Do we really need a list of what games are available on digital distribution services?

And I responded: it doesn't actually seem to take up any time — in this case any meaningful time or effort it would taken up is already done — policing this kind of harmless background activity takes up more time than just letting it lie, and as I keep on saying, this doesn't need to be an official index or page, in which case index bloat is unaffected.

It's still not editable by multiple users on a forum post. Between Wiki Sandbox, Just for Fun, Darth Wiki and whatever, is there really no place to move something like this?

It takes less time to cut it and not worry about it again than it does to maintain it.

Listing what games have pages for doesn't need to be edited. Just write a new post adding more games.

Does this affect the fact that some of the platforms in question have invested in at least one work? I am in the understanding that Crunchyroll—one of the subjects at the ATT thread—has invested in several anime production.

If they're involved in the creation of the work in some way, that could be relevant to a Creator page. For example, Creator.Netflix has an index of Netflix Original programming, and everyone seems to agree that that's fine. Steam does not create games, but Valve does, and Creator.Valve Software has an index of games they've developed.

My understanding is that Crunchyroll has not yet actually released any of its original projects that are in the pipeline. Once it does, we can consider whether they should have a Creator page to index them, but as of right now that would be Speculative Troping.

Edited by HighCrate on Feb 10th 2019 at 9:28:08 AM

I'm not talking about CR's original projects. I'm talking about anime where CR is part of the production committee—there are already anime where CR has this level of involvement through financial investments.

There's always going to be some gray areas like that. For example, Netflix occasionally likes to put its "Netflix Originals" branding on things that they merely acquired exclusive distribution rights to as opposed to actually helping create, but AFAIK those are still indexed under the Creator.Netflix page.

My inclination would be to say that if whatever creative input CR has on projects they helped fund isn't enough for them to brand them as original Crunchyroll productions, we should follow suit by not indexing them as such, even if CR has some level of financial investment.

Is that slightly arbitrary? Well, yes, but no more so than any other way of handling it. And at the end of the day, we're a catalog of storytelling tropes, not a trade journal. The details of how a project got funded might be interesting, but it's a little off-mission for us to go too far out of our way for.

Edited by HighCrate on Feb 10th 2019 at 10:42:14 AM

I would say that we can be more objective and just look at the branding/credits. If a company is credited in a product's labeling, then it can be considered a creator of that product. We don't need to get into the details.

Edited by Fighteer on Feb 10th 2019 at 5:55:40 AM

Fighteer, can this be applied generally, rather than in the context of this question? I recall in Warner Bros. (which is definitively a Creator) there's a small list of "Anime on which Warner Bros. Entertainment Japan is a member of the production committee (generally with Showgate)". That section can be removed per above. For reference, membership of an anime's production committee is generally not on the credits.

I would agree with that in general terms, but I don't know anything about the specifics.

Chainsaw with extreme prejudice.

While we're at it, I'd like to see someone correct the mistake I made years ago and chop Youtube's "recommended videos" section out too.

Edited by crazyrabbits on Feb 16th 2019 at 8:31:48 AM

The crowner is stable and overwhelmingly in support of cutting these lists. Hollering for a mod to call it.

Done for the six services listed in the OP, plus Hulu and Crunchyroll.

It looks like Netflix only lists Netflix Originals, so those can stay.

So, what about Game Engine pages, VideoGame.RPG Maker, UsefulNotes.Unity, VideoGame.Build Your Own Net Dream, etc?

Edited by Malady on Feb 20th 2019 at 5:51:53 AM

Those pages

1. aren't indexes, so index bloat is not an issue
2. Seem to be techniques/engines that are used to create works and thus actually affect the design, UI, etc. in a meaningful way.

I don't see an issue.

Actually, all of those are indices. However, you're right that a game being built in a particular engine or with a particular tool actually says something meaningful about the work itself. It's also not something that is going to change as distribution agreements are signed and then expire, and it's not something that varies by region. I'm fine with it.

I could see making it a list but not an index if index bloat is an issue.

Edited by HighCrate on Feb 20th 2019 at 10:28:49 AM

It feels a bit meaningless, but I don't see a fundamental problem with it.

This one's a bit trickier.

I kinda feel that "what engine was this game built on?" is the same thing as "what kind of camera was this movie filmed with?". More noteworthy than whatever store a game is available on, sure, but still not worth having entire pages dedicated to it. This kind of info should go on a game's page.

The only one I'm hesitant towards deleting, though, is the one for RPG Maker. "RPG Maker Games" are practically a genre unto themselves, and there's a very active community dedicated to creating and sharing them. Nobody really thinks about other engines in the same way, to my knowledge.

If nothing else, the Unity page should be brought up in the Useful Notes Cleanup thread.

Edited by Primis on Feb 21st 2019 at 4:48:09 AM

If we removed the shows streaming on Crunchyroll, should we also remove the "Streaming Only" folder from Funimation. Also, I think the "Anime licensed for home video release by Crunchyroll which will be distributed by FUNimation" section should be added back, as it's more than just digital distribution.

Edited by rjd1922 on Feb 4th 2020 at 8:02:35 AM

Agreed on removing the "Streaming Only" folder, but I'm not sure about restoring the other folder. Didn't Crunchyroll and Funimation end their partnership? So Funimation should no longer have those shows, right?

Are either of those companies creators of the works or are they just distributing them? We only care about the former.

Funimation dubs shows, if that counts, not sure if Crunchyroll dubs anything themselves or if they just outsource their licenses, though.

These particular examples sound like they're both just distributors, though.

I've removed the "Streaming Only" and "Home Video Releases for Other Companies" folders, since in those cases Funimation was acting only as a distributor, with no creative input.

Funimation's page has separate lists for shows that they've translated and dubbed, and those lists are still there.

AFAIK, Crunchyroll has announced plans to act as a creator for future works, but has had little to no creative input on any currently-extant works.

Edited by HighCrate on Feb 26th 2019 at 10:31:15 AM

My sole concern with this already-done task is that there are going to be a lot of entries that had their method of distribution as the sole index they were listed on, rather than by their genre, country/year of origin, or developer.