"First Appearance" credits on ports/re-releases

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

How far removed from the original game can you be and still get a first appearance credit? Sorry if this has been debated before but my buddy @hyrulevyse pointed out that NES Donkey Kong Wata cases credit it as the first appearance of Mario and Donkey Kong, which is only true in the sense that the other, original version(s) of Donkey Kong were the first appearances. The first appearance of Mario would be the Donkey Kong in arcades of course. The first console game appearance would be on Colecovision if you really want to say a game that doesn't fit into a small plastic case doesn't "count".

As a different example, NES versions of The Legend of Zelda say it's the first appearance of Link (first American appearance but let's pretend I'm not pedantic). However, the GBA re-release just says it's a port of the NES game and Link doesn't get a first appearance credit. This makes more sense to me personally and as far as I know is how comics usually work, e.g. Action Comics #1 says 1st Appearance Superman on the label, the Loot Crate reprint of Action Comics #1 does not and just says it's a reprint.

I don't think one way of thinking is objectively correct, but do think it's a minor inconsistency that some ports get the credit and others don't. But people drop money on the first appearance thing so it matters at least somewhat. Thoughts? Should ports get first appearance credits, and over time should they stop getting those credits?

 

Donkey Kong label (FWIW, Donkey Kong Classics does not get the credits )

Zelda NES (top) vs GBA (bottom)

CGC Action Comics 1 (top) vs Reprint (bottom)

Edited December 11, 2019 by DefaultGen

[hyrulevyse | 151]

My favorite part is how it says "first appearance of Mario" and then follows that up with "port of the 1981 arcade game".  Ports should definitely not get first appearance credits, what's the point of labeling something a first appearance if it wasn't actually that?  I could accept first appearance in a home console or some variation like that.  But as you pointed out what about the earlier verisons of the port?  Will the same info be on those labels?  I think they're rolling out Atari soon so that will be interesting to see.

 

[hyrulevyse | 151]

And what about less famous first appearances, does anyone have a graded Gradius?  Does it say first appearance of Vic Viper?  I can kind of get with Arcades "not counting" for this sort of thing because it feels different.  But I'd also ask why we even need first appearances, just to copy comic collecting that way?  If they are going to keep this up then I fully expect my Turbografx copy of Fighting Street to say first appearance of Ryu and Ken.

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

 

54 minutes ago, hyrulevyse said:

My favorite part is how it says "first appearance of Mario" and then follows that up with "port of the 1981 arcade game".  Ports should definitely not get first appearance credits, what's the point of labeling something a first appearance if it wasn't actually that?  I could accept first appearance in a home console or some variation like that.  But as you pointed out what about the earlier verisons of the port?  Will the same info be on those labels?  I think they're rolling out Atari soon so that will be interesting to see.

I would have to imagine it's definitely on the earlier ports or they would seem biased towards the NES. I wouldn't mind specificity though like first console appearance, first American appearance, etc. when it's not actually the first appearance. Although in that case you'd really have to stretch specifics to put any kind of importance on NES Donkey Kong. First US Nintendo-developed console appearance of Donkey Kong? Like the John Wick comic book isn't the first appearance of John Wick, it's the first comic appearance of John Wick or Hulk 181 isn't the first appearance of Wolverine, it's the first full appearance. If you can narrow it down to a single adjective before appearance, maybe I'm OK with it!

Edited December 12, 2019 by DefaultGen

[hyrulevyse | 151]

2 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

 

I would have to imagine it's definitely on the earlier ports or they would seem biased towards the NES. I wouldn't mind specificity though like first console appearance, first American appearance, etc. when it's not actually the first appearance. Although in that case you'd really have to stretch specifics to put any kind of importance on NES Donkey Kong. First US Nintendo-developed console appearance of Donkey Kong? Like the John Wick comic book isn't the first appearance of John Wick, it's the first comic appearance of John Wick or Hulk 181 isn't the first appearance of Wolverine, it's the first full appearance. If you can narrow it down to a single adjective before appearance, maybe I'm OK with it!

I'm glad you brought up John Wick, I didn't know that but I was trying to think of an example in that vein.  Where an appearance might not be first but it is the first collectible appearance.  I don't want to call arcades and home consoles different mediums like a movie and comic since they clearly aren't but that's kind of what I'm going for since they also aren't quite the same.

[Sumez | 2,935]

I'm not sure what it matters. You know what they mean. It's just a trivia tidbit anyway, right? It's "cool" that Mario's first appearance was in Donkey Kong considering he would later on be famous for his own series.

As another side note, Donkey Kong Jr. was the first game where Mario was specifically named Mario - but I believe his name was employed about the character from the first game retroactively (in promotional material or merchandise, etc), before the sequel came out.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Sumez

[RH | 4,898]

Nah, I'm going to go with first appears is first appearance, regardless of platform. Whether an arcade title, a console or PC title, a first appearance in a video game is a first appearance.  If WATA want's to add qualifiers like "First Console Appearance" or "First PC Appearance", then that' cool.  Or, maybe have a dictionary and call it "First Home Appearance", which by their definition includes Console, Handheld or PC games, but explicitly excludes arcades.

However, a port of a title is not a first appearance. It's just a reprint.  I'm not offended by this, though.  To me it's just a moderate issue and not a hill worth dying on.  I don't think they are dishonest, I just think this could be a topic of heated discussion, though, so I just default to thinking they should play it safe on that.

Edited December 12, 2019 by RH