NintendoWiki:Coverage

NintendoWiki strives to be a comprehensive database for all aspects of Nintendo, which includes both the company itself and the products it releases. As this definition is rather broad, and taking into account that our fellow NIWA wikis also exist to cover Nintendo's various games and franchises in detail, this page exists to more precisely convey what subject matter NintendoWiki should cover and a general idea of how it should cover that information.

Software

Games

NintendoWiki covers all games developed by Nintendo and its divisions and subsidiaries. The wiki also covers any games developed by Nintendo's partners, as long as they have been published by Nintendo or one of its subsidiaries (such as The Pokémon Company) at one point in time. For games developed by third-party corporations, these titles will receive coverage as long as they have been published by Nintendo for release in at least one of the company's primary regional markets (North America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Korea). Any titles that have simply been licensed by Nintendo will not be covered, as other than approving the game for release on their system Nintendo was not involved in the production or distribution of the product.

For games that have been re-released on different hardware, it is important to distinguish which versions of the game will receive an article. Whether a newer version of an older game is a remake or a port, if the game has any elements that distinguish it from the original, such as changing some features or the addition of new content, it will receive an article, which will primarily discuss its differences from the original release in the "Gameplay" section. Compilation releases will also receive full articles, as long as, like remakes, they have new content that will distinguish them from the original. However, if a new release of a game is simply a direct port of the original (such as a Virtual Console release), it will not be given its own article, as a direct port is simply the original game as-is, with no added content or features, and rarely any significant changes; they can be covered sufficiently in the "Other releases" section on the original game's article.

Sometimes, Nintendo will release two or more "versions" of a game (mainline Pokémon games, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, Fire Emblem Fates, etc.), in which the games share near identical gameplay and/or content, but have some differences from each other that can only be found in one release. For these releases, both games are covered on the same article. However, sometimes a new version of the games will be released later that has its own distinct content as well as changes and refinements to the base games. In these cases, the new version is covered on its own article. As with ports, the "Gameplay" section should mostly describe its differences from the originals.

For example:

style="background:#Template:Neutral 2nd color;" | Name	style="background:#Template:Neutral 2nd color;" | Type of coverage	style="background:#Template:Neutral 2nd color;" | Reason
Super Mario Bros.	Article	Super Mario Bros. was developed and published by Nintendo.
Bayonetta 2	Article	Bayonetta 2 was developed by PlatinumGames, a third-party developer, but published by Nintendo.
Mega Man	No coverage	Mega Man is a game that was both developed and published by Capcom, a third-party developer, without any real involvement from Nintendo.
Tube Slider	Article	Tube Slider was published by NEC, a third-party company, but developed by Nd Cube, a subsidiary of Nintendo.
Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt	Mention	While the game is a new release, it simply consists of direct ports of the two games, with no new content. Thus, it simply warrants a mention in the "Other releases" section.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy	Article	Metroid Prime: Trilogy is a release consisting of ports of three games, which features its own distinct content and gameplay changes.
Classic NES Series: The Legend of Zelda	Mention	The Classic NES Series titles are direct ports of NES games for the Game Boy Advance. Thus, it should only be mentioned in the "Other releases" section.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D	Article	Although the game is a port, it has new content not present in the original and gameplay changes that can be documented, and thus warrants a new article.
Kirby Super Star Ultra	Article	Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake of the original game, featuring brand new content and new gameplay elements.

Series

Determining whether an intellectual property has become a series or franchise can be difficult. While some such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Kirby, and others have numerous releases and longevity, others have very few games with no new installments in recent years, while newer IPs have not had the time to receive very many entries. For the purposes of NintendoWiki, a property must have received at least three entries in order to qualify for a series article. This also applies to third-party series that have had games published by the company; a series like Professor Layton would receive an article as many of its games have been published by Nintendo for their western releases, while Ninja Gaiden would not, as only one game in the series, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, has ever been published by Nintendo.

In some cases, many of Nintendo's larger franchises have spawned individual spin-off series, such as Metroid Prime to the original Metroid series, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon or Pokémon Rumble to Pokémon, or the myriad of Super Mario spin-off series. These kinds of series do not receive individual coverage, and are instead covered as part of the larger franchises.

Unreleased games and tech demos

On some occasions an announced game will be cancelled or simply never released, or the game will be a demo that was never intended to see a full release in the first place. Full coverage is given to any unreleased games or tech demos that were developed by Nintendo. However, these articles are not required to be as fleshed out as articles for released games, as many details about these games and demos are not as readily available.

Fictional elements

NintendoWiki primarily covers subjects from a real-life perspective. Thus, while game articles will provide a description of their gameplay and and a brief synopsis of the setup for the primary storyline (if applicable), the fictional and gameplay elements within those games, such as enemies, locations, power-ups, and characters, are not covered by this wiki beyond any mentions on the game's article. Instead, most game articles link to the same article on one of our fellow NIWA member wikis for more in-depth information. The only exception to this is Miis, as they are player avatars rather than characters belonging to a specific game or franchise.

Hardware

Game consoles

As expected, the wiki gives full coverage to all video game consoles that have been released by Nintendo. This also extends to add-on hardware such as the Family Computer Disk System or the Nintendo 64DD, hardware revisions such as the Game Boy Advance SP and New Nintendo 3DS, and even unreleased hardware such as the "SNES-CD".

Game devices manufactured by outside parties do not warrant articles unless Nintendo was involved in their development. For example, in the case of the Philips CD-i, other than giving Philips the license to develop games for the system using its properties, Nintendo was entirely uninvolved with the production of the hardware. In addition, while games for consoles such as the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 have been released on the Virtual Console serivce, the hardware would not be fully covered as it was not originally released by Nintendo, nor were the games published by them for their re-releases.

Accessories

All Nintendo-manufactured and released accessories for its hardware, such as controllers and add-on devices, will be covered in their own articles. Similar to third-party games, third-party accessories that have only been licensed by Nintendo and unlicensed devices such as Game Genies or generic reproduction controllers and accessories do not warrant coverage.

Components

Nintendo has often created its own custom chips and processors for its consoles, such as the Super FX graphics chip and the 10NES lockout chip. This type of hardware is given full coverage in a similar manner to console accessories.

Companies

Entire companies

In addition to the company itself, full coverage is automatically given to any and all divisions and subsidiaries of Nintendo. This also applies to affiliated or partner companies who have developed or assisted in developing products for Nintendo.

For third-party companies, the company must have developed multiple games for or in collaboration with Nintendo in order to receive coverage.

While company articles should give a summary of their corporate history, only their games that have been published by Nintendo will be listed.

Employees

Nintendo as a company and its subsidiaries and partners have employed a number of people over the years. In general, important Nintendo employees, such as presidents and vice presidents, receive full coverage. Beyond that, when deciding which people to cover, it is important to note how much about them can be noted beyond simply stating their role at Nintendo, and how many games they have worked on. Thus, one should use their discretion when deciding whether or not to cover other employees, such as voice actors, musicians, artists, directors and producers, localizers, etc.

Other products

Before Nintendo entered the video game market, it was a manufacturer of hanafuda (a type of Japanese playing cards), and later entered into other ventures before becoming a toy company. All of these other products and services that have been manufactured by Nintendo or one of its subsidiaries will be covered. In the case of products like amiibo, which third-party developers have created under license, only the specific products that have been manufactured or released by Nintendo are covered.

Events and publications

Nintendo have held and attended various press events, including the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Space World, and even video content such as Nintendo Directs, for the purpose of showcasing upcoming projects. All of these media events are covered, with each individual show receiving an article, though for events not hosted by the company only Nintendo's presence at these events are covered.

In the case of publications such as magazines, only those published by Nintendo are covered, such as Nintendo Power. Like the above, issues are covered individually.

Legal activities

NintendoWiki is unique in that it also covers aspects of Nintendo such as patents and court cases. Patents relating to an actual product, whether or not it is actually released, may be covered alongside that product, though those depicting a concept for a product regardless of whether or not it is actually planned for release may be covered individually. Legal cases, however, are given individual coverage.

Multimedia and merchandise

While being video game series first and foremost, several of Nintendo's properties, such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, have expanded beyond video games and into multimedia franchises, being given comic books and manga, television series, and, in the case of Super Mario, a live-action Hollywood film. Much licensed merchandise has also been made based on these series, such as Jakks Pacific's "World of Nintendo" action figures. As Nintendo was largely uninvolved with the production of these shows and products beyond their licensing, they are not covered on this wiki. However, those that were produced and released by Nintendo, such as the Pikmin Short Movies or soundtracks such as those distributed through Club Nintendo, would warrant coverage.

Debatable subjects

If an article on a particular topic is accused of being outside of the wiki's coverage scope, then {{Coverage-questioned}} should be added at the top of the article. The matter of whether or not the article should stay should primarily be discussed on the article's talk page.

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