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View Full Version : Highs in your eyes, Database in your face



SpaceGhost2K
11-21-2007, 03:18 AM
Ah, Whodini. God, I'm old.

OK, here's something I want to do for Faceplate Addict. I want to create a database. There's already a database at www.lowdown411.com that, while not perfect, is pretty damned impressive. There are plates on there that nobody here will EVER see in their collection, so unless we use his pics or contact his source and ask to use THEIR pics, we'll never have them in our own database. I already have an email out to tacohead there, hoping we can work out something that is acceptable to both parties. I'm not interested in stealing his work or traffic, but I DO want the Ultimate 360 Faceplate Database that I can point people to, and not one that's just "good enough."

I want the database to include:

- A small picture of the faceplate, clickable to a larger version.
- A name, which would most likely include the name of the game (Stranglehold), event (E305 Rings Of Light), company (Tropicana Twister), or a physical description of the plate (Cherry Blossoms).
- The source of the faceplate (X07, GameStop, Frito-Lay web promo).
- The source of the picture (SpaceGhost's Collection, BestBuy.com)
- The location where the plates were available (Australia, Japan, Amsterdam).
- Who has it in their collections. This is where it gets fun. You can go down the list and checkmark which plates are in your collection.
- Who wants to add this plate to their collection. This is a "wishlist" of sorts. You won't just put every plate you don't have in your collection, just ones you're actively looking to pick up.
- Who has a duplicate of this that they are willing to trade?
- The rarity of the plate. http://www.lowdown411.com/FP.html has actual price-guide estimates on their list. I don't think we have anyone with the time to adequately maintain that part of a database, which would require constant monitoring of all sales outlets for "going prices." We'd just combine the rarity and pricing into one rating by $: A $ plate is available for less than retail. A $$ plate is retail price ($20-$30). A $$$ plate was a preorder item. A $$$$ plate was an event item. $$$$$ would be things like dev team plates.

There would be a seperate type of listing for custom plates. Custom plates would include:
- The creator of the plate
- How much the plate sold for.

I wouldn't include who bought it as a search criteria, but I would include a note section for any relevant facts, like "This was made for George Lucas and is in his collection." Or, in the case of one of my Heroes plates, "These plates sell for $40, but this particular plate was featured in Official Xbox Magazine and sold for $200."

Now here's where having this as a database and not just one, big list comes into play.

- I want to know what faceplates were released in Japan. I have a friend in Japan and I want to ask him to look for these plates for me.
- I want to see all the faceplates that were available free with preorders.
- I want to see all the faceplates in Kamshaft's collection.
- I was looking at this cool Eternal Sonata plate with Chopin on it. I never got this plate. I see that there are forty-three people who have this in their collections, and three people who have duplicates of this plate that they're willing to trade. One of them is moltenluv. I search under her name and find the plates she has on her wishlist. Oh, she's looking for the Mass Effect plate and I have two of those. You could then contact her about arranging a trade.
- I want to find all the plates that are common and add them to my collection first, and then search for the ones that are less common and so on, until I get to the ones that are really hard to come by. That's the fastest way to build a collection.
- I want to find all the really rare plates and just build a collection of those. I don't want to waste my time and money buying plates that are a dime a dozen. That's how to build the most envious collection.

Then, on top of all of that, we can have a thread where we can just show off the plates in our collection all in one place, or create a visual "have/want" list to use in trading.

If anybody has anything else they think should be included in the Ultimate Faceplate Database, please post it here and let's discuss them. Let's discuss the whole idea. Also, if anyone has any suggestions about making this a reality, like web-accessable software, hosting, formatting, etc. share, share SHARE! lol.

Variation-XBA
11-21-2007, 10:05 AM
Also a listing of how many of them exist. Such as XXXX/3000

Shawn-XBA
11-21-2007, 10:21 AM
Love the idea SpaceGhost, I agree with all the items that would be included in the database.

I would like to see a list of how many members own each faceplate, ex. 2,500 out of 50,000 members own this faceplate, this way you know which ones are the most popular and which ones are the least popular.

For the custom plates part, I would like to see some sort of a voting system where you can vote on the faceplates (ex. you would vote on the faceplate xx/10). And have a list of top voted user made custom faceplates.

HaZarD SFD
11-21-2007, 12:06 PM
WOOT Meh Faceplate is worth $90-$120! hmm Time to sell!

gh0st_r1der
11-22-2007, 10:35 PM
While I agree about the ultimate database purpose I think that giving too much info will slow/kill the general(my) faceplates business. For example I don't want people to know how many faceplates of XXXXX game/type have been made. This can affect the price on some (alot) faceplates.

Variation-XBA
11-23-2007, 12:06 AM
Sounds kinda selfish :P

Any of the really collectable ones (not signed or one of a kinds/customs) generally are numbered anyways (E3, Bioshock, etc), where others are "fact" like the PGR ones that were 500 or 800 I believe.

SpaceGhost2K
11-23-2007, 12:25 AM
Sounds kinda selfish :P

Any of the really collectable ones (not signed or one of a kinds/customs) generally are numbered anyways (E3, Bioshock, etc), where others are "fact" like the PGR ones that were 500 or 800 I believe.

It IS selfish ( :P ), but I'm with him. I want to help the community but I don't want to slit my own throat to do it. Part of me wants to shout it from the mountaintop when a hard to find plate shows up available somewhere, and another part of me keeps his fingers crossed that nobody knows it but me.

The thing with listing how many were made is that we wouldn't be telling someone information that isn't already known. Everybody knows already that there were only 500 of the E3 Gears of War plates made. The Gamestop Bioshock plates are all labeled x/5,000. It's not breaking news. We would just be putting that information all in one place so people didn't have to go looking all over the place for it.

And, as much as it might hurt a collector to have that info out, it might help them as well. For instance, let's say that everybody was wrong and there.were only 200 of the E3 Gears of War plates made. Everyone who owns one just saw their plate go up in value 10x.

I think, in general, it's more a point of interest than it is "important information."

cheezymonkey999
11-27-2007, 04:17 PM
I like when it says how many were made... Its not like you ever see that number around anyway. For instance 5000 bioshock plates were made and they still go for 60+ dollars on ebay. The lower the number the higher the price too... so for you resellers its all good.

Nato King
11-27-2007, 09:43 PM
I see where you are going with this and I really like the idea. If there is anything i can do to help just drop me a PM. Good stuff:cheers:

cheezymonkey999
11-28-2007, 11:02 AM
Any idea when this database is gonna start? I forgot to mention i like the part about having a wishlist where ppl can see what plates you want. A forum thread could do that too...

SpaceGhost2K
11-28-2007, 11:59 AM
I'm working on its design inbetween plates. Kam is the one actually making it, but I have to tell him what I want and I have to be crystal clear about it. I don't want to have to "redo" it, just "fix" it where necessary.

Nato King
11-28-2007, 12:18 PM
I'm working on its design inbetween plates. Kam is the one actually making it, but I have to tell him what I want and I have to be crystal clear about it. I don't want to have to "redo" it, just "fix" it where necessary.

I was talking to Kamshaft today and he was saying that he is making it. I can't wait to see how it's going to come out because he is so good and doing stuff like that.

moltenluv
11-28-2007, 03:31 PM
Ohhhh I am so excited about the database. My wishlist will be simple, it will consist of every faceplate that I don't already own :p