports Football with this official is: 'The kick is up... It's long enough... It's good!'"[4]

In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared TV Sports: Football the 112th-best computer game ever released.[1]

Other reviews

  • The One #35[5]
  • Amiga Computing Vol 1 #9 (February 1989)
  • Power Play (March 1989)
  • Computer and Video Games (February 1989)[6]
  • The One (January 1989)[7]
  • Amiga Computing (January 1989)[8]
  • ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) (November 1989)[9]
  • The Games Machine (March 1989)[10]
  • Zzap! (March 1989)[11]
  • ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) (March 1989)[12]
  • The Games Machine (November 1989)[13]
  • ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (February 1989)[14]
  • Computer and Video Games (June 1990)[15]
  • Commodore User (February 1989)[16]
  • Power Play (1989)[17]
  • Your Amiga (June 1989)[18]
  • Amiga User International (March 1989)[19]
  • ST Format (November 1989)[20]
  • Antic's Amiga Plus (November 1989)[21]
  • Tilt (July 1991)[22]
  • The Video Game Critic (April 2009)[23]
  • Amiga World (July 1989)[24]
  • Australian Commodore and Amiga Review (April 1989)[25]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Staff (November 1996). "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World (148): 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98. 
  2. ↑ Lee, Wyatt; Lambright, J. D. (February 1989), Red Dogs and Hot Dogs: Cinemaware Captures The Gridiron, 1, pp. 30, 49 
  3. ↑ Williams, Ernesto (November 1989). "TV Sports: Football". Games International (10): 46. 
  4. ↑ Taylor, Matt (February 1991). "Live! From NEC -- It's... TV Sports Football for the TurboGrafx-16". Computer Gaming World 1 (79): 76–77. 
  5. ↑ "TheOne Magazine Issue 35". August 1991. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-35/page/n80/mode/2up. 
  6. ↑ "CVG Magazine Issue 088". February 1989. https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-088/page/n29/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ "TheOne Magazine Issue 04". January 1989. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-04/page/n23/mode/2up. 
  8. ↑ "Amiga Reviews: TV Sports Football". https://amigareviews.leveluphost.com/tvsporfo.htm#tvsportsfootballac. 
  9. ↑ "ACE Magazine Issue 26". November 1989. https://archive.org/details/ace-magazine-26/page/n99/mode/2up. 
  10. ↑ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 16". https://archive.org/stream/thegamesmachine-magazine-16/TheGamesMachine_16#page/n39/mode/2up. 
  11. ↑ "ZZap!64 Magazine Issue 047". March 1989. https://archive.org/details/zzap64-magazine-047/page/nNaN/mode/2up. 
  12. ↑ "ACE Magazine Issue 18". March 1989. https://archive.org/details/ace-magazine-18/page/n39/mode/2up. 
  13. ↑ "The Games Machine Issue 24". https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-24/page/n84/mode/2up. 
  14. ↑ "Kultboy.com - DIE Kult-Seite über die alten Spiele-Magazine und Retro-Games!". https://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=2131. 
  15. ↑ "CVG Magazine Issue 103". June 1990. https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-103/page/n71/mode/2up. 
  16. ↑ "Commodore User Magazine Issue 65". February 1989. https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-65/page/n53/mode/2up. 
  17. ↑ "Kultpower Archiv: Komplettscan Powerplay best of 1989". http://www.kultpower.de/archiv/heft_powerplay_1989-beste-spiele_seite108. 
  18. ↑ "TV Sports: Football review from Your Amiga (Jun 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack". http://amr.abime.net/review_4964. 
  19. ↑ "TV Sports Football review from AUI Vol 3 No 3 (Mar 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack". http://amr.abime.net/review_7234. 
  20. ↑ "ST Format (Issue 04) - November - 1989: Atari magazine scans, PDF". http://www.atarimania.com/atari-magazine-issue-st-format-issue-04_1873.html. 
  21. ↑ "Antic's AMIGA Plus - Volume 1 Number 4 (1989-08) (Antic Publishing) (US)". August 1989. https://archive.org/details/Antics_AMIGA_Plus_Volume_1_Number_4_1989-08_Antic_Publishing_US/page/n71/mode/2up. 
  22. ↑ "Le site des anciennes revues informatiques - www.abandonware-magazines.org". https://www.abandonware-magazines.org/erreur404.php. 
  23. ↑ "TV Sports Football". http://www.thevideogamecritic.net/t16sz.htm#TV_Sports_Football. 
  24. ↑ "Amiga World Magazine (July 1989)". July 1989. https://archive.org/details/amiga-world-1989-07/page/n70/mode/2up. 
  25. ↑ "Australian Commodore and Amiga Review, the - Volume 6 Issue 4 (1989-04) (Saturday Magazine) (AU)". April 1989. https://archive.org/details/Australian_Commodore_and_Amiga_Review_The_Volume_6_Issue_4_1989-04_Saturday_Magazine_AU/page/n23/mode/2up. 
  • 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. 
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