Advice: Platform field for games ported in compilations

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interea

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#1  Edited By interea

What is the best practice for completing the 'Platform' field in the 'Game details' box in the case of games (directly) ported to additional platforms as a part of a compilation?

Take Sonic R as an example. It currently has Saturn and PC listed in the 'Platform' field. It was ported to Gamecube and PS2 as a part of the Sonic Gems Collection, but was not released for either platform as a standalone game. There was no remastering—it was a direct port. In this instance, can we add Gamecube and PS2 in the 'Platform' field for Sonic R?

The Wiki Rules do not mention this matter directly—the closest thing is the case of what counts as a game in itself (rather than a release) in the case of compilations:

This [i.e. an edition being a release rather than a separate game] includes compilations of games which may feature several other games long with the title in question. There are specific exceptions to the rule with games that come bundled as one package and appear on a certain platform by only that means (such as The Orange Box), but generally these are all releases.

This does not address my query, unless it implies (or assumes an understanding) that anything that is considered a game in itself (e.g. Sonic Gems Collection) cannot also be considered a release of another game (e.g. of Sonic R). That would seem unnecessarily restrictive to me, but I'd like to check before I make erroneous edits.

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bobafettjm

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We don't add platforms to the platform list if it was just released as a part of a compilation usually, but I don't know for sure if that is an official rule or not. I could see a small blurb in the main article mentioning its inclusion in compilations though.

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interea

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@bobafettjm: Ah, I see. Thanks for the advice! If there's no official rule, I guess I'll go with what seems appropriate in each case... For example, in the case ofShenmue and Shenmue II, I previously added PC as a platform for both of them: the ports released on Steam are technically part of a compilation (you can only buy Shenmue I & II as a single package) but the presentation is more of a glorified bundle, as the 'compilation' is really just a launcher with a link to either of the separate executables. Comparing Final Fantasy X, my attempt to add PS4 as a platform was denied, which probably made sense because the release on PS4 was both part of a compilationand a remastered version, going far from being a direct release of the game itself... (And the main article for FFX does already mention the PS4 release, as you recommended.)

Does that sort of distinction make sense? I guess it's a lot of hair-splitting, but it makes sense to me...

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bobafettjm

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@timebias: I would think in the case of Shenmue it would still not be listed on the newer platforms. I would ask @marino for clarification if you have questions about it.

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#5 marino  Staff  Online
@timebias said:

Take Sonic R as an example. It currently has Saturn and PC listed in the 'Platform' field. It was ported to Gamecube and PS2 as a part of the Sonic Gems Collection, but was not released for either platform as a standalone game. There was no remastering—it was a direct port. In this instance, can we add Gamecube and PS2 in the 'Platform' field for Sonic R?

No. As boba suggested, the Sonic R page (and any other game's page in the compilation) can or should mention the inclusion in a later compilation in the wiki text, but Sonic Gems Collection is not considered a "release" in how we handle that on our database.

@timebias said:

in the case ofShenmue and Shenmue II, I previously added PC as a platform for both of them: the ports released on Steam are technically part of a compilation (you can only buy Shenmue I & II as a single package) but the presentation is more of a glorified bundle, as the 'compilation' is really just a launcher with a link to either of the separate executables.

This is the same situation as Sonic Gems. Sure, it's handled slightly differently on Steam, but Shenmue I & II is both games on a disc for PS4 and XONE.