Virtua Tennis

Arcade flyer

Developer(s)| Sega AM-3
Publisher(s)| Sega
Composer(s)| Chiho Kobayashi
Series| Virtua Tennis
Platform(s)| Arcade, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, N-Gage
Release| Arcade
1999
Dreamcast
2000
Microsoft Windows
2002
Game Boy Advance
NA 2002
EU 2003
N-Gage
2003
Genre(s)| Sports game
Mode(s)| Single player, multiplayer
Cabinet| Upright
Arcade system| Sega NAOMI
Display| Raster, medium resolution

Virtua Tennis (Power Smash in Japan) is a 1999 tennis arcade game created by Sega-AM3. The player competes through tennis tournaments in an arcade mode. For the home console market the game was expanded with the introduction of the campaign mode. It was later ported to Dreamcast in 2000, and for Microsoft Windows in 2002. A Game Boy Advance version was also released in 2002.

A sequel, Virtua Tennis 2, was released in 2002 and was later updated and ported for the PlayStation Portable, under the name Virtua Tennis. 2006 saw the release of Virtua Tennis 3 in the arcades (using the Sega Lindbergh hardware). Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PC versions were released in 2007. Virtua Tennis 2009, was released on June 9, 2009 on PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii platforms.[1][2] The latest addition to the franchise, Virtua Tennis 4, was released on May 10, 2011.

## Contents

* 1 Game Modes
* 1.1 Arcade
* 1.2 Exhibition
* 1.3 World Circuit
* 2 Reception
* 3 References
* 4 External links
* 5 Features
* 6 History
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## Game Modes

### Arcade

The player must win 5 matches played on different surfaces and venues to win a tournament. If the player performs well enough, he is challenged by Master, one of the game's bosses.

### Exhibition

This is a single match in which the options are customizable.

The match can be played as singles or doubles with up to 4 human players (2 for singles). The duration can be varied between one game and one set. Other options include the court that the match is played on and the skill of the opponent(s).

### World Circuit

Users have to win matches and complete training exercises in order to progress and unlock new ones. The user enters with a rank of 300th, which improves as matches are won. These matches are unlocked by completing easier matches or training exercises. The focus of the training exercises are to be fun, rather than realistic. Each exercise has three levels, with the difficulty increasing progressively. By completing the hardest difficulty with a certain amount of time left or points scored, an outfit is unlocked, which players can wear in all modes.

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate scores

Aggregator| Score
GameRankings| 91.37%[3]
Metacritic| 92/100[4]
Review score
Publication| Score
IGN| 9.4/10[5]

Virtua Tennis received very positive reviews with the UK version of the Official Dreamcast Magazine rating it at 9/10, as well as overwhelmingly positive reviews from users.[6] Players were pleased with the quick learning curve and the wide variety of training exercises available.[citation needed] The game became one of the few Sega All Stars.[citation needed]

It has been ranked in the top 100 games of all time by IGN both in 2005 (#91)[7] and 2003 (#89).[8]

In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the Dreamcast version of the game a 33 out of 40.[9]

It was also featured in Guinness World Records 2017: Gamer's Edition where it says that the game got GameRankings score of 91.37% based on 33 reviews.[10]

Virtua Tennis was nominated for PC Gamer US's "2002 Best Sports Game" award, which ultimately went to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003.[11]

## References

1. ↑ Ellie Gibson (2009-02-05). "SEGA announces Virtua Tennis 2009". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sega-announces-virtua-tennis-2009. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
2. ↑ "Amazon.com: Virtua Tennis 2009: Video Games". https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_vg?url=search-alias=videogames&field-keywords=Virtua+Tennis+2009&x=0&y=0. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
3. ↑ "Virtua Tennis". CBS Interactive. http://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/199207-virtua-tennis/index.html. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
4. ↑ "Virtua Tennis". CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/game/dreamcast/virtua-tennis. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
5. ↑ "Virtua Tennis: Sega Professional Tennis". News Corporation. 2000-07-08. http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/08/virtua-tennis-sega-professional-tennis. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
6. ↑ "Virtua Tennis for Dreamcast". http://www99.epinions.com/game-Software-All-Dreamcast-Virtua_Tennis/display_~reviews/sec_~opinion_list/pp_~6. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
7. ↑ "IGN's Top 100 Games". News Corporation. http://top100.ign.com/2005/091-100.html. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
8. ↑ "IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time". News Corporation. http://top100.ign.com/2003/81-90.html. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
9. ↑ ドリームキャスト - Power Smash (パワースマッシュ). Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.44. 2006-06-30.
10. ↑ Guinness World Records 2017 Gamer’s Edition. Guinness World Records. p. 61. https://books.google.com/books?id=SSJoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA61.
11. ↑ Staff (March 2003). "The Ninth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer US 10 (3): 48-50, 54, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70.

## External links

* Virtua Tennis at Curlie
* Virtua Tennis Game Manual
* 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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* v
* t
* e

Virtua Tennis series

Main series|

* Virtua Tennis
* Virtua Tennis 2
* Virtua Tennis 3
* Virtua Tennis 4

Spin-offs|

* Software:Virtua Tennis: World Tour
* Virtua Tennis 2009
* Virtua Tennis Challenge

* v
* t
* e

Video game franchises owned by Sega Sammy

Sega|

* After Burner
* Alex Kidd
* Columns
* Crazy Taxi
* Daytona USA
* Ecco the Dolphin
* Fantasy Zone
* Football Manager
* Golden Axe
* Hatsune Miku
* Jet Set Radio
* Nights
* Out Run
* Panzer Dragoon
* Phantasy Star
* Puyo Puyo
* Sakura Wars
* Sega Ages
* Sega Rally
* Shining
* Shinobi
* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Streets of Rage
* Super Monkey Ball
* The House of the Dead
* Thunder Force
* Total War
* Valkyria Chronicles
* Virtua Fighter
* Virtual On
* Yakuza
* Zaxxon

Atlus|

* Dept. Heaven
* Etrian Odyssey
* Growlanser
* Kwirk
* Megami Tensei
* Devil Children
* Last Bible
* Majin Tensei
* Persona
* Power Instinct
* Rock of Ages
* Snowboard Kids
* Trauma Center

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