Most, if not all, of the replacement images or edit rejections were done by me.
Under the current style guide rules, the holofoil is important information and should be considered as a component to complete artwork as it is a formal part of the packaging. For PlayStation and PlayStation 2 EU items, the holofoil is not always (but is usually) present, so providing the best image information to showcase packaging information is a detail in accordance to our guidelines. Something else to consider is that cases are often swapped on secondary markets, so knowing which items actually include a holofoil label is a detail many would find helpful.
As a collector of both PS1 and PS2 EU games ive added hundreds of photos to the EU entries within this database.
I must say i had no idea that the holofoils were preferable, ive never included these due to the fact that the only way to scan these is to keep the cover inside the game case. And that means you will ALWAYS get an inferior scan of the actual artwork as the scan must scan through the plastic cover. And lets face it, its rare to find an immaculate plastic PS1 case cover these days, or a PS2 cover for that matter. These games have been stored on shelves and therefore 100% of front covers are scuffed to varying degrees.
Another reason that holofoil scans will 100% be inferior quality is the fact that when you scan the entire game the scanner doesnt close properly! PS1 games are about 1cm thick and that means the scanner lid will remain open. This ensures a bad scan 100% of the time. PS2 games are slimmer but the scanner lid will still not close properly resulting in an inferior scan too.
Its always better quality to remove the PS1 or PS2 game cover from the case and scan it. I always remove the back covers from the PS1 cases, which is fiddly but worth it for the image quality.
I can also add the issue that not many PS2 games have the holofoil on the front cover, theyre usually on the back cover. Many PS2 games have been re-cased over the years and have been put into incorrect cases. Old DVD cases for example. Add to this the fact that there are TWO different PS2 holofoils in existence, and its not unusual for games to get re-housed in the wrong cases. Only collectors will notice that a game is in its correct case from their experience. But to be fair, thats one of the functions of using a collectors database, to learn how the original game was packaged.
You also have the issue of 'bigbox' PS1 releases which generally dont have any holofoil at all. Although the Final Fantasy bigbox releases all have holofoils.
Maybe have a database entry on PS1/PS2 games to indicate the position of the holofoil?
I have around 500 PS1 games and 900 PS2 games, do you want me to go back and scan the covers with the holofoils? (you will get inferior scans to whats currently in the database)
My advice is to use cover scans that have been removed from their cases due to the very simple fact that these will be high quality images with all the detail. The holofoils are not relevant or important to the image. The fact that every game company releases their digital cover artwork images WITHOUT the holofoil is the strongest support that we dont use them in the database imo. Keep the database images clean and high quality.
EDIT: i understand ive used the term 'holofoil' throughout when 'hologram' was probably the correct term used in this thread! lol
