v20220812 update log for beta.mobygames.com

• Game Browser now supports platform multiselect, more sorting options and faster publisher/developer search
• Added Last Month rankings to contributor leaderboard
• Added game count totals to company and developer pages
• Added Dark Mode toggle for logged out users
• Replaced old favicon with Moby icon
• Developer credit pages now display every single credit, on every platform
• Developer overview now displays the top 12 game credits based on Moby Score
• Increased # of database updates listed on homepage and feed
• Contributors can now submit company logos
• Approvers can now replace promo images and company logos
• Approvers can now do group approvals, e.g. all screenshots for one game
• Smaller base font size, site wide
• Design tweaks on user profiles, status bar, developer pages, game browser, etc
• Misc. platform fixes, optimizations

v20220805 update log

• New version of the Game Browser (results now auto-update on input change, much more compact display, 12 results instead of 10, now shows developer, default Moby Score sort, bug fixes)
• Added hotkey support to navigate screenshots, covers and promo images (left arrow = prev, right arrow = next)
• Added more contribution stats to page header
• Added forum moderation tools and spam mitigation
• Added paging to private messages
• Added change password functionality
• Added extra confirmation step to account deletion
• Migrated API to Moby v2 platform
• Higher resolution cover and screenshot images on game overview
• Game Group index is now sortable
• Site now defaults to light or dark mode based on system preference
• Randomize screenshots and promo images on game overview
• Contributors can now include dates when adding a company
• Approvers can now associate users with developers
• Approvers can now view developer merge/split/convert audit logs
• Approvers can now search for (potentially unapproved) games, companies, developers, and critic sources
• Approvers can now replace cover art and game version
• Fix miscounted contribution points
• Various design revisions
• Various platform fixes, updates and optimizations

As a reminder, all contributors (>0 contribution rating) can log into the beta. Thanks for all testing and feedback so far!

We’ve added the ability for AKAs to be removed from profile pages, giving developers more control over their public profile. If you’ve been credited on a game with a name that you no longer use, and would prefer us not to display both your current and former names on your developer profile, you may submit a correction (on your profile page click Contribute -> Corrections -> Privacy issue).

Please note that MobyGames relies on volunteer contributors for all entries and changes to the database. All new content and change requests go into an approval queue, which despite the heroic efforts of our community tends to have a large backlog. While we do escalate privacy requests, please be patient as it may take some time for your request to be processed. Improving all tools and reducing approval times is a major goal of the new platform that Tracy and I are working on. Stay tuned!

The new MobyGames platform, currently in beta, is now open to all contributors! If you have an account with >0 contribution points you can log into https://beta.mobygames.com and start playing with it. The beta uses a temporary copy of the database, so any changes you make will be ephemeral and you can feel free to test and break things.



Note that it's under active development and things are in various states of progress (i.e., not yet polished and some things are broken or missing yet).

Please post questions, bug reports and feedback in the #beta channel on our Discord, the attached comment thread or PM me.

So, if you go check out the MobyGames database stats page, you'll see that we reached an important milestone - 300,000 games documented in the MobyGames database!

Congrats to everyone who helped us get there - and with a good deal of accuracy and checking along the way! (Also, in the comments for this post, maybe people can point out other neat user milestones achieved recently!)

This is an update to the 200,000 game announcement which happened in May of 2019.

I’m pleased to announce that Atari is now supporting our mission to preserve video game history. They have completed acquisition of the site from Antstream. You can read the official press release here.

Since 2013 I’ve been running MobyGames and will continue doing so. Atari understands how important our project is for the gaming community and they’re well aligned with our plans to improve the database and tools. In fact, Atari’s new CEO is a retro gamer/collector and long time fan of the site!

We will now be investing in full-time development (we’ve been operating with part-time dev) to complete the new site that’s been in the works the past few years. Which will replace our 20+ year old codebase and tools. It’s currently in beta testing with our admins and approvers. We’ll be expanding the beta as development gets ramped up. Stay tuned!

As per tradition, I present to you the database visualization! Made possible by the MobyGames API.

Previous editions:
January 2021 - January 2020 - January 2019 - January 2018 - June 2017 - January 2017 - January 2016 - January 2015 - January 2014 - January 2013 - January 2012 - January 2011 - January 2010 - January 2009



(Click to enlarge)

An explanation: each coloured shape in the graph represents a platform. The horizontal axis is time. The vertical axis represents the number of games released and is stacked. So the height of a shape on a given point in time indicates the number of games released for that platform that year. The total height of the graph on a given point in time shows the total releases that year. The graph is meant to represent game releases and thus excludes DLC, Special Edition and Compilation items. It does include each game for each platform it was released on.
As usual we see a drop-off at the end, simply because we haven't been able to keep up with all the new game releases.
Feel free to point out interesting info in the graph and your contributions in the thread!

I have also updated the bar chart race I made last year with the new data. (if you recently opened the old one you might have to hold ALT while you refresh your browser page so you don't get served a cached version. The chart animation should end in 2021)

[All data taken from MobyGames. Of course, the graph is only as complete as our database is. Come help us if you can!]

Happy new year! As usual, it's time to ask once again: what are your personal goals for 2022, MobyGames or gaming in general related? Here's our resolutions from last year. What about this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Another year, another traditional thread. At the end of 2021, let us reminisce on all the games we've played over the past 365 days and share our impressions.

As always, the games themselves need not have come out in 2021 necessarily, all that matters is that you played them and they left a mark on you.

As per tradition, I present to you the database visualization! Made possible by the MobyGames API.

Previous editions:
January 2020 - January 2019 - January 2018 - June 2017 - January 2017 - January 2016 - January 2015 - January 2014 - January 2013 - January 2012 - January 2011 - January 2010 - January 2009



(Click to enlarge)

An explanation: each coloured shape in the graph represents a platform. The horizontal axis is time. The vertical axis represents the number of games released. So the height of a shape on a given point in time indicates the number of games released for that platform that year. The total height of the graph on a given point in time shows the total releases that year. The graph is meant to represent game releases and thus excludes DLC, Special Edition and Compilation items. It does include each game for each platform it was released on.
As usual we see a drop-off at the end, simply because we haven't been able to keep up with all the new game releases.
Feel free to point out interesting info in the graph and your contributions in the thread!


[All data taken from MobyGames. Of course, the graph is only as complete as our database is. Come help us if you can!]

Happy new year and new decade! It's time to ask once again: what are your personal goals for 2021, MobyGames or gaming in general related? I guess nobody expected last year to be as crazy as it was, so here's our resolutions from last year. What about this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Special thanks to Kayburt for making quick work of the V.Flash goal! We now all of its games listed, though still in need of credits, covers and screenshots to fill them out.

Next up, a big goal to reach 5,000 browser games. With an emphasis on games made in flash, as Adobe is deprecating that on December 31st. After that it'll be more difficult to document flash games as 3rd party plugins will need to be installed, and flash portals are more likely to shut down.

Recommended sources: Kongregate, Armor Games, Not Doppler. Newgrounds is also good, though they have their own plugin and less likely to disappear.

Thanks in advance to all contributors, and let's see how quickly we can get to 5k!

Thanks to everyone who helped reach our goal of documenting 2,800 Arcade games! That was a big one. Whew.

And with that we're kicking off a new goal. A much smaller one, for a platform called V.Flash - an educational video game console that only had 10 games released. So the goal is to get the platform to 100% completion.