these are not games

[htimreimer]

i added these some time ago and i just more research and these are not games   
http://vgcollect.com/item/23190
http://vgcollect.com/item/23192
http://vgcollect.com/item/23193

[matt]

What exactly are they? I'll remove them if needed.

[htimreimer]

What exactly are they? I'll remove them if needed.

in stickers n fun you make and print out stickers
t shirt fun: http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1379941
card workshop: http://software.pricegrabber.com/misc/McDonaldland-Card-Workshop-5-Screen-saver-Inside-CD-Rom-Wind-95/m931256042.html

[foxhack]

Don't delete them, I'll just edit them so they're something else.

[matt]

Don't delete them, I'll just edit them so they're something else.

Sounds good.

[rachel]

I'm curious to know, based on this discussion, what then separates games from software for the purposes of this site. My guess is that any software for a game console is automatically a "game," regardless of its content (e.g., Color a Dinosaur), while PC/Mac software is only a game if it meets certain qualitative gameplay criteria? Not trying to be necessarily difficult; this is a topic that interests me.

[disgaeniac]

I'm curious to know, based on this discussion, what then separates games from software for the purposes of this site. My guess is that any software for a game console is automatically a "game," regardless of its content (e.g., Color a Dinosaur), while PC/Mac software is only a game if it meets certain qualitative gameplay criteria? Not trying to be necessarily difficult; this is a topic that interests me.

10/10
Good question!

(Sorry I don't have a good answer)
 

[htimreimer]

I'm curious to know, based on this discussion, what then separates games from software for the purposes of this site. My guess is that any software for a game console is automatically a "game," regardless of its content (e.g., Color a Dinosaur), while PC/Mac software is only a game if it meets certain qualitative gameplay criteria? Not trying to be necessarily difficult; this is a topic that interests me.

to me at least something like color a dinosaur is not software because coloring is education tool that is supposed to entertain basically what i'm saying is if it made to be entertaining it not software

[rachel]

to me at least something like color a dinosaur is not software because coloring is education tool that is supposed to entertain basically what i'm saying is if it made to be entertaining it not software

So would something called "Stickers 'n Fun" be a game, then? Presumably the intent is to entertain.

It's tough, because entertainment and even play are not always strictly games. Movies and music aren't games, of course. Even Barbies and Legos are not games in the strict sense; they are toys. Along these same lines, Color a Dinosaur is an electronic toy that facilitates play. But that sounds crazy to NES collectors, so we just call it a game.

I have a collection of Barbie CD-ROMs that are fashioned as productivity software but are squarely meant to entertain (e.g., Barbie Nail Designer). When titles like this appear on game consoles, classifying them becomes even more challenging.

[disgaeniac]

Yep.

Even some Visual-Novels (like Hakuoki & 999) and "games" like Journey, Flow, and Flower kinda' "stretch" the Umbrella-Definitions of gaming a bit...

[htimreimer]

to me at least something like color a dinosaur is not software because coloring is education tool that is supposed to entertain basically what i'm saying is if it made to be entertaining it not software

So would something called "Stickers 'n Fun" be a game, then? Presumably the intent is to entertain.

the problem with stickers n fun is that i can find any pic of it running and because of that i can say if it is a coloring game or just pre-made stickers that you can print out on a disk

[matt]

I'm curious to know, based on this discussion, what then separates games from software for the purposes of this site. My guess is that any software for a game console is automatically a "game," regardless of its content (e.g., Color a Dinosaur), while PC/Mac software is only a game if it meets certain qualitative gameplay criteria? Not trying to be necessarily difficult; this is a topic that interests me.

I think we'd really have to decide this on a case by case basic since it is such a niche issue. You can point at many titles, such as all of the productivity software on the DS and make an argument against listing them in a "games" database. But your statement is correct. Since they are released for a game console, they are valid.

PC software on the other hand is a grey area. I think as long as the software has some sort of entertainment value we'll give it the green light.