For an article topic to have its own Wikipedia entry, it needs significant coverage in multiple reliable, independent sources. (?) This is to say that we need enough written about a topic such that we can use that writing as sources in a Wikipedia entry without resorting to original research. We call this notability (or the general notability guideline).
A video games Wikipedia entry has three main sections: gameplay, development, and reception. If you can find at least three solid reviews from reliable, independent, secondary source video game magazines, you'll likely have enough to give the Wikipedia entry its guts. This guide is intended to help editors find those reliable reviews, preferably via a group (aggregate) listing.
Rather than reading through magazine series one at a time, it is easier to work backwards from databases that have already indexed full magazines. Keep in mind that these databases are almost always unreliable and hobbyist and should not be cited directly. Instead, we let their work point us to the reliable reviews, which we can cite once we dig them up.
Print and the Internet
edit- Search the video game reliable sources custom Google search for the title. It searches all video game sites with a vetted reputation for editorial oversight. Listicles and brief/passing mentions of the game are not useful, but reviews are.
- Search Metacritic and MobyGames[a] for their reviews. Do not cite these aggregate pages, but use them as a starting point to find reviews. Note that not all sites and magazines listed are reliable—check them against the vetted list.[b]
Older games require more excavation: websites go offline and the most obscure of game magazines go to landfills. Try the below databases, which are organized by console.
Databases by console
edit- Link to AllGame archive for each platform, ending in 360 gen
- Link to Metacritic archive for each platform
- Last link to Follow up with a video game reliable sources custom Google search
- Use "site:twvideo01.ubm-us.net/o1/vault/GD_Mag_Archives/" to search GD archives
Amiga
- Amiga Lore appears to have more reviews indexed than Hall of Light or Lemon
- Try MobyGames for any straggler reviews (MG is unreliable for infobox factoids)
Nintendo 64 (WW, 1996–2003)
- Start with Metacritic's list.
- IGN (online) is easiest to verify so use it to source the Gameplay.
- Add EGM (offline) and Nintendo Power (platform-specific) to IGN in the Reception. If the game received a European release, add a CVG or Edge review. If the game was released by a Japanese developer, track down the Famitsu review.[c] The above should be sufficient, but if you want more, use GameSpot, GamePro, and Electric Playground
- Do a video game reliable sources custom Google search for Legacy and Development information. Also try a regular search for developer interviews or self-published sources. IGN preserved news articles for most games.
ZX Spectrum (UK, 1982–1992)
- Search the Sinclair Infoseek database.[d]
Notes
edit- ^ MobyGames often shows the same few foreign language sources. Here are the scan sources for easy lookup:
- ^ Metacritic is considered reliable and can be cited directly for its metascores, but MobyGames is user-submitted and should not be cited directly.
- ^ Placeholder—the scores are online
- ^ Sinclair Infoseek is based on the SPOT database. It indexes Crash, Micro Adventurer, Sinclair Answers, Sinclair Programs, Sinclair User, Your Sinclair (Your Spectrum), and ZX Computing as well as some others.