Tecmo Bowl

Short description: 1987 video game

Tecmo Bowl

European arcade flyer

Developer(s)| Tecmo[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)| Tecmo
Composer(s)| Keiji Yamagishi
Series| Tecmo Bowl
Platform(s)| Arcade, NES, Game Boy
Release| Arcade

* JP/NA: December 1987[1]
* EU: 1987

NES

* NA: February 1989[3]
* JP: November 30, 1990[2]

Game Boy

* JP: September 27, 1991[5]
* NA: September 1991[4]

Genre(s)| Sports (American football)
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system| PlayChoice-10

Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. is a 1987 American football video game developed and published by Tecmo for arcades.[6][7] The game features a large dual screen cabinet with up to four players between two fictitious teams. A port for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in 1989 and was the first console game to include real National Football League players, via a license from the NFL Players Association. A Game Boy version developed by Sculptured Software followed in 1991.

The NES version was extremely popular, spawning various sequels, starting with 1991's Tecmo Super Bowl. The NES original has been cited as one of the best sports video games ever made. The NES and arcade versions have been re-released (without the NFLPA license) for various platforms, including mobile phones, the Virtual Console, the NES Classic Edition and the Nintendo Classics service.

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 1.1 Teams
* 2 Re-releases
* 3 Reception and legacy
* 3.1 Bo Jackson character
* 3.2 Tecmo Bowl documentary
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 External links
* 8 Features
* 9 History
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links

## Gameplay

The original arcade version is distinguished by a large two-monitor cabinet, support for up to four players, and the ability to break tackles. Only two fictional teams can be chosen: the Wildcats and the Bulldogs. Its 2D graphics are more advanced than the NES version, with a larger color palette and more detailed sprites.

The NES version allows two players to play rather than the arcade's four players. The player can choose between three modes: one-player, two-player, and coach. In one-player mode, the player picks a football team and plays against the computer. After every game that the player wins, it is given a password to continue their quest for the championship and the computer picks another team to play as, and the player stays with the original choice. In the two-player and coach modes, the player and another human will play one game but the players only choose the plays in the coach mode (which cannot be done in the arcade version).

In both versions, the playbook consists of only four offensive plays. When on defense, a player selects a play based on the anticipation of the offense's choice; if chosen correctly, it results in a collapse of the offensive line and well-covered receivers, therefore setting up either a potential sack or an interception.

Although featuring the names, rosters, and statistics of real National Football League (NFL) players from a mix of the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the gameplay limits how closely the video game players mimics real-life players. Unlike standard American football rules which have 11 players on each team, the arcade version only allows ten players on the field at a time and the NES version only allows nine for each. The offense tries to avoid the defense, and the defense tries to either avoid blockers, tackle the ball carrier, or intercept a pass.

### Teams

Tecmo Bowl contains twelve teams, each equipped with four plays. Most teams have two running plays and two passing plays. The exceptions are San Francisco and Miami, who have three passing plays and one running play.

Tecmo was not able an obtain an NFL league license to use real team names, as that had been given to LJN's NFL video game for the NES.[8] As a result, the teams in the game are identified solely by their home city or state, but through the NFLPA license, each roster mimics that of the NFL team based out of the same city or state. Tecmo Bowl only uses players from twelve of the best and most popular teams of the time.

The teams featured in the game are Indianapolis, Miami, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles (Raiders), Washington, San Francisco, Dallas, New York (Giants), Chicago, and Minnesota.

AFC | NFC

|

Los Angeles (Raiders) | Washington
Indianapolis | San Francisco
Miami | Dallas
Denver | New York (Giants)
Seattle | Chicago
Cleveland | Minnesota

Each team has a different level of effectiveness based on its personnel and play selection.

Box art of North American NES version

Two NES versions were released in the U.S. The first is identified by its black and gold seal of quality, Eric Dickerson as running back, and Albert Bentley as a kick returner for Indianapolis. The second is identified by its white and gold seal, Albert Bentley as running back, and Clarence Verdin as a kick returner. One year later, the Famicom version has many roster changes (from the same twelve teams available in the North American version) to reflect being released during the real 1990 NFL season.

## Re-releases

In 2005, the game was released on the Xbox as part of Tecmo Classic Arcade. The NES version was released for the Virtual Console for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U; the arcade version was also released for the Wii's Virtual Console.[9][10][11] The NES version was also released as one of 30 NES games included in the North American and PAL versions of the NES Classic Edition.[12] It was released on the Nintendo Classics service in 2018, allowing multiplayer to be played online.[13]

## Reception and legacy

According to Tecmo USA's Dimitri Criona, the game was a smash hit in American arcades and an even bigger hit for the Nintendo Entertainment System, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the United States.[14] As of June 2007, the Tecmo Bowl series had sold 5 million units worldwide.[15]

Sinclair User reviewed the arcade game in 1988, scoring it 8 out of 10. They called it a "superb" game that significantly improved on earlier American football games such as 10-Yard Fight (1983).[16]

In the September 1997 issue of Nintendo Power, twelve staff members voted in a list for the top 100 games of all time,[17] putting Tecmo Bowl at 30th place.[18] Both GameSpot[19] and Time have also listed Tecmo Bowl for the NES in their lists of all-time greatest video games.[20] Time noted that the arcade-like controls and "quasi-realistic teams and players" made it a "breakout hit that's still fun to pick up and play to this very day".[20] Game Informer placed the game 38th on its top 100 video games of all time in 2001.[21]

### Bo Jackson character

Bo Jackson's character in Tecmo Bowl was called the "greatest video game athlete of all-time" by ESPN[22] and USA Today.[23] Some gamers claimed that Jackson's character could run for as many as 1,000 yards in a single game.[22]

TechTimes noted that the game's character of Bo Jackson was "[a]bsolutely, positively—and absurdly—unstoppable", reflecting the real Jackson's extraordinary athletic abilities. Players considered using Jackson as effectively cheating within the game.[24] Lawrence Taylor's character was used similarly on defense.

In Family Guy Season 14, episode 19 “Run, Chris, Run” Peter Griffin plays the game as Bo Jackson.

### Tecmo Bowl documentary

A documentary feature about the best Tecmo Bowl players in the world was shot in 2022 by CJ Wallis. The film takes place in Omaha, Nebraska where the National Championship takes place every year and features Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon and SEC host Cole Cubelic.[25]

## See also

* Gridiron Fight (1985 arcade game) – American football game by Tehkan (before it was known as Tecmo), a precursor to Tecmo Bowl.
* NFL (video game) – contemporary NES game developed by Atlus, featuring real NFL teams but no real NFL players.
* Retro Bowl (2020 video game) – American football game developed by New Star Games, featuring gameplay and graphics directly inspired by Tecmo Bowl.

## Notes

1. ↑ Game Boy version developed by Sculptured Software.

## References

1. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006) (in ja). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 49, 138. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n50.
2. ↑ "All Famicom games sorted from the latest release to the earliest". Famitsu. https://www.famitsu.com/schedule/recent/fc/.
3. ↑ "NES Games". Nintendo of America. https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf.
4. ↑ "Game Boy (original) Games". Nintendo of America. http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/dmg_games.pdf.
5. ↑ "GAMEBOY Software List 1991" (in ja). http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_NTM1_GB1991.html.
6. ↑ "Tecmo Bowl". The International Arcade Museum. http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10043. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
7. ↑ "The Arcade Flyer Archive". http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=1176. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
8. ↑ "Game overview (second reference)". IGN. http://cheats.ign.com/objects/007/007133.html. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
9. ↑ "Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/tecmo-bowl-nes-wii.
10. ↑ "Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/pA40svXofdV4JGakpUdc2UkFgR-otwAc.
11. ↑ "Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/FHxkmukWX58_GA1alDXwkbEiGzCK9LmH.
12. ↑ "Tecmo Bowl Original Manual". https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NACDE.pdf.
13. ↑ "Nintendo Switch Online: The NES Games You Need to Play, and the Ones You Can Safely Ignore". 18 September 2018. https://www.usgamer.net/articles/nintendo-switch-online-the-nes-games-you-need-to-play-and-the-ones-you-can-safely-ignore.
14. ↑ Kohler, Chris (2004). "8 – Lost in Translation: This Game are Sick". Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, IN: BradyGames. pp. 218–9. ISBN 978-0-7440-0424-3. https://archive.org/details/poweruphowjapane0000kohl/page/218/mode/2up.
15. ↑ "TECMO Corporate Profile (as of June 2007)" (PDF). Tecmo. August 23, 2007. p. 12. http://www.tecmo.co.jp/company/data/20070823cp_e.pdf#page=13.
16. ↑ "Coin Ops". Sinclair User (75 (June 1988)): 82–3. 18 May 1988. https://worldofspectrum.org/archive/magazines/sinclair-user/75#82.
17. ↑ "100 Best Games of All Time". Nintendo Power 100: 88. September 1997.
18. ↑ "100 Best Games of All Time". Nintendo Power 100: 92. September 1997.
19. ↑ "The Greatest Games of All Time". http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-13.html.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Aamoth, Doug (November 15, 2012). "All-Time 100 Video Games". Time. https://techland.time.com/2012/11/15/all-time-100-video-games/slide/tecmo-bowl-1988/. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
21. ↑ Cork, Jeff. "Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)" (in en). Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/11/16/game-informer-s-top-100-games-of-all-time-circa-issue-100.aspx. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Rovell, Darren (2003-09-25). "Bo knows video games". ESPN.com. https://www.espn.com/espngamer/story?id=1623293.
23. ↑ Nesbitt, Andy (2020-04-03). "Bo Jackson is easily the greatest video game athlete of all time". USA Today. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/04/bo-jackson-tecmo-bowl-best-video-game-athlete.
24. ↑ "Remembering Bo Jackson's 'Tecmo Bowl' Dominance". Tech Times. 21 October 2015. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/97976/20151021/bo-jackson-unstoppable-tecmo-bowl.htm.
25. ↑ Wallis, C. J. (2024-01-18), The Tecmo Bowl, Brad Bell, Nathan Merz, Ben Schwartz, FortyFPS Productions, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15366926/?ref_=nm_flmg_unrel_2_edt, retrieved 2023-12-24

## External links

* Tecmo Bowl at the Killer List of Videogames
* 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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