Adding Hierarchical Franchise data to TheGamesDB/IGDB

[MurderousMarvin]

It would be helpful to include hierarchical franchise data in a game's database entry.

With the addition of 4 metatags, we can create elaborate game hierarchies which, when combined with release dates and platform data, can produce franchise timelines and structures across systems and across game releases.

An easy way to visualize this is with a series like Street Fighter, that has 10 releases of each game, sometimes 3 on the same platform.

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, Championship Edition

• Series => Street Fighter
• Franchise => Street Fighter (Because it's a core title) (Other franchises would be Pocket Fighter, Puzzle Fighter, Street Fighter X, etc.)
• Child of Franchise => Null (Used for intricate series like Final Fantasy or Mario where franchise offshoots have their own franchise offshoots. This is the next franchise branch up from the current.)
• Child of game => Street Fighter 3: New Generation (the name of the first released version of the game, under which all releases, versions and variants from all systems can live.)

The ‘Child of game’ tag is especially important/useful for multi system games. Your 3 different versions of Krusty’s Funhouse, Batman Returns, 12 versions of Mortal Kombat 3, etc. despite significant title differences, Can now all be referenced together as being children of a single game title. With the right front-end design, all can be accessible any time any one of them is pulled up.

IGDB includes 'Series' and 'franchise' tags, but they're used inconsistently, and do not form hierarchical relationships. TheGamesDB doesn't have this data at all.

It would be most useful if these fields accepted multiple tags, so that a mashup game like Super Smash Brothers could be considered part of the Smash series and also the Mario Series and also the Zelda series. Or so that game compilations could be pulled into multiple series. Super Mario Advance would show up as a child of Super Mario 2, but also as a part of the 'Super Mario Advance' franchise, and also as one of the 300 versions of 'Mario Bros."

Super Mario Advance

• Series => Mario Bros.
• Franchise => Super Mario Advance
• Child of Franchise => Super Mario Bros.
• Child of Game => Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Bros.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Series => Super Smash Bros., Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kirby, Kid Icarus, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, EarthBound, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear, Ice Climber, Pikmin
• Franchise => Super Smash Bros.
• Child of Franchise => Null
• Child of Game => Null

Mega Man Xtreme 2

• Series => Mega Man
• Franchise => Mega Man Xtreme
• Child of Franchise => Mega Man X
• Child of Game => Null

Tempest 2000

• Series => Tempest
• Franchise => Tempest
• Child of Franchise => Null
• Child of Game => Tempest

Sonic Adventure

• Series => Sonic the Hedgehog
• Franchise => Sonic Adventure
• Child of Franchise =>Null
• Child of Game => Null

Sonic Adventure 2 DX

• Series => Sonic the Hedgehog
• Franchise => Sonic Adventure
• Child of Franchise => Null
• Child of Game => Sonic Adventure 2

Hard Corps.: Uprising

• Series => Contra
• Franchise => Hard Corps.
• Child of Franchise => Null
• Child of Game => Null

etc.

It would be a tricky thing to work out, but you could also use community feedback/voting to tag a game as the 'definitive version' of a game in a long series. For instance, of the 8 versions of Tempest I have on my Retropie, the Jaguar release would tagged with 'preferred', assuming that's how the community voted.