Sid Meier's Games

[Gooster]

Another one for the community to ponder.  Should Sid Meier's games have the "Sid Meier's" prefix?  Lots of places refer to "Sid Meier's Civilization", lots of others just to "Civilization".  I think *most* of the game boxes had "Sid Meier's" in small print above the game name, but some didn't (e.g. Civilization II MGE).  After pondering quite a bit (and actually putting the Sid Meier's prefix on my own LB games) I have come to the conclusion that it make more sense to leave the "Sid Meier's" out of the titles (tough call, clearly I've wavered!).  More importantly, though, I think someone should make a decision for LBGD and they should all be aligned that way.

[erebus44]

35 minutes ago, Goose said:

Another one for the community to ponder.  Should Sid Meier's games have the "Sid Meier's" prefix?  Lots of places refer to "Sid Meier's Civilization", lots of others just to "Civilization".  I think *most* of the game boxes had "Sid Meier's" in small print above the game name, but some didn't (e.g. Civilization II MGE).  After pondering quite a bit (and actually putting the Sid Meier's prefix on my own LB games) I have come to the conclusion that it make more sense to leave the "Sid Meier's" out of the titles (tough call, clearly I've wavered!).  More importantly, though, I think someone should make a decision for LBGD and they should all be aligned that way.

In my opinion it should be left alone, since that is the correct name of the games. It is well known that it was originally a marketing ploy for Pirates and Civilization and they just kept doing it after that. If I am remembering correctly for the game database, the name of the game is supposed to be what was on the box.

[sundogak]

@GooseIt's no different than "Tom Clancy" with his name on various games or sports figures on sports games. If there is any doubt,  go with what is on the box along with reality check at MobyGames or Wikipedia (although not definitive sources either) as the primary entry.  If really torn or likely to be debatable, then add an alternate name entry versus deleting information unless it is an error/incorrect.  Otherwise people start ping ponging the name, like Disney games (i.e., Disney Cinderella or just Cinderella). 

Edit:  Steam notes all the Civ games as Sid Meier's Civilization ## and that is how I have always referenced them as well.

Edited October 14, 2020 by sundogak
Steam comment

[Gooster]

5 hours ago, erebus44 said:

In my opinion it should be left alone, since that is the correct name of the games. It is well known that it was originally a marketing ploy for Pirates and Civilization and they just kept doing it after that. If I am remembering correctly for the game database, the name of the game is supposed to be what was on the box.

You're not really stating your opinion on this.

By "left alone", do you mean that Civ II should be titled "Sid Meier's Civilization II", and that Civ II MGE should be titled "Civiliation II: Multiplayer Gold Edition" simply by virtue of the variation of the box art?  While on a generic level I would agree with this as a first principle in naming, in this case, due to significance/popularity of the titles, I would argue that either one or the other should be chosen across the board.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Goose

[Gooster]

3 hours ago, sundogak said:

@GooseIt's no different than "Tom Clancy" with his name on various games or sports figures on sports games. If there is any doubt,  go with what is on the box along with reality check at MobyGames or Wikipedia (although not definitive sources either) as the primary entry.  If really torn or likely to be debatable, then add an alternate name entry versus deleting information unless it is an error/incorrect.  Otherwise people start ping ponging the name, like Disney games (i.e., Disney Cinderella or just Cinderella). 

Edit:  Steam notes all the Civ games as Sid Meier's Civilization ## and that is how I have always referenced them as well.

You're not actually stating an opinion on the posed issue.

You make an excellent point ... my game Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is called "Ghost Recon: Breaktpoint", rather than "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint".  What did you call yours?

The point here is, that one or the other needs to be chosen for LBDB, not left up for random choice.  A community decision should be made here, not offloaded to other unspecified sources :-).

Edited October 14, 2020 by Goose

[sundogak]

If unclear, reference other sources, particularly the publisher's naming standard if have on site.  Steam, Moby Games, Wikipedia and Ubisoft all reference Tom Clancy games with full name (and also shown on box).  So go with consensus "standard" if in doubt and if those are inconsistent then like said use alt name feature in DB. I don't have a lot of his games, but all are with "Tom Clancy" in them.

Thus, full title with author would be primary entry in DB for Tom's games.  A suitable alternative name if wanted to aid search can be title without the author name. That doesn't make it random but aids with these types of issues so we all link up to the same one entry in the DB.  Otherwise what happens is people put in another entry in DB for games when they already exist (i.e., they look for Ghost Recon, don't find and add it when exists as Tom Clancy...).  On the Sid question, to be comprehensive, again use full author title entry (if box has it that way) and alt name with just title (or vice versa if box doesn't have Sid's name). That way people link to same entry. Likely if we are debating it and/or other DBs are inconsistent, then others would go one way or other as well and not ask; hence the value of alternative titles.

But I am no grand authority, that is just what I do when adding an entry or what I would check if moderating.

 

[Gooster]

58 minutes ago, sundogak said:

If unclear, reference other sources, particularly the publisher's naming standard if have on site.  Steam, Moby Games, Wikipedia and Ubisoft all reference Tom Clancy games with full name (and also shown on box).  So go with consensus "standard" if in doubt and if those are inconsistent then like said use alt name feature in DB. I don't have a lot of his games, but all are with "Tom Clancy" in them.

Thus, full title with author would be primary entry in DB for Tom's games.  A suitable alternative name if wanted to aid search can be title without the author name. That doesn't make it random but aids with these types of issues so we all link up to the same one entry in the DB.  Otherwise what happens is people put in another entry in DB for games when they already exist (i.e., they look for Ghost Recon, don't find and add it when exists as Tom Clancy...).  On the Sid question, to be comprehensive, again use full author title entry (if box has it that way) and alt name with just title (or vice versa if box doesn't have Sid's name). That way people link to same entry. Likely if we are debating it and/or other DBs are inconsistent, then others would go one way or other as well and not ask; hence the value of alternative titles.

But I am no grand authority, that is just what I do when adding an entry or what I would check if moderating.

 

Hmmmm, this is a very ambiguous topic that needs a clear decision one way or the other so that DB contributors know what to do.  There are many opinions.  That's the only reason I posted here in the forums in the first place.  You just seem to be confirming that there's no consensus. I have a disk called "Sid Meier's Civilization II", my buddy has one called "Civilizatoin II: MGE",  all my friends and magazine reviews just call it "Civilization II".  What should I do?  What is your opinion?

EDIT: sorry I think I gave you short shrift here, I see you're arguing that Steam names the games one way, but is that the sole argument?  If steam changed their naming on these games, would you change your opinion?

If there's no official authority, then the next best thing is for the community to discuss and argue the merits of the options.  The only options are:

1. Yes include "Sid Meier's" in the title

2. No, do not include "Sid Meier's" in the title

3. Situational, and if this is you preference, please describe how a noob would know which of the two choices they should use?

Please pick 1, or 2, or 3, and describe why you picked it!

Edited October 14, 2020 by Goose

[seaview59]

2 hours ago, Goose said:

Hmmmm, this is a very ambiguous topic that needs a clear decision one way or the other so that DB contributors know what to do.  There are many opinions.  That's the only reason I posted here in the forums in the first place.  You just seem to be confirming that there's no consensus. I have a disk called "Sid Meier's Civilization II", my buddy has one called "Civilizatoin II: MGE",  all my friends and magazine reviews just call it "Civilization II".  What should I do?  What is your opinion?

EDIT: sorry I think I gave you short shrift here, I see you're arguing that Steam names the games one way, but is that the sole argument?  If steam changed their naming on these games, would you change your opinion?

If there's no official authority, then the next best thing is for the community to discuss and argue the merits of the options.  The only options are:

1. Yes include "Sid Meier's" in the title

2. No, do not include "Sid Meier's" in the title

3. Situational, and if this is you preference, please describe how a noob would know which of the two choices they should use?

Please pick 1, or 2, or 3, and describe why you picked it!

There are instructions for DB contributors. Click on 'Add New Game' and the first instruction is: "Please make sure the title matches the game's box art as closely as possible, using colons and not dashes." and there are examples to make sure you enter the title with correct punctuation. Instructions are easy enough to follow, and there is an official authority: @Jason Carr

[Gooster]

4 hours ago, seaview59 said:

There are instructions for DB contributors. Click on 'Add New Game' and the first instruction is: "Please make sure the title matches the game's box art as closely as possible, using colons and not dashes." and there are examples to make sure you enter the title with correct punctuation. Instructions are easy enough to follow, and there is an official authority: @Jason Carr

Ok fair enough, thanks seaview, sundogak et al.  Looking at this with fresh eyes, it seems everyone is really in quite clear agreement that the title should definitely strictly follow the box art.  I thought these games might be special enough to warrant special handling across the board but I seem to be alone in that thinking :-).  Thanks to everyone who chimed in.