The video game encyclopedia

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Do you like video games? You like to have information immediately available? You don't like to read books or magazines? You would like to discover unknown and unusual games as well as have information about your favorite games or companies at hand?

The Côté Gamers video game encyclopedia is all this and much more!


VOLUME 3 IS DEDICATED TO Nintendo's GAME&WATCH

Game And Watch Nintendo encyclopedia cards surprise illustration for the box


The 40 cards included in Volume 3 come in a cardboard box. This box is not directly illustrated but you can stick a specific sticker on it. This full color sticker in 10 X 15 cm format is provided in the box for several reasons:

-You will not be obliged to stick it and you will be able to keep it to make the collection since each volume will have its own illustration.

-You will be able to decide when and on which box to stick this illustration. You will be able to manage your cards as you wish by making a personalized classification of your boxes.


  

The first volume contains :

-1 manual sheet
-39 various Game&Watch cards
-1 trivia/hints sheet  
-1 random surprise card
-1 sticker used as an illustration for the box
-2 box identification stickers


Each card is used on both sides.

The cards of the following volumes will have different distributions.


The game cards contain all the essential information about the title: name of the main character, place of action, scenario, interest, game system etc.

Of course, a game cannot be summarized in one sheet, which is why there are also character/creature sheets and why there will be object or location sheets.  For example, the encyclopedia can present the famous aircraft from the Final Fantasy saga, the Ikaruga ship or the mushrooms from the Mario universe.

On the back of each card, there are boxes that refer to related terms or references discussed on other cards. This allows readers to navigate from sheet to sheet, by theme or keyword, and to perfect their knowledge in a fun way.

These cards will be accompanied by a file accessible online for free, listing all the cards and adding information. The goal is to eventually build a gigantic database. With these cards, everyone will be able to identify the elements present in games, list accessories or obtain a list of personalities related to video games.


TO FIND OUT MORE

-What is the encyclopedia?


As its name suggests, it is a project that will cover the whole of video games, from their origins to the present day. All subjects will be covered:

-Games,
-Supports (consoles, computers, arcade terminals, portable games)
-Characters,
-People,
-Companies,
-Places,
-Objects,
-Publications,
-Events.


-What form does this encyclopedia take?


It consists of 10 cm X 15 cm cards, 100% in color, printed on 350 grams paper (therefore of quality and quite rigid)


-Why not publish a book?


The interest of the cards is multiple!


-There is an interest in the content. If we were to publish an encyclopedia in a bound form, we could never be complete, as new information comes out every day about new games, new companies, or any event.


Updating this encyclopedia could only be done by publishing expanded versions, which would disadvantage the original readers, or by including intermediate issues, which would completely destroy the collection. To put it more bluntly, if we were to produce new content on a new Sega release, we would have to put it in a hardcover book. That would be impossible. We would have to produce this information on a medium that would be parallel to the first hardcover book. A good way to get confused after a while. Not to mention the need for multiple indexes.


The cards are independent. The fact that they are not bound allows them to be classified as they are published. Still using the example of a new game from Sega, it will be enough to insert the card concerning this game in the middle of the others, in alphabetical order, to find your way.


-There is an interest for the reader!


The reader who wants to have a wide range of cards will be able to choose to buy them all. If you only want to have some of them, you can exchange or resell the others. It is even possible to create a system of exchanges for this sole purpose, to obtain at a lower cost the cards that concern only a chosen theme.


Generally speaking, the reader will never have to buy an expanded version of a book that will become obsolete almost immediately.


-There is an entertainment value!


We will produce special cards, which will only be available on certain occasions or in certain products. This will allow some people to indulge in the joys of collecting.


Our cards are also intended to be used in a board game that we will publish later.


- How do I get the cards?


They can be purchased. We plan to always offer 40 cards per set.


It will also be possible to get them in some of the Côté Gamers productions or through certain occasions, like contests or fairs.


-Will each lot be dedicated to a theme?


No. There will be general and specific lots. The first two volumes will only concern the PCEngine, as a tribute to the recent release of the PCEngine mini. The following volumes may contain a wide variety of cards, mixing all the video game themes.


-Will there be an index of the published cards?


Yes, the index will refer to the topics covered as well as to the references and related terms indicated in the boxes of the cards.

-Will it be possible to buy individual cards?


This point is not yet decided, but probably not for reasons of production costs.

-With one card per topic, won't the topics be covered succinctly?

If all aspects of a topic were to be covered in one sheet, it would indeed be succinct, but the sheets will allow to come back to each aspect of a topic. On the FF7 page, for example, we will talk about the game itself. But many cards will come back later on its characters, its places, its objects, or even Squaresoft. Eventually, all the cards will constitute a database much larger than a book could offer.

Here is the information contained on a game file:

Original title and translated title if applicable, support, year of release, publisher, developer, genre, number of players, serial number, gameplay. The files also indicate if the title is an original game, a unique adaptation or an adaptation among others. In the case of an original game, it is also indicated if adaptations exist.

On the back of the cards, boxes refer to additional information by related terms, references, or titles of adaptations.


The content of the description usually includes the names of the main characters and the place where the action of the game takes place so that other cards can be consulted.