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Digital distributors
There is some discrepancy on guide pages about where digital distribution services go in the infobox. I'm of the opinion that the systems field is for the hardware on which you play the game, while the service where you download the game should go in the distributor field. For games that are not available through retail channels, I likewise don't understand why the actual system would be excluded entirely from the infobox. For instance, a game which is available for download on Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network still requires the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to play the game. From a category standpoint, I'd expect to find all games I can play on my system in my system's category, regardless of how I obtain them.
The way we sometimes treat the online service as entirely separate from its console also affects achievement/trophy categories. We currently have separate categories for PS3 vs. PSN trophies, for instance. The trophies, whether you got them from a game on PSN or not, are shown on the console and on the PSN profile, with no distinction between them (Sony treats all trophies the same). I'm not sure if Xbox 360 is the same. Anyway, for achievements/trophies I can see how someone might want to see just games they can get off PSN/XBLA, but I don't know if it makes sense to have them missing from the PS3/360 categories. Anyway, here are my proposals:
- Put digital distribution services (Steam, D2D, GameTap, all the console ones) in the distributor field and put the actual system in the systems field.
- Categorize the page by both the distributor and the system.
- Combine XBLA/PSN achievement/trophy categories into one, or at least categorize the XBLA/PSN categories with the system category as well.
— najzereT 00:10, 27 January 2010 (UTC)
- I am reviving this previously archived topic because it is something that needs to be addressed. Originally we only had Steam to worry about but digital distribution has since grown to be a major feature of all platforms. What you propose is a very logical approach to this issue. I would like to see some further input on this issue. --Garrett (talk) 08:09, 8 February 2010 (UTC)
- It should also be noted that it's not reliable to think of PSN - PS3 as equivalent, or even XBLA - 360. Especially with the new PSPGo hardware, the number of PSN games for the PSP is very high. Live also encompasses the Games for Windows - Live initiative and Live Anywhere/Zune Social. Of course, I would like to be able to exclude games from showing up when I'm looking for PS3 or PSP games if they are only available via digital distribution, but that's a matter of preference and is probably limited by the capabilities of the search on the site. --~Vizeroth · (c)~-- 21:35, 8 February 2010 (UTC)