''California Games'' is a

sports video game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport (such ...

released by

Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded in 1978 as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, publishing a series of tactical combat games. The Epyx ...

for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

and Commodore 64 in 1987. Branching from their ''Summer Games (video game), Summer Games'' and ''Winter Games'' series, this game is a collection of outdoor sports purportedly popular in California. It ported to other

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s and

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

s and was the pack-in game for the

Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console, hand-held game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handhe ...

when that system launched in 1989. The game was successful and spawned a sequel, '' California Games II''.

Gameplay

The events vary slightly per platform, but include

Half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps ...

, Footbag,

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

(starring Rippin' Rick),

Roller skating Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

, and

Flying disc A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for ...

Development

Epyx reportedly used more than three man-years to develop ''California Games'', including a surfer who wrote the surfing game. Several members of the development team moved on to other projects. Chuck Sommerville, the designer of the half-pipe game in ''California Games'', later developed the game '' Chip's Challenge'', while Ken Nicholson, the designer of the footbag game, was the inventor of the technology used in Microsoft's

DirectX Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct" ...

. Kevin Norman, the designer of the

game, went on to found the educational science software company Norman & Globus, makers of the ''ElectroWiz'' series of products. The sound design for the original version of ''California Games'' was done by Chris Grigg, member of the band

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly" ...

Ports

Originally written for the

and Commodore 64, it was eventually Porting, ported to Amiga, Apple IIGS, Apple IIGS, Atari 2600, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis, Genesis, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, [ intendo Entertainment System,

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

and

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

. The

version was the

pack-in game Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

for the system when it was launched in June 1989. An Atari XE version was planned and contracted out by Atari Corp. to Epyx in 1988 but no code was delivered by the publication deadline.

Reception

''California Games'' was a commercial blockbuster. With more than 300,000 copies sold in the first nine months, it was the most-successful Epyx game, outselling each of the four previous and two subsequent titles in the company's "Games" series. CEO Dave Morse said that it was the first Epyx game to appeal equally to boys and girls during

playtesting A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and design flaws before releasing it to market. Playtests can be run "open", "closed", "beta", or otherwise, and are very common with board games, collectible card games, ...

. The game topped 500,000 units sold by 1989, at which time '' Video Games & Computer Entertainment'' reported that sales were "still mounting". ''

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 ...

'' recommended the game, calling it fun. ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...

'' called ''California Games'' "both inventive and charming". "Epyx Software gives us a refreshing treat", ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

'' said of the PC version, citing the surfing game's "outstanding animation and realistic graphics". In a capsule review for ''

STart Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

'', Clayton Walnum said ''California Games'' "isn't a bad package, especially since it comes free with the Lynx". He found the BMX and surfing events great fun but deemed the skateboarding event frustrating and said the foot-bag event is pleasant but quickly wears thin. In 1996, '' Next Generation'' listed the "Games" series collectively as number 89 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time". The magazine stated that though the games had great graphics for their time, their most defining qualities were their competitive multiplayer modes and "level of control that has yet to be equaled". In 2004, the Atari Lynx version of ''California Games'' was inducted into

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's list of the greatest games of all time.

Legacy

The game was followed in 1990 by '' California Games II'', but the sequel failed to match the original's success. A ''California Games'' television series was considered in the late 1980s as part of the ''Super Mario Bros. Power Hour'', a one-hour animation block of Nintendo focused video game adaptations. Concept art was produced for the project by DIC Animation City. Only the Mario and Zelda segments for the block were ultimately produced, airing in 1989 as part of '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!''. The game was released for

mobile phones A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

in the Java format, and current rights holders

System 3 System 3, System/3 or System III may refer to: Computing and electronics *Acorn System 3, a home computer produced by Acorn Computers from 1980 *Cromemco System Three, a home computer produced by Cromemco from 1978 *IBM System/3, a low-end business ...

CEO Mark Cale has stated that the game will be available in future as both a retail product and an online product for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

and

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

. The Commodore 64 version was released for the Wii's

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

service in Europe on April 11, 2008, and in North America on July 6, 2009.

References

External links

''California Games'' package and manual scans
at c64sets.com * * * *

for the Lynx at Atari Age {{Authority control 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Appaloosa Interactive games Apple II games Apple IIGS games Atari 2600 games Atari Lynx games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Cycling video games DOS games Epyx games J2ME games Master System games MSX games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiple-sport video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Pack-in video games Sega Genesis games Skateboarding video games Surfing video games U.S. Gold games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Alex Rudis Video games scored by David Wise Video games set in California Video games with oblique graphics Virtual Console games for Wii Water sports video games Westwood Studios games ZX Spectrum games