The ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' video game series is a collection of

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s and

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

s based on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated television series

and its film series with the same name. The television series' massive rise in popularity during the 2000s led to a myriad of video games that span different genres. Several of these games are based on concepts from specific

episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode, a part of a dramatic work * Episodes (TV series), ''Episodes'' (TV series), a British/American television sitcom which premiered in 2011 * Episodes (journal), ''Episodes'' (journal), a geological science journal ...

, two of which are based on theatrical releases. Some of these titles had multiple different versions developed for a variety of home consoles and handheld consoles. Until 2013, the vast majority of titles were published by THQ. From 2013 to 2015, the license for most titles was handed to

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

. The license is currently held by THQ Nordic. Video games based on the series have often received mixed reviews from critics, yet many of these titles have performed well in sales. '' SpongeBob''- related characters have appeared in numerous other Nickelodeon crossover video games as well, featured alongside other Nicktoons.

Releases

Reception

The SpongeBob SquarePants video game series received mixed reviews from critics. Although the video game based on the movie is the highest rated according to Metacritic, ''Battle for Bikini Bottom'' is considered by fans to be one of the best video games in the series. '' Edge'' declared ''Operation Krabby Patty'' as the 29th game in their list of "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century" in 2006. ''HeroPants'' was nominated for the "Favorite Video Game Award" at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2016, but lost to '' Just Dance 2016''. ''Employee of the Month'' was nominated by the editors of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' for the "Adventure Game of the Year" award in 2003, but the award was given to '' Uplink: Hacker Elite''. ''Lights, Camera, Pants!'' was nominated for the Best Animated Video Game title at the 33rd Annie Awards in 2005, but lost to '' Ultimate Spider-Man''. ''Creature from the Krusty Krab'' was nominated for the Best Animated Video Game at the 34th Annie Awards in 2006, but lost to '' Flushed Away''. It also won the award for Favorite Video Game at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards.

Sales

The PlayStation version of ''SuperSponge'' sold 1.06 million copies, becoming one of the console's best-selling games. ''Battle for Bikini Bottom'' sold over 1.25 million copies. Both games were added to the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

Greatest Hits by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, and the latter was added to the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

Platinum Family Hits and the

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

Player's choice by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

, respectively. By 2006, SpongeBob SquarePants video game series sales totaled 1.5 million copies sold, with ''Operation Krabby Patty'' having an estimated sales total of 490,000 copies. ''Edge'' also ranked ''Revenge of the Flying Dutchman'', ''Battle of Bikini Bottom'', and ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' at numbers 34, 31, and 25 respectively in their list "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games," based on the number of copies sold. The Game Boy Advance versions of ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'', ''Battle for Bikini Bottom'', and ''Revenge of the Flying Dutchman'' sold an estimated total of 780,000, 710,000, and 740,000 copies, respectively. By 2007, the video game series totaled more than 20 million copies shipped worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises. By 2010, the series reached more than 29 million copies shipped worldwide. ''SpongeBob Moves In!'' peaked at #6 at the App Store Official Charts of Top Paid iPhone Apps, and on #4 at the Top Paid iPad Apps in 2013. In June 2020, The NPD Group released a ranking of the Top 10 best-selling SpongeBob games in the United States as of May 2020, with ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' being in the number 1 spot followed by ''Battle for Bikini Bottom'' and ''Revenge of the Flying Dutchman''. On August 13, 2020, ''Rehydrated'' had sold over 1 million copies. And as of May 19, 2021, it reached more than 2 million copies.

References

{{SpongeBob SquarePants Video game franchises Lists of video games by franchise Video game franchises introduced in 2001