Outback Joey

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Outback Joey
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: HeartBeat Corporation
Developer: Western Technologies
Peripherals supported: HeartBeat Catalyst
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1993 T-122026

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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, 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.

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 X levels, and uses his species' developed jumping ability to avoid enemies and obstacles. In certain areas, Joey can acquire boxing gloves and become a boxing kangaroo, gaining the ability to defeat enemies (as opposed to simply avoiding them.)

Hardware

Outback Joey is 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.

History

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

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.

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 10abd93f MD5 a42d1b41ce25d329e869216715ca02cf SHA-1 ec2eef751bc8515bc99293d96f833270916c9af7	1MB	1993-07	Cartridge (US)