Author Topic: Complete game lists per console?  (Read 11364 times)

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Offline JonLeung

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Complete game lists per console?
« on: September 18, 2020, 02:41:27 pm »
Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone knows of a resource (web sites, lists, apps) that list how many games there are per console.

Sure, I've seen many listings thanks to Google, but it doesn't help if they aren't in an easy-to-use spreadsheet or list form.  If they're going to be dynamic, they need filters - I don't care about hacks, homebrew/aftermarket, special editions, or variants based on the number of screws on the cartridge, etc.

I've known for a few years that for official North American releases, there are 677 NES cartridges, 718 Super NES cartridges, and 296 N64 cartridges.  But it took me a bit of research to figure that all out and be comfortable with those numbers.  I see that for the first two, now Wikipedia seems more accurate than they were five years ago - though they don't plainly say a number about the North American N64 releases though, other than 388 for all regions.

So I'm looking up official Sega Genesis games - North American, so, not Mega Drive - and Wikipedia says there are 713.  Cool.  But then I export the table to Excel, sort by NA release date, delete the rows that say "unreleased" or are later than 1998, and then I'm left with... 712?  I did this three times and can't figure out why I'm not getting 713.  I found another list elsewhere which lists 719 games (awfully close to the Super NES library, I didn't realize it was that close) and tried to find out what they had extra compared to Wikipedia.  I removed Pier Solar from the list, since that game came later, but couldn't find any other obvious candidates (the post-1998 games) to get it down to 713.

And I don't feel like it should take so much work anyway, it should already be done.  I mean, I just want a correct number and a proper list for the Genesis, and eventually I'd like to have that sort info on hand for any and all other consoles too.  You'd think they shouldn't be that hard to find...
« Last Edit: September 18, 2020, 02:43:47 pm by JonLeung »

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2020, 08:48:11 am »
Actually, Genesis and Master System are my current priorities, if anyone can direct me to definitive lists... thanks.

Offline Cleeem

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2020, 11:11:11 am »
Hello Jon  :)
For the Master System, try this website made by Omar Cornut,

Omar is recognized as one of the world's leading console specialists for the Master System:
https://www.smspower.org/Home/MissionStatement

He made a list of games with all the countries and he believes that:
some are incomplete (Master System in Brazil and Korea)
some are complete (North America, Europe, Japan)
https://www.smspower.org/Games/Index
(bottom of the page)

He also produced remakes for the Master System:
https://www.thedragonstrap.com/
https://www.streets4rage.com/

He created the emulator (Meka) that can be downloaded from his site:
https://www.smspower.org/meka/

He lists a lot of maps:
https://www.smspower.org/Maps/Index

There is a forum where you can eventually ask a question:
https://www.smspower.org/forums/

Offline Will

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2020, 05:33:49 pm »
The Angry Video Game Nerd seems to have complete alphabetical lists of games for many consoles. He owns nearly every official North America NES game in existence. https://cinemassacre.com/2007/03/22/game-collection/

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2020, 07:35:06 pm »
With the Genesis, it doesn't take very long to see that so-called "complete" games lists seem so different from each other.

"6-Pak" doesn't show up on some lists, including the Wikipedia list that I thought I could trust.  (Unless that's the one I think was missing, now that I think about it.)
I know "Action 52" isn't official, but shows up on some lists claiming it is.
I don't know why, but some lists don't have "Aero Blasters".

I can't even get through the "A" games without having multiple questions.

Probably my best bet is to copy and paste the Wikipedia list and then make it into a text file and use that, then compare other lists and do research on the games that create discrepancies.

But I guess what baffles me is that I can't find a really simple list - there was one the other day that came close as a text list with 719 games, as I said, but today I can't find that again...  We're talking about a game console from 1989, I feel like the work of sorting the games should have long been done and such a no-nonsense list should exist, so anything I do feels redundant.  (First world problems, am I right?)

Thanks for the suggested resources so far.  They will still be of some help; I guess I am expecting too much for wanting an accurate and complete, yet very basic list...

Offline Marscaleb

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2020, 10:35:48 pm »
Honestly, you can get a very comprehensive list from EmuParadise.
They took down all their roms but they still have everything listed.
The problem there is that the list is TOO comprehensive; they list duplicates that have any difference in the code, such as revisions and multiple regions. (The latter of which may be hard to distinguish between some titles that name the game differently in different regions.)

With the Genesis, it doesn't take very long to see that so-called "complete" games lists seem so different from each other.


Seriously; I mean where do you draw the line?
Do you include Sega CD and 32X titles?  They may have a different label as if they are different console, but strictly speaking they are still Genesis titles.
Should a collection like 6-Pak count?
And I get not wanting to count homebrew titles since most of them are tech demos, but then you have some that are legitimately full proper games, like Tangledeep and there was an RPG on the Sega CD some fans printed actual discs for.  But if you can't count them, then you couldn't count Gauntlet on the NES or Tengen's other unlicensed titles.

...One thing I will say, if you produce any list or distinct number, you really need to include with that the EXACT terms you are defining the list by.  Maybe something like "Title must have been sold on store shelves between year X and year Y without being taken down or recall for reasons other than poor sales."

Also, you might try asking your question on NesDev.com.  I know people there have shared sites that list a lot of various details, so someone there might have something to help you.

Offline JonLeung

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2020, 05:11:41 pm »
But if you can't count them, then you couldn't count Gauntlet on the NES or Tengen's other unlicensed titles.

Funny that you mention that, as there's a particular thing about Gauntlet, and two other Tengen games...

While Tengen (actually pronounced with a hard G, an interesting recently-learned fact for me) is known for its unlicensed black cart games, they were, very briefly, a licensed developer.  So Gauntlet, as well as R.B.I. Baseball and Pac-Man, actually have normal grey officially licensed versions, in addition to black unlicensed versions.  So if a collector is collecting games from a software perspective, would a black Gauntlet be a suitable replacement if they can't find a grey one, or if a collector is collecting games from a cartridge perspective, would they have to get both versions?

Pac-Man is a more interesting one.  As already mentioned, Tengen has an unlicensed version and a licensed version.  Namco, the original developer, released their own (obviously licensed) version later - 1993, in fact!  I heard that the only difference in the actual ROM between Namco and the Tengen versions other than the opening credits text might just be a difference in the palette, but I don't know how true that is (easy enough to check later, I suppose), though I have heard that the graphics (otherwise), sound and gameplay are for sure identical.  So Pac-Man has three versions: two licensed, two Tengen, and one that is both.  From a software collector, maybe one is enough, but a cartridge collector would need all three (unless they only collect official releases, but then they still need two).

This is the sort of detail that is interesting if you know it, but can throw off numbers if you are counting and aren't aware of this sort of thing.  So while I prefer a simple listing, I would like little asterisks and footnotes for stuff like this, where it's like... "FYI, you should consider this..."  i know, I'm hard to please.  I want it simple but I want only the extra detail that I care about?  Sigh...

Another thing I hate is figuring out naming conventions for games that have a person's name at the front of the title.  It throws things off when I compare what I have to a list where they alphabetize it differently because of whether or not the name gets included.

My rule-of-thumb is to keep the name if it references a character or player (common in sports games), but to ignore the name if it is the creator.  I know, sounds backwards, right?  Sort of like not crediting the creator but giving props to the guy who was just paid to have his name slapped on?  But hear me out.  "Hudson's Adventure Island" or "Disney's The Jungle Book" are listed under A and J (for "Adventure Island" and "Jungle Book"), not H and D.  But "Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball"?  That's got to be B.  Seems natural...

This "rule" isn't without its problems.  I do have to look up the name to see if it is a sponsored athlete or the creator.  For example, "David Crane's Amazing Tennis".  Well, he's not a professional sports player, he's a game creator; you might recognize him from "David Crane's A Boy And His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia".  I dropped the "David Crane's" in both cases.  But then "Bram Stoker's Dracula" I'm still not sure what to do with, as the various games on multiple consoles are based on the movie which very heavily promoted the "Bram Stoker's" part of it.  If I dropped the creator's name like the others, would it just be "Dracula"?  Same could be said with "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein".  And then for consistency's sake, what about when the name of the sports player (which I would normally include) actually messes up the continuity with the other games?  Like the "Bases Loaded" series... you have "Ryne Sandberg Plays Bases Loaded 3" and "Ryne Sandberg Plays Super Bases Loaded".  Or on the Genesis you have "Super Monaco GP" followed by "Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II".  Grrrr...

Here are two more simple ones... which do you prefer...
"2020 Super Baseball" or "Super Baseball 2020"?
"Super Noah's Ark 3D" or "Super 3D Noah's Ark"?

Offline Marscaleb

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2020, 05:44:58 pm »
Here are two more simple ones... which do you prefer...
"2020 Super Baseball" or "Super Baseball 2020"?
"Super Noah's Ark 3D" or "Super 3D Noah's Ark"?
"Super Baseball 2020" and "Super Noah's Ark 3D."

When I look at the title's with "Disney's" in the title I would assume that the title "Disney" was just added on the cover as part of marketing, but if you look at most title screens they don't include the "Disney's" element.  Like how on the SNES there is a game called "Tuff E Nuff" not "Hey Punk! Are You Tuff E Nuff"  It's not a title, it's part of marketing.

A proper list might do the card-catalog technique and just have an entry like "Disney's Ducktales; see Ducktales"

And I'm not sure how relevant many of these are for older consoles, but I know many more recent ones have an internal title used by the console manufacturer; I know that consoles like the GBA, PS2, and Xbox all have specific numbers/codes assigned to each title, and they would likewise have specific titles assigned to them.  This data is also represented in game data.  I don't know if those apply to the NES or Genesis though...

Offline TerraEsperZ

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Re: Complete game lists per console?
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2020, 05:51:04 pm »
Another thing I hate is figuring out naming conventions for games that have a person's name at the front of the title.  It throws things off when I compare what I have to a list where they alphabetize it differently because of whether or not the name gets included.

My rule-of-thumb is to keep the name if it references a character or player (common in sports games), but to ignore the name if it is the creator.  I know, sounds backwards, right?  Sort of like not crediting the creator but giving props to the guy who was just paid to have his name slapped on?  But hear me out.  "Hudson's Adventure Island" or "Disney's The Jungle Book" are listed under A and J (for "Adventure Island" and "Jungle Book"), not H and D.  But "Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball"?  That's got to be B.  Seems natural...

This "rule" isn't without its problems.  I do have to look up the name to see if it is a sponsored athlete or the creator.  For example, "David Crane's Amazing Tennis".  Well, he's not a professional sports player, he's a game creator; you might recognize him from "David Crane's A Boy And His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia".  I dropped the "David Crane's" in both cases.  But then "Bram Stoker's Dracula" I'm still not sure what to do with, as the various games on multiple consoles are based on the movie which very heavily promoted the "Bram Stoker's" part of it.  If I dropped the creator's name like the others, would it just be "Dracula"?  Same could be said with "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein".  And then for consistency's sake, what about when the name of the sports player (which I would normally include) actually messes up the continuity with the other games?  Like the "Bases Loaded" series... you have "Ryne Sandberg Plays Bases Loaded 3" and "Ryne Sandberg Plays Super Bases Loaded".  Or on the Genesis you have "Super Monaco GP" followed by "Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II".  Grrrr...

Here are two more simple ones... which do you prefer...
"2020 Super Baseball" or "Super Baseball 2020"?
"Super Noah's Ark 3D" or "Super 3D Noah's Ark"?

Sounds like the kind of headaches I get whenever I resume naming/tagging my very large MP3 collection. My brain usually prevents me from resorting to easy solutions.
Current project that are on hold because job burnout :
-Drill Dozer (GBA)
-Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)
-Naya's Quest (PC)