User:Xerxes: Difference between revisions

On the back of all GameCube and Wii games (besides Asian releases where it's on the front), near the barcode, the Game's ID will actually be printed out. So, searching for a scan of the game's cover is always a good idea when confirming IDs. The ID is also printed directly on the disc as well, in the little text along the bottom. This is a perfectly reliable source like having your own dump, but the problem is that the ID on the cover uses a different format to those used on the wiki; namely, it will only give you the first four characters, leaving out the publisher code. You can piece together the publisher code using the publisher information on the cover, separate sources like GameTDB and the [[GameIDs]] page if need be, but at the very least you know with 100% certainty the ID prefix. The other problem that can crop up is that some games just don't have good scans on the internet, so even if you find the cover, you may not actually be able to read the ID on the back, and there's not a whole lot you can do about it in that situation.

If you can't find a back cover scan for a game using the normal sources (GameFAQs, GameTDB, [https://www.mobygames.com/ MobyGames], etc.), the next best place to look is actually [http://www.ebay.com/ eBay]. A lot of listings use high resolutions pictures of both sides of the game's box or the disc, from which you can read off the ID prefix rather easily. If you know what region the ID was released in, you can even use region-specific eBays to narrow the search; for example, there's an [http://www.ebay.com.au Australian eBay], a [http://www.ebay.co.uk/ British eBay], a [http://www.ebay.de/ German eBay], and even a [http://www.tradera.com/ Swedish eBay called Tradera]. Of course, since these aren't databases, listings will come and go and your results will vary. However, they shouldn't be underestimated as a source; for Wii games, you'll be relying on these a lot more than you'd expect. So much so, that below is a convenient chart of all the different online auction sites that you can use while looking for cover pictures. Note that for the best results it's better to use the title in the language of the region, which can be obtained from GameTDB.