Jonah Lomu Rugby

Short description: 1997 video game

Jonah Lomu Rugby

Cover art with Jonah Lomu

Developer(s)| Rage Software
Publisher(s)| Codemasters
Platform(s)| MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Release| PlayStation

* EU: March 31, 1997

MS-DOS & Sega Saturn

* EU: September 1997

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

Jonah Lomu Rugby is a rugby union video game developed by Rage Software and published by Codemasters in 1997. It was released for MS-DOS, PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. The title refers to former All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu. It was the first rugby union game released on the Sega Saturn[1] or PlayStation platforms.

Following the 2003 closure of Rage Software, several members of the game's development team went on to work on World Championship Rugby.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 1.1 Modes
* 2 Development
* 3 Reception
* 3.1 Legacy
* 4 References
* 5 External links
* 6 Features
* 7 History
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Gameplay

New Zealand are in possession and running the ball from a ruck (PlayStation).

Jonah Lomu Rugby puts the player in control of real-life national rugby union teams from the 1995 Rugby World Cup, including the 16 finalists and 16 other teams that participated in the qualifying campaign. The game has support for up to four players.[3]

### Modes

Jonah Lomu Rugby has five modes: Friendly, World Cup, Tournament, Territories Cup and Classic Matches. The Friendly mode is a single exhibition game in which the player can play against computer-controlled or human opponents. The World Cup mode replicates the 1995 Rugby World Cup format, with the 16 teams arranged into the same four pools as in the real life tournament. Tournament mode is a knockout format contested by either 4, 8 or 16 teams. Territories Cup mode consists of leagues based around geographic location. The Five Nations and Tri Nations competitions feature the same teams competing in the real life equivalents, whilst the American Cup, Asian Cup and Pacific Cup each feature three teams from the areas.

The Classic Matches mode consists of eight scenario matches based on real-life World Cup matches that the player joins in progress with the aim of obtaining a different result to that in real-life.

## Development

Rage Software's Trevor Williams recounted: "We wanted a game that stayed true to the rules, but was easy to pick up and play without a complete understanding of all the ins and outs".[4] After work had concluded on the studio's football title Striker '96 he stated that "we could see the potential in the engine in a sprite-based rugby simulation could both look good and run at the right pace", arguing that "using polygons would slow the game too much".[5]

Programmers Tony McCabe and Antonio Argentieri explained that rugby video games are more difficult to make than other sports games, since the heavy specialization of the different players means a number of different AIs need to be designed and programmed to run simultaneously.[4] The scrum was remodeled more than five times in an effort to make it work in play.[3]

Commentary for the game was supplied by Bill McLaren and Bill Beaumont.[4] Rage Software purchased the audio rights to the 1995 Five Nations match between England and France to assist in producing realistic sounds for match play.[5]

The Saturn version was slated for release in June 1997, but the date was pushed back to September.[6] The game was ready by the June date, but Codemasters held it back to coincide with the release of the PC version and the start of the new rugby season.[7]

## Reception

Reception

| Review scores

Publication| Score
CVG| 4/5 (Playstation)[8]
OPM (UK)| 7/10 (Playstation)[9]
Sega Saturn Magazine| 91% (Saturn)[1]
The Sydney Morning Herald| 4.5/5[10]

Matt Yeo gave a rave review in Sega Saturn Magazine, saying it has "one of the most innovative and easy to use game play systems ever utilised in a sports game". He particularly noted the use of on-screen menus during pauses in the game's action, saying they enable newcomers to more easily come to grips with the game by presenting rugby's complicated rules in a simplified, leisurely form. He also praised the four-player support, audio commentary, and dramatic weather conditions, and gave the game a score of 91%.[1]

Computer and Video Games gave a positive review of the PlayStation version, noting the "brilliantly realistic graphics and a logical control system are the stars here" and awarding the game 4/5.[8]

In 2015, a retrospective review in The Telegraph described Jonah Lomu Rugby as "the greatest computer game the sport has ever seen".[11] The Irish Independent similarly described it as "the best rugby game ever made".[12]

### Legacy

A copy of the PlayStation version of the game is included in the Pacific Cultures collection of Te Papa (the national museum of New Zealand).[13][14]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Yeo, Matt (July 1997). "Review: Jonah Lomu Rugby". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (21): 62–63.
2. ↑ Calvert, Justin (21 November 2003). "World Championship Rugby announced [date mislabeled as "November 24, 2003""]. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/world-championship-rugby-announced/1100-6084136/. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yeo, Matt (July 1997). "Men in Black". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (21): 48–51.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Preview: Jonah Lomu Rugby". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (20): 32–33. June 1997.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Preplay: Jonah Lomu Rugby". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK (Future Publishing) (15): 24–26. January 1997.
6. ↑ "First the Bad News". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (22): 11. August 1997.
7. ↑ "What Happened to Jonah?". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (25): 37. November 1997. https://archive.org/details/Sega_Saturn_Magazine_Issue_25_1997-11_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n36. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Huhtala, Alex (June 1997). "Jonah Lomu Rugby". Computer and Video Games (187): 78. ISSN 0261-3697.
9. ↑ "Review: Jonah Lomu Rugby". Official UK PlayStation Magazine (19).
10. ↑ "Power in the Union". July 12, 1997. p. 190. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102754048/the-sydney-morning-herald/. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
11. ↑ "Remembering Jonah Lomu Rugby, the greatest computer game the sport has ever seen" (in en-GB). The Telegraph. 2015-10-26. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/rugby-world-cup/front-row/11955529/Remembering-Jonah-Lomu-Rugby-the-greatest-computer-game-the-sport-has-ever-seen.html.
12. ↑ Whelan, Frank (18 November 2015). "Jonah Lomu Rugby remembered" (in en). Independent.ie. https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/games/jonah-lomu-rugby-remembered-34212374.html.
13. ↑ "Julian Wilcox and Jonah Lomu's PlayStation video game" (in en-nz). Radio New Zealand. 2018-02-22. https://www.radionz.co.nz/programmes/ours/story/2018633246/julian-wilcox-and-jonah-lomu-s-playstation-video-game.
14. ↑ "Object: Jonah Lomu Rugby PlayStation game". https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1232069.

## External links

* Jonah Lomu Rugby at GameSpot
* Jonah Lomu Rugby at IGN
* 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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