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Post by andycole on May 18, 2006 13:04:16 GMT 2
Richard's thread about ACL pins has given me an idea for an interesting project. If we were to collate serial numbers for games in circulation, we may be able to determine more accurately how many of each were released. I know that we already have a set of production figures that are widely accepted as 'official' but the numbers are far too rounded for my liking, I think we should be able to do better. I also know that Mike's FAQ mentions serial numbers starting from xxxxxxxx but I don't think it goes as far as telling us the size of these production runs by mentioning the end numbers of those runs. I also recall someone else started a serials database - was it Slash? I think that may have recieved little interest because there was no point to it. I think if we have a reason for the work it may be more successful. Of course, a lot of the numbers for different models interweave so it may take a little work to sort out but I find the release quantities very interesting and it may also help us to work out when production runs ended as well, by relating a number of an earlier model with one for a later model....get me? What do you think? Andy p.s. I'll be away for a week from tomorrow so I'll let you talk it over amongst yourselves until I get back
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Post by RetroGameFan on May 18, 2006 13:35:03 GMT 2
Hi Andy.
It will require a bit of effort but what a bloody good idea :yes: !!!
RGF. :smile:
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Post by chokocat on May 18, 2006 14:17:12 GMT 2
So what do you suggest, get the smallest and biggest number known for each game in order to determine the number of games produced?
Could be interesting to get an accurate figure in the end!
:juggler:
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Post by RetroGameFan on May 18, 2006 15:27:37 GMT 2
Julien,
Yes, to some degree. The main & hardest thing to determine will be discerning the gaps between serial sequences for the same game because of different production runs of the same edition & also the different editions themselves. What a challenge :yes: !!! Going off that, don't expect it to happen quickly because it will take quite alot time to amass.
Regards, RGF. :smile:
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Post by andycole on May 18, 2006 15:39:12 GMT 2
Yes, the gaps are going to cause problems, but the more numbers we collate, the clearer the picture will be. Andy
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Post by chokocat on May 18, 2006 16:55:53 GMT 2
It is too bad there are some gaps ... Do you know why is that?
:withstupid:
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Post by mpanayiotakis on May 18, 2006 23:05:56 GMT 2
The reason is because the games were released in many editions and the serials had to start after the last ones used from the latest release.
Andy, this is a nice idea but I don't think it will be very informative. First of all, we don't know whether all the serials were consecutive and what I mean is we don't know the first serial of each edition. I mean, did the first flagman received the first consecutive serial after the last one used for ball or did Nintendo started from the nearest round number ? Secondly, did all serials appeared for sale at some point or not ? Manufacturing such delicate items at the time wasn't an easy task and there must have been some errors in the assembling process which might have prevented some games from ever appearing on the streets. The mirror Fire comes to mind. I understand that these numbers may be low though.
These problems aside, I can offer some information if you wish to go on with the project. We should be able to draw some estimates anyway.
Michael
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Post by Gawaleus on May 19, 2006 11:38:38 GMT 2
Funny, I was thinking of this a while ago. I started to plan my own G&W website a few weeks ago (but it will take some time until it's online as slow as I work on it :sleep: ) and I thought a serial DB could be an interesting part of it. It is not sure if it really will bring up new information, but it could... The hard thing is: It'll be a lot of work and the result is unknown. But I think it's worth a try, since I have the data of (I guess) about over 2'000 serials already. So it would be sad not to use it and since I did plan this anyway, so why not continue? I have an excel sheet prepared where serials can be filled in. If any of you want to support me with serials, please PM me and I'll send you the download link. Later on I'll set up a database and create a search for it. This will take a while because I want to put other data online as well. So, first I must write a detailed technical database documentation to avoid errors and 'double work'. What do you think of it? Patrick
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Post by chokocat on May 19, 2006 12:04:13 GMT 2
Where did you get those serials? :rolleyecrazy:
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Post by Gawaleus on May 19, 2006 13:31:19 GMT 2
I do own many games... :laugh: No, not really I got them from auctions! I don't have the serials in a proper way yet, only in auction descriptions and on auction photos. This will be the big work: To grab them and put them into an excel file/database. :juggler: Patrick
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Post by Br3nd4N on May 20, 2006 11:33:08 GMT 2
The serials database is still running on Nintendothumbs, all people have to do is register on the site, login, and they can enter there serials, along with other details, search etc...
we have been down this path many times before, After I created the DB there has been very little interest.
The database has all the key features like model search, editing your own entrys etc... and should be easy enough to modify if required...
:juggler:
-B
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Post by mpanayiotakis on May 20, 2006 21:44:11 GMT 2
Btw, Matt's Serial list might prove useful Andy. An older version is included in my FAQ.
Michael
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Post by andycole on May 30, 2006 12:55:52 GMT 2
Brendan, I appreciate that you already have a database running, I mentioned earlier that I thought you had one. I think the main reasons why your DB has had no interest is because you have to register - we're all too lazy, and because there was no point to it. Now we have a point. Also, entering on a local spreadsheet is bound to be quicker than on an online database, even if it means one person has to do all the input. Pat's 2000 serials would be a good starter. Pat, if you've got a spreadsheet prepared or semi-prepared already, we might as well use it.
Andy
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Post by Br3nd4N on May 31, 2006 1:05:39 GMT 2
Yes, but I was thinking long term, a spread sheet is next to useless and requires someone to maintain it, and then theres the emailing/posting and stuffing about of getting serials onto it. Then you cant search, and users cant update any information they may have given in the past. you can have multiple versions, you don't know which one is the latest... the list goes on.
The reason you have to register is because we want quality control, for a number of reasons, and having data against users is the best method. The system I have in place is far more flexable and adaptive than your going to get from any old spreadsheet. The 2000 Serials can probably be inputed as well.
In any case I guess if people cant be stuffed to login, then what hope is there really, maybe I should just lock the whole site down like mike has done here with the forums, then you have to login to get to anything.
-B
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Post by andycole on May 31, 2006 9:55:15 GMT 2
Well, Brendan, whatever the advantages and disadvantages of your DB, the fact remains that people haven't used it. I happen to disagree with you on most points you made about the spreadsheet method. You can search People can update information by re-sending it There will only be one version if one person maintains it As for quality control, if it gets underway, the information will only come from members of this forum so that's good enough for the scope of the project.
So if anyone's interested in participating, let me know.
Issues with your website aren't the subject here, anyway Brendan. It's a sad fact of life that websites we spend hundreds of hours building don't get visited much!
Andy
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