HELP NEEDED:What useful game information do you want to see?

[PS1Expert]

I used to have a website called PSEXtreme.net. Most of you probably never heard of it. Anyhow, my goal was to preview PS1 games. I took PSE down to reorganize it. Now I'm trying to figure out what game information people want to see.

Check this out: http://www.retrobase.net/

They have a nice site where they give screenshots for games. I like this site. But they don't give a lot of information. What information do you want to see? Cheats? Genre? Developer? Date released? How many screenshots are necessary? (RetroBase only has a title screen and an in-game shot...is this enough? Can you get a true feel for what an RPG game is like with only a title screen and in-game screen?) Should I state what accessories are compatible? Should I put a short description of the game? Should I have reviews of the game? How big should the screenshots be? Should I include scans of the covers? ...etc.

Please reply or PM me your ideas.

Once I get a feel for what people want, I will re-instate the website. That means previews to over 2500 Japanese, US, and European games. That also means I may ask if anyone wants to help submit screenshots or descriptions or anything else. I'm posting this on DP because I know DP members are videogame addicts like me and are very knowledgable and helpful.

Thank you for your help in advance.

[Haoie]

More info on PAL titles, that includes PAL specific titles too.

And yes, I'm a big PS enthusiast too.

Genre classification is difficult, so that may not be a needed function.

And probably a few screenshots too, like title screen, in game, box/cover art.

[jdc]

I've always liked an estimation of the difficulty of a game. Even though it depends largely on a gamer's skill level, it serves as a guide. If you were looking for a nice fast game, then it would be good to know that Ninja Gaiden Black, for example, would be a bad choice due to it's extreme difficulty. The year that the game was released would be nice. Mention of additional pack-ins. Prequels or sequels to the game in question. If it's a review by all means mention bugs and glitches.

[PS1Expert]

More info on PAL titles, that includes PAL specific titles too.

And yes, I'm a big PS enthusiast too.

Genre classification is difficult, so that may not be a needed function.

And probably a few screenshots too, like title screen, in game, box/cover art.

Actually, when I took my last website down, I had a ton of previews for PAL specific titles already. I still have the screenshots and info. So how many screenshots are enough? Just one title and one in-game shot? And you guys want front and back covers? I don't think I'll post large front and back only because I don't want it to be a cover repository. There's some kick *ss pal titles too that never came out in the US. I'm thinking of putting gameshark codes to make pal titles play in ntsc, but I'm not sure if people would find it useful.

[PS1Expert]

I've always liked an estimation of the difficulty of a game. Even though it depends largely on a gamer's skill level, it serves as a guide. If you were looking for a nice fast game, then it would be good to know that Ninja Gaiden Black, for example, would be a bad choice due to it's extreme difficulty. The year that the game was released would be nice. Mention of additional pack-ins. Prequels or sequels to the game in question. If it's a review by all means mention bugs and glitches.

Good ideas! Not sure I could do the estimation of difficulty because I don't play them in all honesty (or if I do, not for very long). I like the prequels/sequels idea. How about similar games that you might like as well? (this would especially help for the import titles where most people don't know what the titles are). If I put reviews then I would need people to submit them (again because I don't play them very long and I hate writing). Now what do you mean by pack-ins? Like accessories or special things included with it? (ie. One of my surfing games came with sex wax)

[evildead2099]

How about indicating whether or not the game detects PS1 Mod Chips?

That information might come in handy to those who had their system modified for legit purposes (i.e. to play imports, like the Salamander Deluxe Pack) but are at risk of losing their money if they purchase games that detect Mod chips (i.e. Strider 2).

[PS1Expert]

Fair request. However, I don't think I want my website to condone the use of modchips. I have to think more about it. If worse comes to worse, I have a program that detects protection and I'm fairly certain it spits out a gameshark code to surpass the protection. For instance, I know Legend of Dragoon has modchip protection. I could supply a gameshark code for it. I'll think more about this.

Anyhow, I will always maintain that if you want to play import games then go buy the import system. They are fairly cheap these days.

[Spartacus]

Boy, if there were any system I'd love to see a comprehensive site devoted to, it WOULD be the Playstation!

It just amazes me the amount of work and effort people are willing to put in these sites. I've wondered MANY time if the authors realize how many tens of thousands of people like myself wander through and are able to learn and gather information about games and how much pleasure that brings us. My life seems so hectic with responsibility's I feel lucky just to read about a game, never mind having the time to sit down and play it!


Developers/Producers/Regions/Number of players and release date's are important, of course. It's perspective i.e.: 1st person, isometric, etc. would be nice to see as well.

I definitely like the idea of noting sequels/prequels, even if they are cross platform.

I've never cared much about cheats, but I always love reading tidbits of information about a game the casual gamer might not know.
Example: Mobile Light Force
The game was produced by company A, developed by company B, but was actually a port of a game by company C.

A review is always nice, but a short synopsis pleases me just fine and that's an acceptable place to attempt to define its genre and perhaps, give it some kind of score or opinion of quality.

A picture is certainly worth a thousand words.
A box shot is always nice to see, but I gather far more information with screenshots. How many? I'm usually fine with a couple as long as they aren't the intro or ending screens. Those things don't show me a damn thing!

[PS1Expert]

Boy, if there were any system I'd love to see a comprehensive site devoted to, it WOULD be the Playstation!!

Well, assuming I get some help, you should see a very comprehensive site. I'm taking your suggestions down. One big problem is I don't know PHP and I really would like it in a PHP form. Otherwise making preview pages manually for every game is tedious. I will also be showing all sorts of cool PlayStation devices and hardware (including development hardware and tidbits of real source code). I'm trying to beef up my prototype inventory so I can preview unreleased games. (that is the most interesting part) So if anyone wants to let me purchase or at the very least rent a prototype so I can preview and comment, please pm me.

I was surfing last nite an Atari ST site and I really liked what they did with screenshots. I think I will be doing a similar format which does involve the title screen and multiple playing screens. I must have been on that site for hours just remembering all those old ST games. It's this sense of "OMG I remember that game. It was awesome!" that I want to inspire with the site.

[AFGiant]

It would be nice for me to see how many different forms the game comes in on the Playstation. By that I mean did it come out in Longbox? normal cover? collection/set? greatest hits? cover variations? etc.

I'm always interested in this kind of stuff and it would be valuable for me to be able to tell.

[roushimsx]

Fair request. However, I don't think I want my website to condone the use of modchips. I have to think more about it.

(I had a bit of personal experience typed in here about how I've been screwed over by modchip detection, but i deleted it because it was long and boring)

Long story short: by saying a game detects some modchips, you're not condoning the use of them, you're just giving a courtesy reach around so people will know ahead of time to legitimate users. Pirates won't give a damn if it has modchip detection or not because more than likely the cd image they're downloading off the net has already been patched.

In much the same vein, you could mention if a disc is dependent on owning another disc (you know, an expansion pack). Again, pirates don't care because the discs have been modified to self boot (Beatmania append discs, GTA London 1969, etc), but it'll be nice info for people looking to get into the Beatmania deal ("Oh hay, i bought 5th Mix so that I could play the DDR songs but it doesn't work?! :( " ).

[PS1Expert]

It would be nice for me to see how many different forms the game comes in on the Playstation. By that I mean did it come out in Longbox? normal cover? collection/set? greatest hits? cover variations? etc.

I'm always interested in this kind of stuff and it would be valuable for me to be able to tell.

I have a section set up for US Greatest Hits. I was thinking about a section for LongBoxes. Or I might just write in that there was a release in GH, Longbox...etc. I may write about variations, but really I think Dangerboy has that covered.

[PS1Expert]

Fair request. However, I don't think I want my website to condone the use of modchips. I have to think more about it.

(I had a bit of personal experience typed in here about how I've been screwed over by modchip detection, but i deleted it because it was long and boring)

Long story short: by saying a game detects some modchips, you're not condoning the use of them, you're just giving a courtesy reach around so people will know ahead of time to legitimate users. Pirates won't give a damn if it has modchip detection or not because more than likely the cd image they're downloading off the net has already been patched.

In much the same vein, you could mention if a disc is dependent on owning another disc (you know, an expansion pack). Again, pirates don't care because the discs have been modified to self boot (Beatmania append discs, GTA London 1969, etc), but it'll be nice info for people looking to get into the Beatmania deal ("Oh hay, i bought 5th Mix so that I could play the DDR songs but it doesn't work?! :( " ).

Duly noted. How were you screwed over by modchip detection? A boot disc or gameshark code will cure that. (You are right, most groups who released games patched their game or you could download a patch).

Thank you all for your great suggestions. Keep them coming if you want.

How about "Top 100 imports"? Or sections like "Wackiest Import" or "Worst Imports"? Or put a degree of playability for Japanese games (ie. can a slug who doesn't know Japanese play this game and enjoy it? Is there a lot of Japanese text?) This is where I might need help on how to effectively do this. For instance, I played Genso Suikoden before it was released in the US. There was a lot of Japanese text (all of it was Japanese) but yet I still completed it and enjoyed it. But then there are other RPGs and strategy games which were too hard to figure out and enjoy. And yet other Japanese games which were in full English!

[LAGO]

I always want to know if a game comes with any additional stuff like a map or a soundtrack or some such thing. Also a list of disc variants is nice.

and that, as they say, is my two cents.

[evildead2099]

Fair request. However, I don't think I want my website to condone the use of modchips.

1) Playing backups of PS1 games doesn't really matter at this point; PS1 games are discontinued, so companies like Konami and Capcom wouldn't even make a profit if you were somehow able to locate and purchase brand new copies of the games.

2) Modchips can be used for legit purposes (I already gave the example of playing foreign titles which were never released in North America)

Buying a foreign edition of the very system you already own sounds like a waste of money (consider how much you'll have to spend on shipping alone).

[evildead2099]

How about comparing the North American edition of a game to foreign editions for the sake of identifying any censorship? I always try to get my hands on uncensored editions of my favourite videogames (i.e. Castlevania IV for super famicom), unless language barriers prevent me from enjoying the uncensored copy.

[PS1Expert]

I hear your argument about modchips. I also have proof that developers who didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a debugging unit actually modded their retail units instead to save money.

If I do territorial differences in games, I would definitely need help from others. As I collected through the years, I would only grab the US version of releases unless the foreign release came out first and I didn't feel like waiting. I'm curious to see if there are differences with the Gran Turismos (did Japan or Europe have different cars?).

[evildead2099]

I hear your argument about modchips. I also have proof that developers who didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a debugging unit actually modded their retail units instead to save money.

Really? Can you name some of those developers?

[roushimsx]

Duly noted. How were you screwed over by modchip detection? A boot disc or gameshark code will cure that. (You are right, most groups who released games patched their game or you could download a patch).


I never owned a Gameshark and there weren't much in the way of boot discs at the time, IIRC. The first game to fuck me was Biohazard 3, which I spent all damn day looking for. When I finally found it (every other store was sold out, this store still had a wallfull...go figure), I got home, and realized I couldn't play it because of the mod chip detection.

Spent a few hours scouring the net looking for a patch or something but I ended up having to break out an old PS1 with a faulty cd rom so i could single swap play it.

The next time was with Bust a Groove 2, but I played that one smart and waited until a patch came out before I bought it. I never actually got to play my legitimate copy of it until I got a japanese PS2, heh.

There's other times, but you catch the drift :)

[Perkar]

hey guys, just wanted to let you know that a lot of the info you're looking for is already present at:

http://www.game-rave.com/psx/index.html

all pretty well done too, i might add. props to Dangerboy and Stu on the game-rave psx section :)

[Blanka789]

How about a tutorial on modding PSones? Most sites don't have info on this for the systems they cover.

[pragmatic insanester]

genre and screenshots are by far the most important. i used retrogamer to discover the majority of super famicom games i now own. it would be nice to see another website to take account of all the obscure ps1 stuff out there. i'm still pretty ignorant of most of the pal/jpn exclusive stuff that doesn't have a huge cult following.

[PS1Expert]

hey guys, just wanted to let you know that a lot of the info you're looking for is already present at:

http://www.game-rave.com/psx/index.html

all pretty well done too, i might add. props to Dangerboy and Stu on the game-rave psx section :)

Yup. If you read above when people wanted variants I already said that Dangerboy has a site for that stuff.

[Dangerboy]

Big thanks to both PS1expert and Perkar for the nod to Game Rave's PlayStation coverage (http://www.game-rave.com/psx/index.html).

Steve and I have been breaking backs trying to track down everything, and I've been doing my best to make sure we update regularly, though right now it's just once a month since I'm on the verge of going full time school and full time work.

We have practically everything mentioned here. Every game we archive has:
- Case shots, front and back with CD
- Variant shots
- minimum 3 screenshots per game
- minumum 16 facts about the game from retail barcode, ID Barcode, Accessories used, etc.
- Box descriptions so you you get the creator's take
- reviews where possible
- and a whole lot of trivia

The problem with difficulty ratings is that everyone is different. Something I find insanely difficult may be a cake walk to someone else, so that's more subjective than truly defineable, unless it's really obvious, like the example of Ninja Gaiden Black.

That said...

Right now the PlayStation community needs more of a window to the Japanese and PAL community. I know several members here have been tackling the PAL stuff as far as the rarities and variants go.

And from keeping up with your sales and so forth after your site went down, it's more than obvious that you have the access and the knowledge to rare Japanese and PAL stuff. You also have a lot of the really behind-the-scenes stuff like the developer's PC hardware and such.

Right now, with PlayStation on the verge of being swept off the shelf at the retail level with the 360 finally hitting home and the DS taking off, I think it's time those of us with the collections, the knowledge, and the foresight to keep it all recorded begin to cover all the bases.

If you're up to focusing on the PAL and Japanese Stuff, while Steve and I are focusing on all the American stuff, and both web-sites working with everyone else here at DP and each other, I think together we could have a pretty damn impressive multi-web-site collective of information.

You game? Or even better, R U E?

[PapaStu]

You all forget that we've got an awesome guy SLOWLY getting all kinds of Japanese PS stuff pinned down.

The Start of his work can be seen here
http://home.comcast.net/~jdr99/psxlist_preview.htm

And theres a thread in the Rarity Guide/Collectors List forum showing Dimitri's work is here
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64505

[PS1Expert]

What really could help is a friend (or more like an acquaintance) in Japan who has every Japanese PS1 release. He used to trade with me when he needed certain releases. He even imaged all of his collection on DVDs. Even I wouldn't go that far to put everything on DVD-R. Since he reached his goal, he doesn't really talk much to others. He's probably onto the next system.

Anyhow, Dangerboy's site gives a lot of technical information on each game which is great. I don't intend to ever go that far.

Someone should start getting a list of all European releases by product code. I think it would be impossible, but would be cool to see. Many games in Europe have multiple sles #'s because games could have different languages released in different countries. I have a good handle on all European titles never released in the US (with the exception of sports titles....there are just too many soccer sims that I can't get excited over).