Shark! Shark!
Shark! Is an Intellivision game originally designed by Don Daglow, and with additional design and programming by Ji-Wen Tsao, one of the first female game programmers in the history of video games. The player is a fish who must eat smaller fish in order to gain points and extra lives while avoiding enemies such as larger fish, sharks, jellyfish, lobsters and crabs.
Shark! Shark!
- Date
- 1982
- Publisher
- Mattel Electronics
- Genre
- action game
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Shark! Is an Intellivision game originally designed by Don Daglow, and with additional design and programming by Ji-Wen Tsao, one of the first female game programmers in the history of video games. The player is a fish who must eat smaller fish in order to gain points and extra lives while avoiding enemies such as larger fish, sharks, jellyfish, lobsters and crabs.
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wikidata · Q7489775 · wikipedia · Shark! Shark!
In this article
The object
The object
After eating a certain number of fish, the player's fish grows in size and is thus able to eat a larger selection of fish. However, while the larger fish becomes a bit faster, it is less agile than the small fish and has a harder time avoiding enemies. Shark! Was originally considered by Mattel to be a cute game for kids and unlikely to make strong inroads into the gaming community. The game was unexpectedly popular, forcing Mattel to quickly manufacture another batch of cartridges. The original cartridge run was only 5,600 units.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Shark! Shark! • Developer — Mattel BBG Entertainment • Publisher — Mattel BBG Entertainment • Designer — Don Daglow • Programmer — Ji-Wen Tsao • Composer — Andy Sells • Platforms — Intellivision, Windows, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation • Released — December 6, 1982Modern version September 28, 2023 • Genre — Action, Shooting, Shoot ’em up • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer
Reviews
Reviews
The Video Game Update praised the graphics of Shark! Shark! and said the game would be appealing to children, while stating adults would also enjoy the challenge. R. Wayne Schmittberger of Games also praised the graphics, stating the underwater effects were extraordinary.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Named but not plotted · 1
Shark! Shark! is associated with United States.
Country
Legacy
Shark! Shark! was made available for the PlayStation 3 through PlayStation Home in fall 2012 in a collection titled Intellivision Gen2. In addition to players being a fish eating other fish trying try to take down the shark, their food and foes will both swim in a wide variety of new patterns. It was also released on Microsoft's Game Room service for its Xbox 360 console and for Windows-based PCs in May 2010. A new version of Shark! Shark! was announced for release on the Intellivision Amico video game console. It is one of the six games that were meant to be included with the console. After putting an indefinite halt on development of their Amico console, Intellivision announced that mobile versions of Shark! Shark! would be released as part of the company's Amico Home initiative. With this announcement, a version was made available for Android OS in late 2023, followed by an iOS release in December 2024. In 2023, BBG Entertainment GmbH acquired the Shark! Shark! trademark, along with the right to port the Intellivision Amico version of Shark! Shark! to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows and Mac computers. These ports were released on September 28 of the same year. Nick Thorpe of Retro Gamer magazine reviewed the new version. In his review, Thorpe stated that the gameplay becomes monotonous over 12 rounds of single-player action, but a well-rounded, albeit limited, assortment of gameplay modes does help. Ultimately, the new version received a 71% score from Retro Gamer.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Shark! Shark!.
- 2.Intellivision Entertainment. Intellivision Amico Pack-in announcement. 27 March 2020.
- 3.Intellivision Entertainment (via Facebook). AMICO HOME HOLIDAY UPDATE.
- 4.Amico Entertainment. Merry Christmas, Happy holidays and good cheer to everyone around the world! We have some exciting news to share about Amico Home and a few other updates. Facebook. 2024-12-17.
- 5.BBG Entertainment. Sink Your Teeth into Shark! Shark!® Today!. September 28, 2023.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Schmittberger, R. Wayne. Games & Books. Games. 7. 42. August 1983.
- Thorpe, Nick. Retro Roundup. Retro Gamer. 252.
References
Citations
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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