Style Guide Poll #6: Multi-platform Physical Release Game Category Placement

[tripredacus]

There was a tie. We will need a revote since it seems the options are not good enough to get a consensus.

[leonefamily]

This feels like the U.S. elections, every option is crap. I would tend to go towards option 3 because it has the most examples that give sense but then you get to the Kowai Shashin example which should absolutely NOT be considered as a PS2 game, wtf.

Honestly a mix of option 2 and option 3 would be preferable.

[dhaabi]

This feels like the U.S. elections, every option is crap. I would tend to go towards option 3 because it has the most examples that give sense but then you get to the Kowai Shashin example which should absolutely NOT be considered as a PS2 game, wtf.

Honestly a mix of option 2 and option 3 would be preferable.

Prior to when polling was conducted, there was a discussion thread that went on for roughly three weeks where the community was able to voice their opinions and possible solutions to how these items should be categorized. Seeing how the initial poll has ended in a tie, I'm sure everyone would welcome the idea to more possible solutions before a subsequent poll is created. Is there anything that you have in mind?

Also, as tripredacus has already mentioned, whatever option the community does eventually vote for, the rule is just a general guideline.

And this poll is for general rule for the Style Guide. If the consensus is that the poll option that wins is good for general rule, but not good for say PS4 games with a PS5 sticker, then we can certainly consider adding a separate rule that excludes PS4 games. Obviously, this issue with what category to put games into seems solely an Xbox issue, and those items are going to be the one that primarily benefit from actually setting a multi-platform rule into the Style Guide.

[tripredacus]

Not counting that extra vote that came in after the tie (somehow the poll did not re-expire as it was supposed to) I think we can ignore the general ruling for now and concentrate on the big issues that brought this poll in the first place. That being Xbox games and the PS4/PS5 compatible games.

If we run a new poll or two new polls, what do you think of these options:

Xbox Games
- use newest console named
- use console named in text on back or oldest if not present
- make co-branded categories

PS4 with PS5 compatibility
- put into PS4
- put into PS5
- make co-branded categories

[tripredacus]

BUMP

[dhaabi]

Xbox Games
- use newest console named
- use console named in text on back or oldest if not present
- make co-branded categories

For the poll option segment in bold, what would be the action taken for items that explicitly list both Xbox One and Xbox Series X, instead of "Xbox One or new consoles with optical drive?" The items would be categorized as the oldest platform mentioned still?
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 | Star Wars: Squadrons

PS4 with PS5 compatibility
- put into PS4
- put into PS5
- make co-branded categories

It goes without saying, but those stray PlayStation titles that list PlayStation 2 compatibility should also be included here.

[tripredacus]

The Sniper Ghost Warrior example has text "Xbox One game playable on Xbox Series X" so I think it is clear what that is.

[dhaabi]

The Sniper Ghost Warrior example has text "Xbox One game playable on Xbox Series X" so I think it is clear what that is.

I agree. Although, since the front cover does mention Xbox Series X, there will be people who argue for that categorization. However, here's a better example without the "Xbox One game playable on Xbox Series X" text. So, what are the implications for items like this with Xbox's poll option 2?

[leonefamily]

I'm a bit late for response, but generally I would just prefer to use the box style as the determinant of what console it's listed under. Sneak King is stylised like a 360 box so that's 360. Red Dead Redemption (360/ONE) has a ONE box style, so list it under ONE. I think that would work well because anyways it would correlate with, for instance, the cleaning up I did (and am still not finished to this day) on the Xbox / 360 demo discs. Demo discs that are playable on both consoles have a 360 look to them so I listed them under 360.

But that wouldn't really solve the ONE/XSX issue as those two retain the very same box style. That why, in this case, I would agree to default to listing under the oldest console, being Xbox One in this case and the poll shows that people would agree with this.

[tripredacus]

Does the current poll outcome cause any big problems for anything that you can think of?

It may be better to just adopt that officially, then take future issues as they come instead of trying to force everything through right this second.

[ignition365]

I'm a bit late for response, but generally I would just prefer to use the box style as the determinant of what console it's listed under. Sneak King is stylised like a 360 box so that's 360. Red Dead Redemption (360/ONE) has a ONE box style, so list it under ONE. I think that would work well because anyways it would correlate with, for instance, the cleaning up I did (and am still not finished to this day) on the Xbox / 360 demo discs. Demo discs that are playable on both consoles have a 360 look to them so I listed them under 360.

But that wouldn't really solve the ONE/XSX issue as those two retain the very same box style. That why, in this case, I would agree to default to listing under the oldest console, being Xbox One in this case and the poll shows that people would agree with this.

This is exactly what I had been saying, none of the options followed this paradigm.

[tripredacus]

Old text from Adv Guide in the Platform post

Games Released for multiple or co-branded platforms
There are some instances where a game release has multiple branding or compatibilities listed. In older titles this was mostly seen for micros, but has also become more common as modern consoles enter transition periods. In these instances, the game should be put into the category for the newer console.

Examples
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One co-branding: should go into Xbox One category. See Bully - Scholarship Edition
- Xbox One / Xbox Series X co-branding: should go into Xbox Series X category. See Gears Tactics
- PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 co-branding: should go into PlayStation 5 category. See Need Example

Games where another platform is marked as compatible
There are some game releases for a specific platform, but mention compatibility for another platform on the packaging. These types of items should be put into the category that the release is meant for, and to note the compatibility in Description field, and put the relevant compatibility text into Box Text.

Examples
- Xbox One branding with Xbox Series X compatibility note, should go into Xbox One category. See The Dark Pictures: Little Hope
- PS4 branding with PS5 compatibility note, should go into PS4 category. See Watch Dogs: Legion

New text (pending)

Games Released for multiple or co-branded platforms
There are some instances where a game release has multiple console branding or compatibilities listed. In these instances, the game should be put into the category for the older console.

Examples
- Atari 2600 / 7800 co-compatibility: should go into the Atari 2600 (VCS) category. See Venture
- PS One / PS2 co-branding: should go into the PlayStation category. See Kowai Shashin
- Xbox / Xbox 360 co-compatibility: should go into the Xbox category. See Sneak King
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One co-branding: should go into Xbox 360 category. See Bully - Scholarship Edition
- Xbox One / Xbox Series X co-branding: should go into Xbox One category. See Gears Tactics
- Xbox One branding with Xbox Series X compatibility note, should go into Xbox One category. See The Dark Pictures: Little Hope
- PS4 branding with PS5 compatibility note, should go into PS4 category. See Watch Dogs: Legion

Using the examples in the first post of this thread and the examples already in the Adv Guide, everything matches up to where things currently are except for Sneak King.

If this change looks good, I will put it into the Adv Guide. It will go in tomorrow morning so let me know before then if I made an error.

And as always, remember that this can be brought up as a revote, as well as new vote suggestions can be submitted to handle a subset of this (such as if you think the general rule is ok but not good for x example) or if some time has passed and you want to see if people maybe have a different opinion and see if we would support switching things up, etc.

[ignition365]

Games Released for multiple or co-branded platforms
There are some instances where a game release has multiple console branding or compatibilities listed. In these instances, the game should be put into the category for the newer console.

Examples
- Atari 2600 / 7800 co-compatibility: should go into the Atari 2600 (VCS) category. See Venture
- PS One / PS2 co-branding: should go into the PlayStation category. See Kowai Shashin
- Xbox / Xbox 360 co-compatibility: should go into the Xbox category. See Sneak King
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One co-branding: should go into Xbox 360 category. See Bully - Scholarship Edition
- Xbox One / Xbox Series X co-branding: should go into Xbox One category. See Gears Tactics
- Xbox One branding with Xbox Series X compatibility note, should go into Xbox One category. See The Dark Pictures: Little Hope
- PS4 branding with PS5 compatibility note, should go into PS4 category. See Watch Dogs: Legion

Is this correct?  You say newer, but the examples show going into the older.

If I'm not mistaken, the BK games are an interesting conundrum in that the disc actually contains two games.  The Xbox and the Xbox 360 versions are actually different games.  When played in an OG Xbox it is an Xbox game, but when it's played on a 360 it is an Xbox 360 game fully with the Xbox 360 startup splash screen and achievements.

[tripredacus]

Ah, it is because I copied the sentence from the current text to make the new text and forgot to change the word. I edited the post so it should say "older" so thanks for pointing that out.

[dhaabi]

If I'm not mistaken, the BK games are an interesting conundrum in that the disc actually contains two games.  The Xbox and the Xbox 360 versions are actually different games.  When played in an OG Xbox it is an Xbox game, but when it's played on a 360 it is an Xbox 360 game fully with the Xbox 360 startup splash screen and achievements.

Perhaps the style guide can add some clarity for items that represent two platforms? I've come across items similar to Sneak King such as PlayStation demo releases, although these items include two separate discs—one for PlayStation and one for PlayStation 2. In these specific instances, I've always categorized the entries as PlayStation 2.

However, this is something that, while at times connected to the problem at-hand, is largely separate from what this thread is about.