Help Us Expand the LaunchBox Games Database!

[AstroBob]

The LaunchBox Games Database is at the heart of our platform, powering everything from metadata to media for the games in your library. While we’ve done our best to include the most popular platforms, we know there are still plenty out there worthy of a spot in the database. As such, we recognise the need to expand our platform list to ensure it reflects the diversity of gaming history. That’s where you, the awesome LaunchBox community, come in!

We’re inviting you to help us determine which platforms should be added to the Games Database next. But before you dive in with suggestions, let’s talk about how we define a platform and the criteria we use to decide what belongs.

What Is (and Isn’t) a Platform? 🎮
To ensure the integrity and usability of the Games Database, we follow specific rules to define what constitutes a platform. Here’s what you need to know:

 

What We Consider a Platform: 🤩

• Unique Hardware: A platform must have its own distinct hardware that sets it apart from others. It could have many revisions or a collection of different hardware that plays the same games.
• Unique Firmware/OS: It’s a good indicator if the platform ran on unique firmware, or its own operating system.
• Native Games: Developers created a game, or version of a game, specifically for this platform.
• Cultural Significance: Platforms with a noteworthy impact on gaming history, innovation, or community are prioritized.

 

What We Don’t Consider a Platform: 🫠

• Exclusively Run External Libraries: Devices or services designed to play another platform’s libraries (e.g Super Game Boy, iQue, Sega Nomad, Sega Channel, Amazon Luna, emulation handhelds).
• One-Offs or Prototypes: Items not released commercially or widely available to the public.

Mistakes of the Past 😱
We’ve made some missteps in the past, allowing platforms that don’t strictly adhere to these rules. Unfortunately, we can’t take these mistakes back, and while we’ve learned from those experiences, there may be current platforms that exist, that probably shouldn’t be there.

Therefore we aim to hold new additions to a higher standard to ensure the database remains robust, relevant, and consistent.

How to Make Your Case 💼
If you believe a platform deserves a place in the Games Database, here’s how to make a strong case:

Answer These Five Key Questions:

• What is the full name of the platform you’d like to see added?
• What makes this platform unique?
• What are some examples of its exclusive games or software?
• How significant is its impact on gaming history?
• Does it differ enough from existing platforms in the database?

Provide Evidence 📰
The best cases include well-researched information and credible sources. Providing articles, game lists, or documentation about the platform’s history and significance can help illustrate why it stands out. Highlight exclusive games, unique hardware capabilities, or its cultural impact to showcase its value. A detailed list of exclusives or information on how it fills a gap in the database strengthens your suggestion.

Solid reasoning is also key—explain why the platform should be included and what impact its absence has. Are users struggling to categorize their collections without it? Are important games being misclassified or excluded? Clearly outline the benefits of adding the platform and the challenges posed without it. Concise, well-supported arguments are the most effective!

 

Community Collaboration 👋
We want this to be a collaborative effort! Share your platform suggestions and discussions in this thread, where we’ll be reviewing submissions and debating their merits. Remember, it’s not just about listing platforms but about making a case for why they matter.

 

Please Note ⚠

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into helping us expand our database. However, please understand that we may not be able to accommodate every request. Each suggestion is carefully weighed against our platform guidelines, as well as what we believe will benefit the majority of the community. This means your favorite platform might not make the cut this time. That said, it doesn’t mean it will never be added—just that for this round, we may need to prioritize other options.

So, what platform do you think deserves a spot on the list? Let us know in the comments below!

[Arthurcoutinho600]

Hello Astrobob

There is the list of the platforms that i would love to see in the database:

Tiger Telematics Gizmondo

LJN Video Art

Google Android TV

Samsung Tizen TV

Uzebox

Wasm-4

Vircom 32

Arduboy

Nec PC 6600 Series

Tiger Eletronics R-zone

Tic-80

Bandai Playdia

Terebikko

Sega AI

Plug in Play Devices

Tiger handhelds

Konami Handhelds

Gakken Compact TV Boy

Apple TV

Apple I

Apple III

Epoch Cassette Vision

Symbian OS

Coleco Telstar

Pong Consoles

Vtech 3D Gamate

Thanks a lot

[MrDeKat]

Great idea. My suggestions:

• Mobile Games:

I start by breaking the rules you mention, proposing a platform that groups together mobile games that aren't Android or iPhone. It could include J2ME, Brew, Symbian OS, Palm OS, Blackberry OS, Web OS, Ex-En and others. The reasons:

- The large number of mobile games that are not Android or iPhone. "Colin McRae Rally 2005", "Doom RPG", "Far Cry 2", "Rayman Kart", "Tomb Raider: The Osiris Codex", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - Legend" or "Asphalt: Urban GT" are some relevant games.

- The large number that it works with these systems. Only for J2ME, Moby games includes more games than Game Boy Advance,  Sega Saturn, Mega Drive or Xbox (and many titles are not added): https://www.mobygames.com/platform/?sort=games&order=desc

- There are numerous emulators that allow to play them and a great job is being done to preserve the games. For example the "Kahvibreak" project has more than 5.000 J2ME games working.

- The historical importance of pre-smartphone games, to create the most important video game market today (although many of us don't like it). "Snake" popularized mobile games and paved the way, as did Pong, Colossal Cave Adventure, Space Invaders or Pac-man at the time.

- The alternative would be to create a platform for each OS, which I don't see as bad either. But it would be necessary to accommodate the "J2ME" and "BREW" somewhere, because they aren't a really operating system.

• Dedicated handheld:

There are numerous dedicated handhelds like the Game& Watch that aren't from Nintendo. The most important are the "Tiger LCD handled", but there are many more from other smaller manufacturers, and I think it would be better to group them into a single platform.

According to MobyGames, there are more than 750 games (although Game&Watch are also included), and obviously, they are not available for other platforms. In addition, many of these games are included in MAME collections, and they are doing a good job of emulating them.

• Bandai Super Vision 8000

Bandai Super Vision 8000 (also known as the TV Jack 8000) is a second generation console, released by Bandai in 1979. It was the first Japanese console that allowed interchangeable cartridges, but its price and the few games it had (only 7) made it fail.

The games work in MAME and it's one of the two more or less relevant consoles that would be missing from this second generation.

• Epoch Cassette Vision

The other relvant console from the second generation. Console developed by Epoch in 1981, it was the best-selling console in Japan until the arrival of the NES. It had 12 games that are dumped, but I think they haven't work on MAME yet.

• Milton Bradley Microvision

The first handheld wich uses interchangeable cartridges. Relased in 1973 by Milton Bradley, have 12 games that work in MAME.

• Bit Corporation Gamate

It's a handheld game console released in 1990 by Bit Corporation, in Australia, some parts of Europe, Taiwan, China, Argentina, and USA. It was a Game Boy competitor like Supervision or MegaDuck, and have 71 games that work in MAME.

• Hartung Game Master

Other handheld released by Hartung in 1990 in Germany. It have different names: Systema 2000 (UK), Game Tronic, Mega Tronic and Super Game (France) and Prodis PDJ-10 (Spain). It have 19 games, not very good, but worked in MAME too.

• Tiger Gizmondo

Another handheld, more known it than the previous ones. Developed by Tiger and released in 2006, it was a sales failure and caused part of Tiger's bankruptcy (maybe the parties for promoted the console and being involved in corrupt plots and mafia gangs also had an effect). It has 14 games (some exclusives like "Gizmondo Motocross 2005" or "Gizmondo Navigator CoPilot 2006") and another 30 canceled. The emulation has been complicated, but it looks like some are starting to work.

• Nichibutsu My Vision

A Japanese console released in 1983 by Nichibutsu, that mainly adapted board games. It didn't have a controller, and instead used some kind of keyboard. It has 6 games that work in MAME and some other emulators.

Edited December 7 by MrDeKat

[AstroBob]

Hi Folks, thanks for the great suggestions so far. Just to let you know we're not ignoring these, but just waiting for a bit more input from the community before we dive in to start discussing our thoughts and suggestions. We appreciate the early input so far.

Cheers,

[Gosunkugi]

Something to cover the whole array of MAME roms that don't fall into the arcade category. I've suggested a MESS platform before, but obviously this doesn't fit the specs required in the OP, so stuff like TV plug and play games, various handhelds, chess machines etc are left in limbo and generating false entries. It's easy to throw up hands and say no biggie, but MAME is being updated every month, so these problem games are growing in number.