California Games was the original “Extreme Games” – what today’s generation might call “X-Games in the sun”. Players can select sponsors (absent in some versions) and compete in events such as skateboarding, footbag, surfing, roller skating, flying disc (frisbee) and BMX. The surfing event is ranked by judges, which give a score to help the players improve their routine.
The Atari versions (2600 and Lynx) of the game omit the flying disc and roller skating events, while the Genesis version omits only the flying disc event.
Not only was California Games well received, but it also ultimately ended up outselling Summer Games and Winter Games, going on to become Epyx’s best-selling game ever.
If you’ve ever played a PC game, you may be familiar with DirectX technology. It’s inventor, Ken Nicholson, designed the footbag event in California Games.
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