''Wayne Gretzky Hockey'' is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

-themed

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

developed by

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its ...

, and first published in 1988.

Gameplay

The game features the name and likeness of Canadian professional ice hockey

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Release

Bethesda Softworks published ''Wayne Gretzky Hockey'' shortly after

Peter Pocklington Peter Hugh Pocklington (born November 18, 1941) is a Canadian entrepreneur and vocal advocate of free-market capitalism. Peter Pocklington was known among North American hockey fans as "Peter Puck", the maverick entrepreneur from oil-rich Albert ...

traded Gretzky from the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

on August 9, 1988. Bethesda Softworks followed the game with two sequels: '' Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2'' (1990) and ''

Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 ''Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3'' is a 1992 ice hockey-themed sports game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. Gameplay The game offers a 3/4 view of the players. Gretzky Gold: The Collector's Edition A package containing the game and '' Hoc ...

'' (1992).

Reception

Sales of ''Wayne Gretzky Hockey'' reached 350,000 units by 1995, which "put Bethesda Softworks on the gaming map", according to ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games mag ...

''. In the April 1989 edition of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine 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 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', Johnny Wilson gave an "unhesitating recommendation" of the game "to anyone who enjoys hockey". In the January 1990 edition of ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...

'' (Issue 12), Mike Siggins found the arcade version of the game uninspiring, and the strategy game only a bit better. He concluded by giving the game 3 out of 5 for game play and 4 out of 5 for graphics, saying, "It is among the best hockey games around but sadly, given the earlier efforts in this field, that is not saying much ..It is neither a good arcade game or stats based game, while it attempts to do both." In 1996, ''Computer Gaming World'' declared ''Wayne Gretzky Hockey'' the 111th-best computer game ever released.

References

{{reflist 1988 video games Amiga games Atari ST games THQ games Bethesda Softworks games Gretzky, Wayne Hockey DOS games Ice hockey video games Classic Mac OS games Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games scored by Julian Le Fay Video games developed in the United States

Gameplay

Release

Reception

See also

References