Database up to date?

[per]

I just had a look on the Atari Lynx games database here, and I feel both the rarity guide and in particular the general description is starting to become a bit outdated.

 

Things might have been like explained 10 years ago, but since then we have had the growth of social media/information flow and a huge increase of interest in retrogaming. The Atari Lynx is no exception, and it's no longer as easy to collect for it as it used to be. To say that the Lynx is "mostly overlooked by collectors" no longer holds water, judging from the current market prices.

 

When it comes to rarity, opinions and reviews on sites like YouTube can heavily shift demands for previously overlooked games. For a console like the Lynx, this can in turn change the rarity of certain games greatly.

 

So with this I would like to raise the question: should the info be updated more often?

Edited January 18, 2018 by per

[GadgetUK]

Yes, totally needs updating!

[sage]

rarity guide claims rarity for games which are still on sale... complete bullshit.

[Igor]

I also thought that the database here was out of date so started my own Game Database for the Lynx - https://atarigamer.com/lynx/games

I'm still working on the content, haven't covered homebrew/demo games, but it's coming together.

[+davidcalgary29]

I also thought that the database here was out of date so started my own Game Database for the Lynx - https://atarigamer.com/lynx/games

I'm still working on the content, haven't covered homebrew/demo games, but it's coming together.

 

I like it! I would've thought that Lemmings would be at the highest rarity rating, though.

 

Have you thought about adding in a separate category for the Japanese Lynx releases? It's a rare thing for a Lynx release where the box and instruction manual are worth more than the cartridge itself.

[Igor]

Thanks. Still work in progress and any feedback is welcome!

 

The rarity is calculated across all official and non-official releases so that might be skewing it. I've been wondering if I should separate this. There are a few non-official games in the database now but they aren't being shown, that's why you're not seeing very high rarity scores. There are also some problematic games I've come across that throw rarity out for everything else. I'm using a number of factors to calculate rarity including price. Any suggestions what I should take into account to make it more accurate?

 

I didn't even know about Japanese releases! Would you mind sending me a message with some info? I need to add details about big box releases too - don't have an accurate picture of that.

 

Any information you can help with will be great. My aim is to make atarigamer.com the most up to date source of Lynx games. I'll have user registration there too so hopefully a little community of Lynx fans will help maintain all the data and keep it current.

[+davidcalgary29]

I’d also add the rest of the Telegames releases, even if they’re still available from the UK. We all know how crazy the demand is for a boxed Krazy Ace!

 

I know many disagree with me, but I fail to see why all post Atari released are classified as ‘homebrews’. If it’s burned on a cart and sold, it’s a commercial release.

[per]

I know many disagree with me, but I fail to see why all post Atari released are classified as homebrews. If its burned on a cart and sold, its a commercial release.

Licensing is the keyword there. I agree it's wrong to call it "Homebrew", as long as there is some commercial interest behind it. For me there is licensed games, and unlicensed games.

 

The demand for console hardware is very much bound by the quality and availability of games, so this is something the hardware manufacturer wants to regulate. The NA video game crash of 83 is a prime example of how failing to regulate the console market can go terribly wrong.

 

The fact that companies used licensing as a means of regulation, makes a very strong distinction between licensed games and unlicensed games. Unlicensed games go through a different manufacturing process and quality control than licensed games, very often the distribution method is different as well. By not making a distinction when speaking about the two, you hide this fact.

Edited January 22, 2018 by per

[+davidcalgary29]

Perhaps, but much of this board is dedicated to machines released at a time when this was not a standard industry practice. Sure, games like Halo 2600 and the modern era First Star releases (which most refer to as homebrews) are properly licensed...but only possible because First Star still exists as a legal entity and, in the case of Halo, legal permission was possible. How can a coder ask dead companies for legal permission to have their products marked with a seal of approval? Im not sure we should hold other releases to a different standard when they cant comply with trademark issues. Besides, lots of modern releases for orphaned platforms go through extensive playtesting and quality control.

 

We should also consider the fact that the entire seal-of-approval thingy was pretty much useless at Atari Corp. Exhibit #1: my beloved Lynx. Atari gave their seal of approval to Telegames releases, most of which suck.