It's a bit confusing the way they did things for this system. Many games are distributed by 'Turbo Technologies, Inc.' But the label on the front of the box will be for the developer. So who then, is the publisher?
I typically favor the publisher when making these databases, for one reason, and one reason only - I get irritated when the name of the manufacturer in the description above the game name is different than the name on the box. That's it! That's the only reason I do this. People remember the name on the box. That is the company people will almost always associate a game with.
But in this particular instance, I went with the label on the box *regardless* of whether or not they were the publisher. The publisher would be NEC in almost all cases, and to put 'NEC' in every field is useless information.
Things get confusing here also, because sometimes the developer will have no mention on the box, but maybe in small print on the back of the manual or on the CD.
I solved this little dilemma for myself simply by naming the manufacturer after whatever entity took credit on the box.
If Hudson Soft or Icom Simulations, Inc. put their label on the cover, then it is a Hudson Soft or Icom Simulations, Inc. game. If that label isn't there, an in it's place there is simply 'NEC,' then it is an NEC game.
In one instance, the name on the box was 'FTL,' but when you load the game, the name is JVC (known as Victor Musical Industries). So in this situation, I put FTL/Victor Musical Industries, Inc.
Maybe that's the way it should be anyways - just put the developer/publisher. But things get confusing and messy fast.
HyperSpin 2.0 database development seems to be addressing that issue - with a dedicated field for publisher, developer, and distributor.
But for now, I'm happy with what I've done here. It certainly beats reading 'Turbo Technologies, Inc.' - a useless entity as far as I'm concerned - for half the database.
You can find the development thread here:
