Wikipedia:Notability (toys and games)

Not to be confused with WP:WikiProject Toys.

A variety of toys, children's electronic gadgets, board games, and video games have been developed, published, and sold. The purpose of this proposal is to help come up with a definition of what makes a toy, game, or video games notable beyond the general guidelines in WP:N and WP:CORP. These guidelines also apply to expansions to games.

Your input is welcome. Please feel free to discuss changes on the talk page, or even be BOLD and edit the brainstormed guidlines below.

Criteria

A toy or game is generally notable if it verifiably meets through reliable sources, one or more of the following criteria:

1. The toy or game has been a subject of multiple, non-trivial published works whose sources are independent of the game or topic, with at least some of these works serving a general audience. This includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, other books, television documentaries and reviews. Some of these works should contain sufficient critical commentary to allow the article to grow past a summary of rules or in-game information.
   • The immediately preceding criterion excludes media re-prints of press releases, flap copy, or other publications where the author, its publisher, agent, or other self-interested parties advertise or speak about the game because self-promotion and product placement are not the routes to having an encyclopedia article. The published works must be by someone else writing about the toy or game.
   • Coverage from an online review website can be considered non-trivial for the previous criterion if the coverage includes work by at least one professional reviewer or staff writer. Multiple reviews on a single website do not impart additional notability, so online reviews must come from multiple sources or be supported by additional coverage.
2. The toy or game has won a notable award or a commendation from a recognized national or international educators, parents, medical, or consumers group or some other similar body.
3. A copy of the toy or game is included in the collection of any notable gallery, museum, or other educational institution such as the Smithsonian or British Museum.
4. The toy or game represents a significant milestone in the development of toys or games, or has demonstrated some form of historical, cultural, or technical significance, or has had a major impact on culture or pop-culture, as referenced through a notable documentary or retrospective.
   • This criterion includes the first game to use a game mechanic which was later widely adopted; the first to be published in a certain way, for example online or print-on-demand; or which is otherwise described as a significant milestone by multiple reliable sources.

Toy and game articles should be edited in line with Wikipedia's other policies and guidelines. In particular, all content must be verifiable by reliable sources.

Other evidence of notability

A toy or game is not notable simply on the basis of being produced, sold, or marketed. Without significant coverage, it can be deleted through the proposed deletion process, or if not a clear cut case via articles for deletion. However, some toys and games that don't pass the above tests may still be notable, and should be evaluated on their own merits. Some inclusionary criteria to consider are given below.

Toys and non-electronic games

This includes board, card, dice and miniatures games including wargames, as well as traditional role-playing games and LARPs.

It is likely that a toy or game is notable if:

• The toy or game has been in production and commercially available for 20 years or more.
• The toy or game was a top selling product during a given year or holiday season as documented in secondary sources.

Video games

Thanks to the large volume of coverage given to console releases, any licensed console game that has been published and widely released is likely to be notable, but that coverage must still be found for the article. Unlicensed games are less likely to receive the required coverage, but those that do are presumed to be notable.

Unlike console games, where a license from the console manufacturer is typically required to publish a game on their proprietary platform, games for home computer systems can be programed literally by anyone, and therefore the requirements for inclusion should be viewed more strictly. Multi-platform games released for a personal computer platform as well as a major console are likely to be notable, but typically all releases of the same game should be included under a single article unless the storyline or gameplay on the home computer version is substantially different from the console version, and both versions are verifiable in detail through citations to reliable sources.

Online games are likely to be notable if they have a particularly large paid or free subscriber base. Browser-based games, such as those based utilizing Adobe Flash, are unlikely to be notable. Generic online versions of puzzle games are not notable.

Homebrew games, shareware or freeware games, individual MAME cabinets, and bar-top touchscreen type games (containing several games like Poker, Reversi and Tetris) are not likely to be notable.

Derivative articles

It is a general consensus on Wikipedia that articles should not be split into minutiae of detail treatment, with each split normally lowering the level of notability. While a game may be notable, it is normally not advisable to have a separate article on its character(s) or guidebook/rulebook. Fictional settings, characters and other elements do not typically inherit notability from the game in which they appear; they should be treated according to the notability guidelines for fiction. This does not preclude their mention in an article on the game itself; it only applies to giving them their own articles. As with game expansions, it is appropriate to create redirects for non-notable fictional elements, and to create concise summaries for elements of limited notability.

In some situations, where a game itself does not fit the established criteria for notability but the designer or publisher has an article in Wikipedia, it may be better to feature information about the game in that article, rather than creating a separate article for the game. However, the game must not be mentioned in excessive detail if it makes the article stray from the topic. Conversely, if a rulebook does have signs of notablity but the game has an article in Wikipedia, it may be better to feature material about the rulebook in the game's article, rather than creating a separate article for the rulebook.

Other considerations

Self-publication

Self-publication and/or publication by a vanity press is indicative, but not determinative of non-notability. By the same token, it should always weigh against an article's inclusion if the author or other interested party is the creator of the Wikipedia article. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Autobiography for more information.

However, not all self-published games are non-notable, and some early independently published games are notable precisely because they were among the first to be published independently.

Online stores

A game's listing at online stores such as Barnes & Noble.com or Amazon.com is not by itself an indication of notability as such websites are non-exclusionary, including large numbers of vanity press publications. There is no present agreement on how high a book must fall on Amazon's sales rank listing (in the "product details" section for a book's listing) in order to provide evidence of its notability, vel non.

Game expansions

Publishers of games sometimes release expansion packs for games. For the purposes of determining notability, these should be treated as separate games; they do not inherit notability from their parent. If the expansion does not meet the above criteria independently of the parent game, then it is best to create a redirect and cover the topic of the expansion in a section of the game's article. If the expansion is independently notable, it is appropriate to create a separate article for it, leaving a concise summary in the parent article. See Wikipedia:Summary style for advice on how to create such summaries.

Remakes of notable games

Remakes of notable games are not notable if they lack enough unique content that would require them to have their own articles. This content should have real-world significance and not be limited to new in-game features or rules. Further, writing about rule changes based on experience playing the original game and remake constitutes original research, while listing minor in-game differences qualifies as trivia; both should be strictly avoided.

Not yet published games

Since Wikipedia is not a crystal ball articles about games that are not yet published are generally discouraged. Games that have not been released yet are notable only if the title of the game and its approximate date of publication have been made public, the game is in the pre-production, production, or post-production phase by a major game studio, and these facts can be documented by sufficient reliable sources, not by speculation.