System-Specific Collector Pages - Your Opinion Please!

[digitalpress]

I'm working on individual pages for each game system, something to pull together the various bits we've got spread out on the site: screen shots, scans, DP Guide info, emulation, easter eggs, etc...

I started working with a page yesterday. It's in its very early draft stages but I wanted to get your opinion:

http://www.digitpress.com/systems/atari2600.htm

I intend to add pictures pretty much all the way down the right hand column as you see with Chuckwagon and Video Life, and I've left placeholders for"top 20" and "rare 20"... am I leaving out anything that you think every system page should have?

As always, your feedback is important. Before I commit to a template I want to be sure I've captured the most important stuff, so that a fan of the system (or someone very curious about it) can learn as much as possible "at a glance".

Thanks in advance for your time!

[AB Positive]

That looks damn neat right there. plus, having the top twenty lists there would be sort of a plug for the full book for people, so my opinion would be to go forward.

I don't see anything wrong design wise so, the template looks sound as well.

-AG

[Daltone]

Looks good to me :) The only thing I could think of adding is an 'abbreviated' Timeline showing random crap like date and price of launch, major games releases and other important events. Something like that could be time-consuming/difficult/pointless to make though. Althogh, it would be cool to see a load side by side. Heeey, stop looking at me like that! It was just an idea.

[digitalpress]

Looks good to me :) The only thing I could think of adding is an 'abbreviated' Timeline showing random crap like date and price of launch, major games releases and other important events. Something like that could be time-consuming/difficult/pointless to make though. Althogh, it would be cool to see a load side by side. Heeey, stop looking at me like that! It was just an idea.

Those are EXCELLENT ideas. I have most of that info pretty handy, at least for the more common systems. Thank you!

[kainemaxwell]

I like it. Show the best of the best, best of the worst and everyhting in-between for people to learn about the system, or find which games are best to play and or collect for said system.

[ddockery]

I like it too. The only thing I can think of adding would be a descriptin of how to play imports on each system. This is a question that comes up a lot when collectors start to collect for new systems, and this would make it easier than running a search or asking for the 100th time.

Drew

[evilmess]

This is a great idea!

I like that you'll be adding "top 20" and "rare 20" lists and would suggest having links to the platform reviews you have on the site. Theres a wealth of info here, now we just have to tie it all together.

Another consideration would be to show console variations. e.g Dreamcast had several vaiations from the standard grey to hello kitty and the uber rare resident evil models.

I think time lines are a great idea too. As collectors we often want to know everything and anything about our collectable platform(s). In that regard I'd suggest having info on model variations such as the sega genesis model 1, 2, and 3, info on playing imports, periferals, and a perhaps adding some helpful links to sites (emus, sprites, reviews, databases, etc....) that are dedicated to the platform so the collector can gain additional info.

Lastly bring in the ebay assistant for that platform.

Now here's a wild idea for a phase two that would require a bit of planning and techinical savy but imagine just for a second that each of these pages has the potential to be a custom landing page for your visitors.

If I'm a Sega Genesis collector and I log into the site I could choose the Genesis page as my landing page for Digital Press thru a member profile system. Upon coming to the site I'd have access to all the Genesis info as well has news and events as it applies to the Genesis in addition to general news topics. Taking this idea a bit further we could have a list of other users who also have chosen the genesis as one of their collected platforms and each user could have a custom page of their own displaying their game collections, their personal top 20 lists and reviews of their hardware and software.

Now I'm thinking that phpNuke or something similar would be the best way to approach this kind of idea. It would be a great way for building a community of collectors and bringing together people who collect the same platforms.

[Chunky]

Another consideration would be to show console variations.

is the only thing that comes to mind, showing maybe the Jr./darth/sears/coleco addon/genimi or somesuch.

[IntvGene]

I love it too... but I don't see the need for the Ebay link. Unless there is some sort of advertising deal, do we really need to support Ebay anymore? Doesn't any old fool know about Ebay. I just think that you could use that upper banner for more useful things than a link to Ebay.

Have you thought about having a link to the system FAQ?

[YoshiM]

I love it too... but I don't see the need for the Ebay link. Unless there is some sort of advertising deal, do we really need to support Ebay anymore? Doesn't any old fool know about Ebay. I just think that you could use that upper banner for more useful things than a link to Ebay.

Have you thought about having a link to the system FAQ?

The Ebay link is helpful as it takes you right there rather than have to go to Ebay and do a search yourself. I'm sure it's just added convenience.

DP: The page looks pretty good. Don't know how fleshed out you want it to get though.

[den68]

I intend to add pictures pretty much all the way down the right hand column as you see with Chuckwagon and Video Life

good idea. I'd say keep pics of the rare games to a minimum though, games the average joe would recognize would be more in keeping with your "at a glance" idea.



Quote:
Another consideration would be to show console variations.


is the only thing that comes to mind, showing maybe the Jr./darth/sears/coleco addon/genimi or somesuch.

a nice simple animated gif would work well for this.

[GrandAmChandler]

That's a quality Idea right there. I'd visit those pages...

[digitalpress]

Great ideas, keep 'em coming! I'll work out a few of the suggested changes tonight.

The eBay thing seems "controversial" though. I thought it was a nice convenience and someone asked to include the eBay assistant... does that actually de-value the page?

Dennis, I agree that some "easily recognized" games need to be displayed and that's totally my intention. A few rare, a few common, a few weird ones. A cross-section of boxes, carts, manuals, peripherals. Maybe a dozen pics total.

[Charlie]

Just some random ideas from me.

-10 Biggest Sellers for the system.
-Various "World Records" for each system. Just leave a spot that says "Assorted Records" or something on each page and then put down stuff like shortest production cycle, highest production cost, etc.

And yes, go with the EBAY thing. Doesn't hurt.

I like this idea. I think even the modern systems should get this kind of treatment.

[evilmess]

the ebay link is nice jumping off point for people starting a new collection or for ebay noobs.

[NoahsMyBro]

Overall, I think it looks great.

One thing -- on the screenshots page, the link text is hard to read against the background; I'd change the link text to a brighter color.

Another idea: Maybe a small area debunking common myths, or answering common questions related to the particular system would be good. (Did you know....?) As an example, for the Dreamcast you could put the dates that online play was functional. For the 5200 you could mention the non-standard RF box. It's just an idea - stop throwing the vegetables at me!!!

Finally, to nitpick a little bit, I only read the beginning of the 2600 page there, and I think it said John H. wrote that text, but it should be noted that the phrase :

And both the Bally Astrocade and Mattel Intellivision were vastly superior pieces of hardware is most definitely debatable! I was a VCS fanboy 'back in the day', (before the term fanboy existed!) and I'll go to my grave arguing the merits of the 2600 vs. Intellivision. I would not say the Intellivision was 'vastly superior', in such a dismissive tone! It definitely had better graphics, but the controllers were dreadful and irreplaceable, and the system was SLOOOOOOOW. Fast-paced arcade games were simply more fun on the faster 2600.

OK, I'm done with the nitpicking/rant tangent there. Whew, Good to get it out of the system.

Back to the matter at hand...

Good looking page Joe!

[digitalpress]

I like this idea. I think even the modern systems should get this kind of treatment.

Oh that's CERTAINLY going to happen. All of the systems we're documenting in various books will be "at a glance" as you see here. I had 2600 very handy so I started there. Dreamcast is next, most likely :)

Thanks again for the feedback, everyone. Great stuff.

[Charlie]

I think you should go with the top 10 sellers thing. I think it would be a great piece of trivia and I'm sure i'm not alone in being somewhat curious what games were the best sellers for each platform.

[ChuckthePlant]

This is a great addition to an already useful site. The only thing I would add is to flesh out the link to the forum. Possibly add a sub area for each system that would allow the posting of system specific information and discussion in individual threads. I have no problem with the ebay link but would find it a less than important feature. Looks great, make it so...

[digitalpress]

I think you should go with the top 10 sellers thing. I think it would be a great piece of trivia and I'm sure i'm not alone in being somewhat curious what games were the best sellers for each platform.

I like this idea too, but I'd really need help. I don't have that information and it would take quite a bit of research to gather it, especially for some of the obscure systems. I'm not even sure it's *available* for all systems.

Thoughts on this?

[YoshiM]

How about original advertising for the particular system? I'm sure many of us have some flyer or magazine ad floating around in our collections somewhere. I'm always fascinated with reading (or watching or hearing) old computer/game advertising.

[Charlie]

I think you should go with the top 10 sellers thing. I think it would be a great piece of trivia and I'm sure i'm not alone in being somewhat curious what games were the best sellers for each platform.

I like this idea too, but I'd really need help. I don't have that information and it would take quite a bit of research to gather it, especially for some of the obscure systems. I'm not even sure it's *available* for all systems.

Thoughts on this?

Well Joe, I'll get started. Obviously this feature won't be featured on every system. I will give it the old college try though. It won't be easy though. I know somewhere I have the Atari 2600, NES, and SNES ones writen down, with the numbers. The other systems though, are going to be tough.

[kevates]

Keep the ebay assistant. I think its useful and I'm sure it will be popular. I like the idea of including pictures of games and boxes, etc. on each page. What about adding a statistic for "# of US Game Releases" or something like that. I like the top 20, rarest 20, but what about worst 20 (games to avoid?)

Just a few random ideas.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Man,That's a Great idea..I'm looking forward to seeing this..

What can I do to help?.....I don't have many ideas...But I may be able to provide pics of something..

[l_lamb]

Man,That's a Great idea..I'm looking forward to seeing this..

What can I do to help?.....I don't have many ideas...But I may be able to provide pics of something..

Me, too. I'm also looking forward to everything being in one place. I also would be glad to help in any way I can with pictures/scans, etc.

The earlier comment about the color of the links on the screenshots page is somewhat valid but the link color can be changed in the browser's settings to almost any color.

[digitalpress]

I'm finalizing the template this weekend. I had to make some major changes to the way our game reviews are displayed in order to get them "all in one place" for these pages but I knocked that out yesterday. All I have to do is add a few pictures and lists and we're ready to go!

Check it out.
http://www.digitpress.com/systems/atari2600.htm

PS thanks for the help, fellas! When I get into the more uncommon systems I'll look you up. For now I have plenty of material to work with.

[ubersaurus]

You may want to switch around the year of release and the price of release numbers, looks like they are reversed to me LOL

[digitalpress]

OK I've settled on a format that I like, and the first dedicated system page is up, about 90% complete (it could use a few more pictures).

http://www.digitpress.com/systems/atari2600.htm

I've got the Sega Genesis coming up next (check back later for this, I haven't uploaded it yet):
http://www.digitpress.com/systems/genesis.htm

As always, feedback is appreciated :)

[Oobgarm]

That's most triumphant. x_x

Seriously, though, DP is a wealth of information all in one convenient place-and this is the perfect way to convey that image.

I can't wait to see some of the other systems spring up!