The

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...

(WSC) is a series of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s based on snooker featuring licensing from the

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...

. The first game in the series was released in 2001 and the last in 2011; a new licensed World Snooker game,

Snooker 19 ''Snooker 19'' is a 2019 sports video game developed by Lab42 and published by Ripstone Games, based on the cue sport snooker. The game was released on 17 April 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the Nintendo Switch ...

, was released in 2019. The first four games were published by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Oct ...

and developed by

Blade Interactive Dark Energy Digital was a privately owned video game developer and publisher based in the United Kingdom. It was formed from members of Blade Interactive, which continues to operate as a separate company. On 28 September 2007, following the publ ...

Software. Later games were published by Sega, Deep Silver and

Koch Media Plaion (formerly Koch Media) is a German-Austrian media company headquartered in Höfen, Tyrol, Austria, with an operating subsidiary based in Planegg, Germany. The company was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company ...

Overview

The first game was simply named " World Championship Snooker" and released in 2000. In 2004, following a change in publisher, the series was renamed

to better reflect the name of the tournament body and the actual tournament. In 2005 the box art features the snooker player

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

who died in 2006 from cancer. When the game was re-released as a budget title from

Sold-Out Software Mastertronic Group Limited was a software publisher formed as a result of a merger between The Producers and Sold Out Sales & Marketing in 2004. Frank Herman, one of the founders of the original Mastertronic and former chairman of Sega Europe, ...

, he remained on the cover and in-game, but a memorial notice is included on the back of the case ("Paul Hunter 1978 - 2006"). The 2007 version is the first to feature fully licensed

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

tournaments. In previous versions, pool is a side mode that can only be played in matches against the computer or other players. From 2008 onwards, the series was renamed WSC Real: World Snooker Championship. The branding was changed to reflect more realistic gameplay, including the ability to play in first person and view shots from any angle, and characters' lifelike emotions.

Titles

World Championship Snooker

The first game was released in 2000 for PlayStation and later in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. The box art features

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

and Mark Williams.

World Championship Snooker 2002

World Championship Snooker 2002 was released on 28 September 2001 exclusively for PlayStation 2. The second game's box art also features Williams, Hendry and Sullivan. Gameplay on WCS 2002 improves from the previous version, and "player aids", such as a cueball line, shows the direction of the shot being played.

World Championship Snooker 2003

World Championship Snooker 2003 was released on PlayStation 2,

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

, and Microsoft Windows. The box art features world champions

Peter Ebdon Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...

, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan,

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

, Ken Doherty and Mark Williams. The game is the first in the series to feature pool modes, with both eight-ball and nine-ball pool included. The game includes

Big Break ''Big Break'' is a British television game show, created by Roger Medcalf, Mike Kemp and Terry Mardell, presented by comedian Jim Davidson and snooker commentator John Virgo, and broadcast on BBC One between 1991 and 2002. Inspired by ITV's '' ...

presenter

John Virgo John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality. Snooker career Early professional career (1973–1978) Virgo's first notable appea ...

and a version of the "John Virgo's Trick Shot" mode in-game.

World Championship Snooker 2004

World Championship Snooker 2004 was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and

. The box art features

, Mark Williams, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan. The 2004 edition features an expanded roster, including almost every member of the World Snooker Tour (except

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

, likely due to him having his own licensed series of games), and licenses for official arenas such as the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

. The game also introduced

online multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

to the series, with players able to play single matches and tournaments. The game is the last in the series published by Codemasters.

World Snooker Championship 2005

World Snooker Championship 2005 is the first licensed

video game. The box art features

and

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...

. This is the first game in the series with the name "World Snooker Championship". The game was published by Sega instead of Codemasters. The game is also the first released on a handheld console, as the ''World Snooker Challenge 2005'' on the PlayStation Portable. The game features a playable "League of Champions" mode, where famous past snooker matches can be replayed. The game includes additional modes such as

bar billiards Bar billiards is a form of billiards which involves scoring points by potting balls in holes on the playing surface of the table rather than in pockets. Bar billiards developed from the French/Belgian game billard russe, of Russian origin. The cu ...

. In "free play" mode, variables such as table size can be altered.

World Snooker Championship 2007

World Snooker Championship 2007 was released on 12 January 2007. The box art features

and

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

. This is the first game in the series to be released on the seventh generation of consoles, with

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

releases. This installment also added a new mode called "Golden Cue," where custom matches can be played. A new assist that would appear in all WSC games from this point on shows a provisional finishing position for the cue ball as a circular

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

. This circle expands or retracts depending on the player's skill and difficulty of the shot involved.

World Snooker Championship: Season 2007-08

World Snooker Championship: Season 2007-08 was released exclusively on Nintendo DS on 26 October 2007. The game's box art features Mark Selby and John Higgins. The game is the only release in the series for a Nintendo

handheld A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

console. The edition was panned for its lack of online play.

WSC Real 08: World Snooker Championship

WSC Real 08: World Snooker Championship was released on 14 November 2008 for the Wii. The box art features

and

. The game is controlled with the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact wi ...

, and was shipped with a cue attachment. The game was released on other consoles as WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship. It was later released simultaneously for Microsoft Windows,

and

on 3 April 2009. The version is identical apart from the addition of some graphical improvements.

WSC Real 11: World Snooker Championship

WSC Real 11: World Snooker Championship was released on 15 April 2011 for

and

. The box art features

. A gameplay function introduced in this edition is the ability to retake shots a certain number of times per game. The 2011 edition features improvements to the

character creation Character creation (also character generation or character design) is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a ...

system.

References

External links

* {{Snooker Video Games Snooker video games Sega video games

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

Lists of video games by franchise Video game franchises introduced in 2000