SONIC 2 Sega Game Gear/Mega Drive games all have different numbers on the boxes, manuals and cartridges. I don't know the official term for them - model numbers, asset numbers? They also have catalog numbers on the boxes. This is the cartridge scan we have for the JP Game Gear Sonic 2 on SonicRetro: 670-2660-01 This is the cartridge scan that SMSPower has: 670-2660 Usually the cartridges codes are just 7 digits (670-xxxx), so the -01 implies a revision. This cartridge label is unusual, because it also has the catalog number (G-3321), which is usually only printed on the spines of Game Gear game boxes. Sonic 2 also got a Meisaku Collection release and Meisaku Collection releases have different catalog numbers (G-3338 in Sonic 2's case). So the Meisaku Collection would have required a different cartridge label. After looking at a few auction sites: You'll need to zoom in, but sure enough the original box release has the 670-2660 cartridge and the Meisaku Collection has the 670-2660-01 cartridge. HOWEVER, would a new cartridge label be enough for a revised number? Or does it also imply a revision to the game (bug fixes etc.)? Essentially, do we have ROM dumps of both cartridge versions, and are they identical? SONIC 1 So here's a little bit of trivia. The JP Game Gear Sonic 1 cartridge had two different labels. But both versions have the the 670-1947 code. Full details here: https://twitter.com/YmPXden33UUYCF3/status/1094031222567628801 Basically, the original version accidentally had a 2 Player logo on it. The comments section says that the 2 Player logo was covered up with a white sticker (which is what we have on SonicRetro - and we have the corrected label version for the Meisaku Collection release). This raises a few questions: 1. Did any stickerless versions of the "2 Player" version make it into the wild? 2. Was the corrected version specific to Sonic 1's Meisaku Collection release, or did the original box version ever ship with the revised cartridge label? 3. How should we cover the "2 Player" version on SonicRetro? Would we want scans both with the white sticker on and with the white sticker peeled off? 4. Why does the corrected label have the exact same code? Why is it 670-1947 and not 670-1947-01? Does it not count as a true label revision, because the first one was an error, or is -01 only added to ROM revisions? Also, just as a general question, does anyone know the methodology for how those last four digits were assigned? It seems the later the release, the higher the number, but by the time they got to G Sonic they were up to 670-9587.
I don't know if this helps, but I looked around and found that Retro had the scan that SMSPower has all the way up until 2015. http://info.sonicretro.org/index.php?title=File:Sth2_gg_jp_cart.jpg&redirect=no#filelinks
G-3321 is the product code, 670-2660 is the part number. The "part" in this case being the cartridge label. If you open the cartridge, the PCB will have a different code. Likewise the box, manuals, extra things - they've all got part numbers which begin with three digits/letters. It's a long-term goal for the wikis to store as many of these part numbers as possible, though the system dates back decades and is still in active use today. But it's slightly insane because there are part numbers for every individual screw of an arcade machine (spoilers: this needs automating. Double spoilers: we don't know how best to do that).
Thanks for clarifying the terminology. From what I've seen GG/MD cartridge labels are 670-xxxx, boxes are 671-xxxx and manuals are 672-xxxx. Not sure if this is just first party games. The four-digit number doesn't sync up between the three, for whatever reason (I can't see a pattern to it). As it turns out, we only have the Meisaku Collection JP GG Sonic 2 manual up on Sonic Retro. It has the G-3338 product code on the back page, 672-1030-01 part number. For GG Sonic 1 we don't have the Meisaku collection manual. As for both JP GG Sonic 1 cartridge labels having the exact same part number, is it simply a case that error corrections don't count as revisions?
It doesn't - the part number scheme applies to pretty much everything Sega has ever produced, while those G-xxxx codes were just there to say "hey this is a video game you can buy".
The last 2 digits can represent either revision or region. 01 and 02 are always revisions, whilst 03 and upwards are generally regions, but can sometimes be a revision, it's a bit ambiguous.
So if I'm understanding correctly, 670-1234 and 671-1234 would never co-exist? The second string of digits is always unique?
Sorry I read that wrong - there's nothing to stop 670-1234 and 671-1234 co-existing, although finding both will be a challenge. I forget how far I traced these part number scheme pack - I think they were in use in the 1970s, maybe even the late 60s. And you can pick up Sega-published games today that still seemingly use this system: 687-00977 for the Ryu ga Gotoku 7 PS4 box?
