A Black Falcon
Member
(edit: The problem in question is the inaccuracy and incomplete nature of the release date listings on all major gaming websites that have game data listing components.)
Here's an example of the issue, using a game I've been looking up recently, the DC/PS2/PC Europe-only Ubisoft 3d platformer Evil Twin. (My comments are between sections and at the end of the post)
GameFAQs:
Mostly looks good... that PC date is clearly wrong because there are, on the game's GameRankings page, some reviews of the PC game from October 2001, but the PS2 and DC release dates are backed up by other references I found.
(As an aside, though the GameFAQs page links it and claims that 8 reviews or articles are listed there, GameRankings has no page for the PS2 version, only the PC and DC versions. Odd.)
MobyGames:
Now this has some problems... first, there was no US PC release. That must be an incorrect reference to the UK Windows release.
Second, it agrees with the October 2001 UK PC release date.
The Dreamcast version release date is a month different from the GameFAQs release date, but that's a minor difference really.
However, it's got a completely weird European PS2 release date... late 2002? Reviews and other sites confirm that no, it was October 2001. Unless there were some European markets where it came out later?
I have no idea about that German PC release.
IGN
--
Now, the most obvious thing here is that IGN contradicts itself. If the main 'Release:" listing is meant to show US releases, then all three games should say "Unreleased". If it also includes European ones, then all three should have their European release dates. Instead it's a mishmash of both.
Second, they incorrectly list there as having been Japanese PS2 and PC and American PC releases, which there were not.
Third, the release dates they do have disagree with any others. October seems to be when the PS2 and PC versions came out, not June.
Digital Press (digitpress.com):
Digitpress has a great setup with separate listings for each region's release of a game. Great feature! But... um, are they saying that the DC version came out in December, or is that European month order? Same for the PS2... July, or December? December? If that's december, then the DC one should be too, right? But that game was not released in December, it was released in April... hmm. I'll bet that whoever added the DC one just accidentally used European month order, while the rest of the site uses standard US order.
I could go on and list more sites, but I think that proves the point... and many other games' release date info is even less complete.
Other issues: How about how in GameFAQs, in game company page listings often games are double or even triple listed, random later releases are used as the date to put on the company-list page instead of the first release. Oh yeah, and I'd really, really love to see the ability to sort games by release date and region -- so you could say 'list by release dates in Europe' or 'in the US' instead of the system most sites have, which is just to select one release date and only list that one for such purposes... Digitpress goes partway towards this, but having to have multiple listings for each title is a clumsy way to do things, and Digitpress doesn't list PC games in their database, which is a big issue.
I know that knowing exact release dates for old game releases can be very difficult. For most older systems, a year is all you'll get...For instance, on the Turbografx-16, it is unknown as to the months and days of the releases for most of the last US releases for the system in 1993... which isn't rare. However, the release YEAR isn't even clear either -- for several games, it's not absolutely certain as to whether the games in question came out in '92, '93., or maybe even early '94... which matters because the system's main publisher (TTI) went bankrupt in mid '93, so the issue of 'what were their last releases' is a natural one to ask.
It is known that their successor, TZD, released the system's last US release in late 1994 with the CD version of Bonk's Adventure, but that seems to have been the only new release released by TZD... probably.
But those questions are hard to answer. For games where we DO, or should, know the release dates, is it really so hard to get them right? I guess so, sadly... most people probably just don't care how far off GameFAQs' or IGN's or anyone elses' release date listings are. I do though, and it's annoying... oh well.
Here's an example of the issue, using a game I've been looking up recently, the DC/PS2/PC Europe-only Ubisoft 3d platformer Evil Twin. (My comments are between sections and at the end of the post)
GameFAQs:
Mostly looks good... that PC date is clearly wrong because there are, on the game's GameRankings page, some reviews of the PC game from October 2001, but the PS2 and DC release dates are backed up by other references I found.
(As an aside, though the GameFAQs page links it and claims that 8 reviews or articles are listed there, GameRankings has no page for the PS2 version, only the PC and DC versions. Odd.)
MobyGames:
Now this has some problems... first, there was no US PC release. That must be an incorrect reference to the UK Windows release.
Second, it agrees with the October 2001 UK PC release date.
The Dreamcast version release date is a month different from the GameFAQs release date, but that's a minor difference really.
However, it's got a completely weird European PS2 release date... late 2002? Reviews and other sites confirm that no, it was October 2001. Unless there were some European markets where it came out later?
I have no idea about that German PC release.
IGN
--
In the main listing when you load the game's main page said:
In the sidebar release-date listings each game has in its review/article pages said:
In the "Editions" tab of the box on the main page for each game said:
Now, the most obvious thing here is that IGN contradicts itself. If the main 'Release:" listing is meant to show US releases, then all three games should say "Unreleased". If it also includes European ones, then all three should have their European release dates. Instead it's a mishmash of both.
Second, they incorrectly list there as having been Japanese PS2 and PC and American PC releases, which there were not.
Third, the release dates they do have disagree with any others. October seems to be when the PS2 and PC versions came out, not June.
Digital Press (digitpress.com):
Digitpress has a great setup with separate listings for each region's release of a game. Great feature! But... um, are they saying that the DC version came out in December, or is that European month order? Same for the PS2... July, or December? December? If that's december, then the DC one should be too, right? But that game was not released in December, it was released in April... hmm. I'll bet that whoever added the DC one just accidentally used European month order, while the rest of the site uses standard US order.
I could go on and list more sites, but I think that proves the point... and many other games' release date info is even less complete.
Other issues: How about how in GameFAQs, in game company page listings often games are double or even triple listed, random later releases are used as the date to put on the company-list page instead of the first release. Oh yeah, and I'd really, really love to see the ability to sort games by release date and region -- so you could say 'list by release dates in Europe' or 'in the US' instead of the system most sites have, which is just to select one release date and only list that one for such purposes... Digitpress goes partway towards this, but having to have multiple listings for each title is a clumsy way to do things, and Digitpress doesn't list PC games in their database, which is a big issue.
I know that knowing exact release dates for old game releases can be very difficult. For most older systems, a year is all you'll get...For instance, on the Turbografx-16, it is unknown as to the months and days of the releases for most of the last US releases for the system in 1993... which isn't rare. However, the release YEAR isn't even clear either -- for several games, it's not absolutely certain as to whether the games in question came out in '92, '93., or maybe even early '94... which matters because the system's main publisher (TTI) went bankrupt in mid '93, so the issue of 'what were their last releases' is a natural one to ask.
It is known that their successor, TZD, released the system's last US release in late 1994 with the CD version of Bonk's Adventure, but that seems to have been the only new release released by TZD... probably.
But those questions are hard to answer. For games where we DO, or should, know the release dates, is it really so hard to get them right? I guess so, sadly... most people probably just don't care how far off GameFAQs' or IGN's or anyone elses' release date listings are. I do though, and it's annoying... oh well.
