The popularity of the most beloved video games goes hand in hand, there’s no point in hiding it, with the publishers’ ability to make them unique, in a sense, even when that same title is multiplatform, that is, released not exclusively on a console but on multiple ones.
This does not mean, however, that depending on the reference platform the differences can be many and significant, and I am not merely referring to the concept of graphics and hardware performance, where these latter will certainly be higher on one medium rather than another.
Let's begin by establishing what types of video games exist, considering the most important parameter for a user: their completeness.
Fin from the dawn of time, there have been demos, short for demonstration, and the etymology of the word alone is enough to suggest their nature: in a demo, we will find, in a reduced version, both in terms of content and longevity, the main elements of the title under development.
Always distributed for free by production companies, demos are the first hook toward the gamer, drawing them to the title long before its official release.
Nowadays the complete demo-game dualism has expanded with the spread of online titles, playable by the growing communities of enthusiasts who no longer limit themselves to enjoying single-player campaigns: a mass-market title goes through numerous "states" before being released, and as we will see later, even at that stage, on the final paperwork, it cannot enjoy the status of being complete.
You will certainly have all heard about Alpha and Beta versions of a title: the concept of a demo has developed in a complex way, giving rise to Alpha games that represent titles far from complete, which can nevertheless be played and tested to check their features and uncover glitches and obvious programming errors: what is known as the first corrective step, aimed at cleaning up the game to make it presentable.
N the Beta status, instead, we are faced with a video game that has a certain structural solidity on its side: the levels work, the weapons too in the case of a shooter, the movements are fluid and what remains to be tested is its overall functionality.
Not yet the final product, but it is getting closer by great strides.
The substantial difference between Alpha and Beta lies in their distribution: the former is for the use and consumption of developers and possibly trusted people, in any case internal, while the Beta is made playable to players: it is the modern evolution of the demo, in simple terms.
Un other important element that allows us to understand something more about video games and the differences that occur between one title and another is found in the concept of PAL: we know that games labeled Pal allow our consoles to run them, in simple terms, but the system just mentioned is in turn divided into Pal A and PAl B, did you know that?
For collectors, this is both a well-known fact and a matter of paramount importance, because while it is true that these days, with region-free, many of these restrictions have fallen away, for consoles from previous generations, I cite the legendary NES as an example, the issue becomes crucial.
If we think, then, that even a change in the distribution of a console in a certain country can affect matters related to collecting and the value of a title, the matter becomes complicated as well as interesting.
I am, of course, referring to the GIG and Mattel issue, in which the former took over from the American giant: the titles remained the same, but sometimes all it takes is a different label to make all the difference in the world.
