Difference between revisions of "Outback Joey"

Revision as of 00:47, 24 November 2023

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Outback Joey

System(s): Sega Mega Drive

Publisher: HeartBeat Corporation^[1]^[2]

Developer: Western Technologies^[3]

Sound driver: GEMS

Peripherals supported: HeartBeat Catalyst^[1]^[2]

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1993-11-24^[1]		T-122026
US (Re-release)	1994-01^[4]

Outback Joey is a Sega Mega Drive fitness action platform game developed by Western Technologies and published by HeartBeat Corporation. Specifically designed to utilize the fitness sensor-integrated Mega Drive peripheral HeartBeat Catalyst^[1]^[2], it was released exclusively in the United States in November 1993 and only available as a pack-in with the either the HeartBeat Catalyst or the HeartBeat Personal Trainer; as the hardware only had a production run of 1,000 units total, it is assumed not many more copies of Outback Joey were produced as well. As such, both are considered some of the rarest pieces of Mega Drive history in existence.^[5]

Story

The titular protagonist Joey, a proud kangaroo and champion boxer, lives in the Outback of Northern Australia with his friends, family, and a love interest named Matilda. One day, a poaching expedition led by the evil gourmand Gustave McGullet captures Matilda and some of Joey's other friends, soon to become the blue plate special at McGullet's Greasy Spoon in Tasmania.

To save his friends, Joey must follow the poachers' trail and gather shards of a talisman to present as a tribute to the Indigenous Australian people so that they may guide him from one region to another. Undaunted by the many dangers that lie ahead, Joey sets out on his treacherous mission through the Australian Outback.

Gameplay

Outback Joey is a standard platform game with minor action platform elements. The titular Joey must traverse a series of four levels, and use his species' developed jumping ability to attack enemies with kicks and avoid obstacles. In certain areas, Joey can acquire boxing gloves and become a boxing kangaroo, making it easier to defeat enemies (as opposed to kicking or avoiding them). To finish levels, Joey must find all four pieces of a talisman and bring them to the end of a level. If the talisman is incomplete, the player must restart the current level from the beginning. Heath lost from enemies and obstacles can be regained by collecting energy drinks.

At the start of the game, the player must create a profile, and set how long their workout regimen will last for and a target heart rate. Joey's stamina is tied to the player's heart rate (as explained in the Hardware section below) - if the player's heart rate becomes too high or too low, Joey will become exhausted or lethargic, drastically reducing his movement speed and jump height until the player's heart rate returns to the defined range. If the player doesn't finish the game by the end of the designated timespan, the game automatically ends.

Levels

	Level 1

	Level 2

	Level 3

	Level 4

Hardware

The boxed 1994 re-release.

Outback Joey is one of only four Sega Mega Drive games which utilize the HeartBeat Catalyst, a body-mounted fitness sensor accessory which reads the user's heart rate, motion, and skin salinity levels for in-game feedback - here using it to control the running speed of its player character (motivating users to maintain a consistent heart rate by exercising while playing).

History

The game, alongside the Catalyst and Personal Trainer, appeared at Winter CES 1994^[6]^[7], and was used to demonstrate how the specialized fitness sensors could be utilized alongside a traditional video game.

In early January 1994, a second revision of Outback Joey was released, likely to fix an unknown critical bug in the original version.^[4] Only one the two available revisions of the game are dumped, with this second revision likely being the undumped version.

Production credits

Developed for Heartbeat by: Western Technologies Inc
Executive Producers: Jay Smith, Justin Hall-Tipping
Produced By: George deGolian
Programmed By: Mark Guidas, John Bojorquez, Alan Wise, Jimmy Gros, Chris Longpre
Characters Designed By: Mike D'Isa
Art & Design By: Mike D'Isa, Charlie Morales, Bruce Straley, Eric Iwasaki, Tate Mosesian, Bill Dubay, Sam Kjellman
Music & Sounds By: Fletcher Beasley
Special Thanks: Adam Benjamin

Source:

In-game credits

Uncredited

Cover artwork: Phil Winslade

Magazine articles

Main article: Outback Joey/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Outback Joey/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US

Cart PCB Manual

Mega Drive, US (1994 re-release)
Cover
Cart Manual

Photo gallery

A letter included with early copies of the HeartBeat Personal Trainer regarding the upcoming software revision.

Technical information

Main article: Outback Joey/Technical information.

External links

Outback Joey Cartridge Variants for the Sega Genesis video by Art of Nintendo Power at YouTube

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-14 05:43)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Sega Visions, "October/November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 110
↑ File:OutbackJoey MD US Cart B.png
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 File:HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US OutbackJoeyletter.png
↑ https://www.sega-16.com/2004/08/genesis-accessory-peripheral-guide/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-10-11 18:57)
↑ GamePro, "April 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 92
↑ Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 12

Outback Joey
	Main page \| Maps \| Hidden content \| Development \| Magazine articles \| Promotional material \| Region coding \| Technical information No results

HeartBeat Catalyst
Topics	Magazine articles \| Promotional material \| Personal Trainer \| HeartBeat Corporation
Games	NHLPA Hockey \| Outback Joey \| Outworld 2375 AD \| PGA Tour Golf II

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20210414054316.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fvideogamekraken.com.2Fheartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst (Wayback Machine: 2021-04-14 05:43)

[:File:SegaVisions_US_15.pdf_p110-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Sega Visions, "October/November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 110

[:File:OutbackJoey_MD_US_Cart_B.png_p-3] File:OutbackJoey MD US Cart B.png

[:File:HeartBeatPersonalTrainer_US_OutbackJoeyletter.png_p-4] 4.0 ^4.1 File:HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US OutbackJoeyletter.png

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20131011185723.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fwww.sega-16.com.2F2004.2F08.2Fgenesis-accessory-peripheral-guide.2F-5] ttps://www.sega-16.com/2004/08/genesis-accessory-peripheral-guide/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-10-11 18:57)

[:File:GamePro_US_057.pdf_p92-6] GamePro, "April 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 92

[:File:Mega_UK_18.pdf_p12-7] Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 12

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 | bobscreen=OutbackJoey MD Title.png
 | publisher=[[HeartBeat Corporation]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054316/http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst}}{{magref|sv|15|110}}
-| developer=[[Western Technologies]]
+| developer=[[Western Technologies]]{{fileref|OutbackJoey MD US Cart B.png}}
 | system=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
-| sounddriver=
+| sounddriver=[[GEMS]]
 | peripherals=[[HeartBeat Catalyst]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054316/http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst}}{{magref|sv|15|110}}
 | players=1
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 | md_code_us=T-122026
 | md_rating_us=ga
-| md_date_us_1=1994-01
+| md_date_us_1=1994-01{{fileref|HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US OutbackJoeyletter.png}}
 | md_code_us_1=
 | md_rating_us_1=ga
 | md_type_us_1=Re-release
-}}}}{{stub}}'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is a [[Sega Mega Drive]] fitness action platform game developed by [[Western Technologies]] and published by [[HeartBeat Corporation]]. Specifically designed to utilize the fitness sensor-integrated Mega Drive peripheral [[HeartBeat Catalyst]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054316/http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst}}{{magref|sv|15|110}}, it was released exclusively in the United States in late 1993 and only available as a pack-in with the either the HeartBeat Catalyst or the [[HeartBeat Personal Trainer]]; as both only had a production run of 1,000 units total, it is assumed only 1,000 copies of ''Outback Joey'' exist as well. As such, both are considered some of the rarest pieces of Mega Drive history in existence.{{ref|https://www.sega-16.com/2004/08/genesis-accessory-peripheral-guide/}}
+}}
+}}
+'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is a [[Sega Mega Drive]] fitness action platform game developed by [[Western Technologies]] and published by [[HeartBeat Corporation]]. Specifically designed to utilize the [[wikipedia:Activity tracker|fitness sensor]]-integrated Mega Drive peripheral [[HeartBeat Catalyst]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054316/http://videogamekraken.com/heartbeat-personal-trainer-catalyst}}{{magref|sv|15|110}}, it was released exclusively in the United States in November 1993 and only available as a pack-in with the either the HeartBeat Catalyst or the [[HeartBeat Personal Trainer]]; as the hardware only had a production run of 1,000 units total, it is assumed not many more copies of ''Outback Joey'' were produced as well. As such, both are considered some of the rarest pieces of Mega Drive history in existence.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20131011185723/https://www.sega-16.com/2004/08/genesis-accessory-peripheral-guide/}}
 ==Story==
@@ Line 24: / Line 26: @@
 ==Gameplay==
-''Outback Joey'' is a standard platform game with minor action platform elements. The titular Joey must traverse a series of four levels, and uses his species' developed jumping ability to avoid enemies and obstacles. In certain areas, Joey can acquire boxing gloves and become a [[wikipedia:Boxing kangaroo|boxing kangaroo]], gaining the ability to defeat enemies (as opposed to simply avoiding them.)
+''Outback Joey'' is a standard platform game with minor action platform elements. The titular Joey must traverse a series of four levels, and use his species' developed jumping ability to attack enemies with kicks and avoid obstacles. In certain areas, Joey can acquire boxing gloves and become a [[wikipedia:Boxing kangaroo|boxing kangaroo]], making it easier to defeat enemies (as opposed to kicking or avoiding them). To finish levels, Joey must find all four pieces of a talisman and bring them to the end of a level. If the talisman is incomplete, the player must restart the current level from the beginning. Heath lost from enemies and obstacles can be regained by collecting energy drinks.
+At the start of the game, the player must create a profile, and set how long their workout regimen will last for and a target heart rate. Joey's stamina is tied to the player's heart rate (as explained in the Hardware section below) - if the player's heart rate becomes too high or too low, Joey will become exhausted or lethargic, drastically reducing his movement speed and jump height until the player's heart rate returns to the defined range. If the player doesn't finish the game by the end of the designated timespan, the game automatically ends.
+===Levels===
+{{InfoTable|imagewidths=200|
+{{InfoRow
+| screenshot=Notavailable.svg
+| title=Level 1
+| desc=
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| screenshot=Notavailable.svg
+| title=Level 2
+| desc=
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| screenshot=Notavailable.svg
+| title=Level 3
+| desc=
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| screenshot=Notavailable.svg
+| title=Level 4
+| desc=
+}}
+}}
 ==Hardware==
-''[[Outback Joey]]'' is one of the only [[Sega Mega Drive]] game which utilizes the unique fitness hardware of the [[HeartBeat Catalyst]]; the Catalyst features body-mounted fitness sensor hardware which reads the user's heart rate, motion, and skin salinity levels for in-game feedback, which ''Outback Joey'' uses to control the running speed of its player character (motivating users to maintain a consistent heart rate by exercising while playing.) Though not a requirement, the Catalyst is intended for use with fitness machines such as treadmills and ellipticals, and the game was generally marketed as being best played with a dedicated exercise bike.
+[[File:OutbackJoey MD US Rev1 CompleteInBox.png|thumb|right|200px|The boxed 1994 re-release.]]
+''Outback Joey'' is one of only four [[Sega Mega Drive]] games which utilize the [[HeartBeat Catalyst]], a body-mounted [[wikipedia:Activity tracker|fitness sensor]] accessory which reads the user's heart rate, motion, and skin salinity levels for in-game feedback - here using it to control the running speed of its player character (motivating users to maintain a consistent heart rate by exercising while playing).
 ==History==
 The game, alongside the [[Catalyst]] and [[Personal Trainer]], appeared at [[Winter CES 1994]]{{magref|gamepro|57|92}}{{magref|mega|18|12}}, and was used to demonstrate how the specialized fitness sensors could be utilized alongside a traditional video game.
+In early January 1994, a second revision of ''Outback Joey'' was released, likely to fix an unknown critical bug in the original version.{{fileref|HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US OutbackJoeyletter.png}} Only one the two available revisions of the game are dumped, with this second revision likely being the undumped version.
 ==Production credits==
@@ Line 36: / Line 67: @@
 {{creditstable|
 *'''Developed for Heartbeat by:''' [[Western Technologies|Western Technologies Inc]]
-*'''Executive Producers:''' [[Jay Smith]], Justin Hall-Tipping
+*'''Executive Producers:''' [[Jay Smith]], [[Justin Hall-Tipping]]
 *'''Produced By:''' [[George deGolian]]
 *'''Programmed By:''' [[Mark Guidas]], [[John Bojorquez]], [[Alan Wise]], Jimmy Gros, [[Chris Longpre]]
 *'''Characters Designed By:''' Mike D'Isa
-*'''Art & Design By:''' Mike D'Isa, Charlie Morales, [[Bruce Straley]], [[Eric Iwasaki]], Tate Mosesian, Bill Dubay, [[Sam Kjellman]]
+*'''Art & Design By:''' Mike D'Isa, Charlie Morales, [[Bruce Straley]], [[Eric Iwasaki]], [[Tate Mosesian]], Bill Dubay, [[Sam Kjellman]]
 *'''Music & Sounds By:''' [[Fletcher Beasley]]
 *'''Special Thanks:''' [[Adam Benjamin]]
@@ Line 48: / Line 79: @@
 }}
 ===Uncredited===
+{{creditstable|
 *'''Cover artwork:''' [[Phil Winslade]]
+| console=MD
+| source=
+| ref=
+}}
 ==Magazine articles==
@@ Line 60: / Line 96: @@
 | console=Mega Drive
 | region=US
-| manual=
+| manual=OutbackJoey MD US manual.png
 | cart=OutbackJoey MD US Cart B.png
+| pcb=OutbackJoey MD US pcbrev0.png
 | title=Mega Drive, US
 }}
@@ Line 70: / Line 107: @@
 | front=OutbackJoey MD US box front.png
 | cart=OutbackJoey MD US Cart.jpg
-| manual=
+| manual=OutbackJoey MD US manual.png
 | title=Mega Drive, US (1994 re-release)
 }}
+==Photo gallery==
+<gallery>
+HeartBeatPersonalTrainer US OutbackJoeyletter.png|A letter included with early copies of the [[HeartBeat Personal Trainer]] regarding the upcoming software revision.
+</gallery>
 ==Technical information==
-===ROM dump status===
+{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Technical information}}
-{{romtable|
-{{rom|MD|sha1=ec2eef751bc8515bc99293d96f833270916c9af7|md5=a42d1b41ce25d329e869216715ca02cf|crc32=10abd93f|size=1MB|date=1993-07|source=Cartridge (US)|comments=1993 release|quality=good}}
+==External links==
-{{rom|MD|sha1=|crc32=|size=|date=|source=Cartridge (US)|comments=1994 re-release|quality=}}
+*''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p6n7y80kxk Outback Joey Cartridge Variants for the Sega Genesis]'' video by [https://www.youtube.com/c/ArtofNintendoPower/about Art of Nintendo Power] at [https://www.youtube.com/ YouTube]
-}}
 ==References==