GT Advance Championship Racing

Short description: 2001 video game

GT Advance Championship Racing

North American cover art featuring a Honda S2000

Developer(s)| MTO
Publisher(s)|

* JP: MTO
* WW: THQ

Designer(s)| Hiroshi Kitayama[1]
Series| GT Advance
Platform(s)| Game Boy Advance
Release|

* JP: March 21, 2001[2]
* NA: June 11, 2001
* EU: June 22, 2001

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

GT Advance Championship Racing, known in Japan as Advance GTA (アドバンスGTA, Adobansu GTA),[1] is a racing game developed by MTO and published by THQ. It was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance.[3][4] The game's sequel, Software:GT Advance 2: Rally Racing, was released on June 30, 2002, in North America.

GT Advance features forty-five licensed Japanese cars and places the player in races on thirty-two tracks.[5] Due to positive reaction to the game in Japan, THQ purchased publishing rights for the North American and European releases to the game after a reported bidding war,[6] and added in a controversial password save system into the game to cut costs.[7]

The game was received with mostly positive reviews from critics that praised the game for its fun gameplay,[8] but THQ was criticized by most reviewers for adding passwords to the game when the Japanese version had battery-backed saves.[7][9]

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 1.1 Graphics
* 1.2 Save system
* 2 Development
* 3 Reception
* 4 Notes
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Gameplay

GT Advance Championship Racing is a customizable experience, including 48 cars from 8 car manufacturers, and 32 courses.[5][7] Some of the cars featured in the game are exclusively found in Asia, such as the first-generation Nissan Cube.[5] The courses vary between paved and dirt roads, requiring the player to adapt their driving to meet the conditions of the course they're driving on.[5]

The game's championship mode features four levels of play, three cups of varying levels, and two unlockable "extra" modes, "kart racing mode" (labelled as Extra 1), and "formula racing mode" (labelled as Extra 2).[10][7] Upgrades earned through gameplay can be added to the player's car,[5] and in some cases, they can change the physical appearance of the vehicle.[7] The game contains multiplayer support, allowing two people to play against each other using a Game Link Cable.

Controls are simple, with the A and B buttons controlling the player's gas and brakes respectively. The R and L buttons shift the car up or down a gear when set to manual control, and the D-Pad controls the car's steering.[7] The game requires the player to master the powerslide technique to skid around corners and to reduce their lap time.[5]

### Graphics

A car powerslides through a turn.

The roads in the game are painted on a flat plane, which allows the game to progress at a smooth rate, but makes it harder for the player to see upcoming turns in the road. The problem can be remedied by playing through a track multiple times to gain familiarity with the turns in a course.[7] The cars are rendered through sprite frames, giving the impression of 3D graphics in the game.[7]

### Save system

The Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, had save support. However, THQ pulled the battery RAM out of the North American and European releases of the game, and utilized passwords to save data instead.[1][5][7] The system forces players of the North American and European releases to enter a sixteen digit code consisting of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols into the game to retrieve their data.[7] Many critics blamed THQ for what was perceived to be a cost-cutting measure.[5][7][9] It was the only major change from the Japanese version of the game.[1]

## Development

MTO began development on GT Advance Championship Racing about a year before the release of the game in Japan.[1] The game was first announced in August 2000, under the name of Pocket GT Advance.[11] With the exception of a new password save system, tweaking was kept to a minimum for the North American version of the game.[1] The choice was made in the Japanese version to use mostly English in the game[6] so it would be playable outside Japan.[1]

The Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, was praised by critics and the anticipation for the North American and European releases of the game grew.[12][13][14] A reported bidding war between United States publishing companies to release the game in the US began after the positive feedback from the Japanese version.[6] THQ later gained the publishing rights for the game's North American and European releases.[3][4][13]

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate score

Aggregator| Score
Metacritic| 82 of 100[8]
Review scores
Publication| Score
Edge| 6 of 10[15]
EGM| 8.83 of 10[16][lower-alpha 1]
Eurogamer| 7 of 10[9]
Famitsu| 26 of 40[17]
Game Informer| 6 of 10[18]
GameSpot| 7.3 of 10[7]
GameSpy| 84%[19]
IGN| 8 of 10[5]
Next Generation| [20]
Nintendo Power| [21]

GT Advance Championship Racing received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40.[17]

Critics garnered praise for its overall gameplay, but the inclusion of a password save system by THQ into the North American and European releases was heavily criticized. IGN's Craig Harris praised the high quality graphics engine and the entertaining powerslide system, but panned the password system.[5] GameSpot called GT Advance as robust and graphically impressive racing game. Despite praising the gameplay, GameSpot recommended that players buy a Japanese import version of the game instead, since it was in English and included a battery save feature.[7] Eurogamer wrote that even though GT Advance was hampered by passwords, it recommended the game for fans of racing genre.[9] NextGen praised the selection of cars and tracks, and called the graphics and sound as "passable", but was critical that some tracks are short and that the game has issue with collision physics.[20] Bro Buzz of GamePro said, "Despite the dents, GT Advance is a solid early contender in the handheld racing championship—just be sure to drive with the lights on."[22][lower-alpha 2]

Responding to criticisms of the password save system, THQ later re-instated the battery save feature into the two sequels of the game, GT Advance 2: Rally Racing, and Software:GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing.[23][24]

## Notes

1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the game, two critics gave it each a score of 9/10, and the other gave it 8.5/10.
2. ↑ GamePro gave the game three 4/5 scores for graphics, control, and fun factor, and 3/5 for sound.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Harris, Craig (May 11, 2001). "Interview with MTO". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/05/11/interview-with-mto.
2. ↑ "アドバンスGTA" (in Japanese). https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/software/ag7j/index.html.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harris, Craig (April 10, 2001). "THQ Grabs Advance GTA". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/10/thq-grabs-advance-gta.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shahed, Ahmed (April 11, 2001). "GT Advance confirmed for the North American GBA". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gt-advance-confirmed-for-the-north-american-gba/1100-2707140/.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 Harris, Craig (June 14, 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/14/gt-advance-championship-racing.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harris, Craig (March 30, 2001). "First Impressions: Advance GTA". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/03/31/first-impressions-advance-gta.
7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 Ajami, Amer (June 7, 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/gt-advance-championship-racing-review/1900-2770808/.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "GT Advance Championship Racing". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/gt-advance-championship-racing/.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Bramwell, Tom (June 12, 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/r-gtadvance-gba.
10. ↑ "3.5 Manual Scan.pdf". 8 August 2024. pp. 3–6. https://ia804708.us.archive.org/17/items/4-games-on-one-game-pack-gt-advance-moto-gp/3.5 Manual Scan.pdf.
11. ↑ Sato, Yukiyoshi Ike (August 18, 2000). "Pocket GT for GBA announced". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pocket-gt-for-gba-announced/1100-2617380/.
12. ↑ Harris, Craig (April 11, 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing (Preview)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/11/gt-advance-championship-racing-2.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Delbart, John (April 11, 2001). "GT Advance announced". http://www.gamershell.com/news/788.html.
14. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (March 22, 2001). "Advance GTA Hands-On". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/advance-gta-hands-on/1100-2700394/.
15. ↑ Edge staff (June 2001). "Advance GTA". Edge (Future Publishing) (98): 79. https://retrocdn.net/images/e/e9/Edge_UK_098.pdf. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
16. ↑ Sewart, Greg; Hager, Dean; Chou, Che (July 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (144): 94. https://retrocdn.net/images/e/ea/EGM_US_144.pdf. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "アドバンスGTA [GBA"] (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=12220&redirect=no. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
18. ↑ "GT Advance Championship Racing". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (99). July 2001.
19. ↑ Hiscock, Josh (June 14, 2001). "Gt Advance Championship Racing Review". IGN Entertainment. http://www.sportplanet.com/features/reviews/gtadvance/.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "GT Advance Championship Racing". NextGen (Imagine Media) (79): 64. July 2001. https://archive.org/details/NextGen79Jul2001/page/n65/mode/2up. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
21. ↑ "GT Advance Championship Racing". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 146. July 2001.
22. ↑ Bro Buzz (August 2001). "GT Advance Championship Racing". GamePro (IDG) (155): 72. https://retrocdn.net/images/5/50/GamePro_US_155.pdf. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
23. ↑ Harris, Craig (June 18, 2002). "GT Advance 2 Races to Shelves". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/18/gt-advance-2-races-to-shelves.
24. ↑ Harris, Craig (November 26, 2002). "GT Advance 3 (Preview)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/26/gt-advance-3.

## 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.

| Wikidata has the property:

* NO LABEL (P1933) (see uses)

|

## External links

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

* v
* t
* e

Atari

Corporations|

| Primary|

* Atari, Inc. (1972–1992)
* Atari Corporation (1984–1996)
* Atari SA, Atari, Inc. (2003–present)

|

Subsidiaries and
spin-offs|

* Atari Games
* Atari Interactive
* AtariAge
* Chuck E. Cheese (1977–1978)
* Cyan Engineering
* Digital Eclipse
* Kee Games
* MobyGames
* Nightdive Studios
* Tengen

Arcades games
and amusements|

* Anti-Aircraft
* Asteroids
* Asteroids Deluxe
* Atari Basketball
* Atari Football
* Avalanche
* Battlezone
* Black Widow
* Breakout
* Canyon Bomber
* Centipede
* Cloak & Dagger
* Crash 'N Score
* Crystal Castles
* Destroyer
* Dominos
* Fire Truck
* Firefox
* Food Fight
* Gotcha
* Gran Trak 10
* Gran Trak 20
* Gravitar
* Hi-way
* I, Robot
* Indy 4
* Indy 800
* Jet Fighter
* LeMans
* Liberator
* Lunar Lander
* Major Havoc
* Millipede
* Missile Command
* Night Driver
* Outlaw
* Pin-Pong
* Pong
* Pong Doubles
* Pursuit
* Quadrapong
* Quantum
* Quiz Show
* Qwak!
* Rebound
* Red Baron
* Return of the Jedi
* Shark Jaws
* Sky Diver
* Space Duel
* Space Race
* Sprint 1
* Sprint 2
* Sprint 4
* Sprint 8
* Star Wars
* Starship 1
* Steeplechase
* Stunt Cycle
* Super Breakout
* Super Bug
* Super Pong
* Tank
* Tank 8
* Tempest
* Tournament Table
* Triple Hunt
* Ultra Tank
* Video Pinball
* Warlords

| Prototypes|

* Tank II

|

Software and utilities|

* Atari BASIC
* Atari Calculator
* Atari DOS

Video game
consoles|

* Home Pong
* Stunt Cycle
* Atari Video Music
* Video Pinball
* 2600
* 2800
* 5200
* 7800
* XEGS
* Lynx
* Jaguar
* CD
* VCS (2021)
* 2600+

| Prototypes|

* Game Brain
* Cosmos
* 2700
* Atari Mindlink
* Panther
* Sierra

|

Personal
computers|

* Atari 8-bit computers
* Atari ST
* MEGA STE
* TT030
* Transputer Workstation
* Falcon

| Portables|

* STacy
* ST Book
* Portfolio

|

Prototypes|

* Sierra

Peripherals|

| Printers|

* 825 80-Column Printer
* 1020 Color Printer

|

Gaming devices|

* CX40 joystick
* Atari joystick port
* XG-1 light gun

Other|

* Atari Democrat
* Atari Flashback
* Intellivision
* Sears

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobyGames. Read more

|

Warning: Default sort key "Gt Advance Championship Racing" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GT Advance Championship Racing. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:GT_Advance_Championship_Racing&oldid=3951087"
*[WW]: Worldwide
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template