Aftermarket Guide

Public vs. Private Entries

New platform

= Private DAT

Legacy platform

Licensed game

= Public Entry

Unlicensed game

<10 years old

Free build at time of datting

= Public Entry

Paid build at time of datting

= Private Entry

>10 years old

= Public Entry

(Unl) vs. (Aftermarket) vs. (Pirate)

• (Unl) = Any game that wasn't approved for sale by the original console manufacturer. Short for unlicensed.
• (Aftermarket) = Any unlicensed game that was distributed after the last-known original licensed game released for that platform.
• (Pirate) = Any unlicensed game that contains stolen assets.
• The (Pirate) and (Aftermarket) tags are both subsets of the (Unl) tag and are applied in tandem.
• If the (Pirate) tag is present, the (Unl) tag is omitted for brevity because an unlicensed status is implicit.
• If the (Aftermarket) tag is present without the (Pirate) tag, the (Unl) tag is added to emphasize that the (Aftermarket) tag only applies to unlicensed content.
• All unlicensed content in DAT-o-MATIC (DOM) span these four tag combinations:

Unlicensed Game

that released within the platform's lifespan

with unique assets

= (Unl)

with stolen assets

= (Pirate)

that released after the platform's lifespan

with unique assets

= (Aftermarket) (Unl)

with stolen assets

= (Aftermarket) (Pirate)

Aftermarket Start Year

• For consoles, the Aftermarket Start Year reflects the year that the last-known, original licensed game released for each console, excluding licensed reprints, re-releases, and non-games. This definition applies to the normal licensed software ecosystem for the console, and is inclusive of licensed regional variants (e.g. Brazilian Tec-Toy games for Genesis).
• Open computing platforms without a defined lot check system for licensing have an Aftermarket Start Year that matches the year of worldwide hardware ecosystem discontinuation. This is the year that hardware manufacturers for the computer family formally abandoned the platform.
• Each platform has a unique lifespan, and therefore the Aftermarket Start Years vary per platform and are aggregated in the below list.
• If a platform doesn't appear in the below list, then the Aftermarket tag is not yet applicable at this time. Entries are only included below for No-Intro sets that currently contain the (Aftermarket) tag. New systems will be added as necessary.

List of Aftermarket Start Years

Platform	Year
Atari - 2600	1992
Atari - 5200	1987
Atari - 7800	1991
Atari - 8-bit Family	1992*
Atari - Jaguar	1998
Commodore - Commodore 64	1994*
Microsoft - MSX	1993*
Microsoft - MSX2	1993*
NEC - PC Engine - TurboGrafx 16	1994
Nintendo - Family Computer Disk System	1992
Nintendo - Game Boy	2001
Nintendo - Game Boy Advance	2008
Nintendo - Game Boy Color	2003
Nintendo - Nintendo 64	2002
Nintendo - Nintendo DS	2016
Nintendo - Nintendo Entertainment System	1995
Nintendo - Satellaview	2000
Nintendo - Super Nintendo Entertainment System	2000
Nintendo - Virtual Boy	1996
Sega - Game Gear	1997
Sega - Master System - Mark III	1998
Sega - Mega Drive - Genesis	2002
Sega - SG-1000	1987

*Year Discontinued

Datting Algorithm

A licensed status means the original console manufacturer approved that build for sale in some capacity.

If:

Original console manufacturer approved build for sale

Licensed -> yes

Original console manufacturer did not approve build for sale and build has unique assets

Licensed -> no

Original console manufacturer did not approve build for sale and build has stolen assets

Licensed -> no: pirate

If an unlicensed status is determined, then if the year an unlicensed game originally released was the Aftermarket Start Year or sooner, add the (Aftermarket) tag when datting. Otherwise, omit it.

We intend for the Aftermarket Start Year to be a general barometer of lifespan in order to delineate newer unlicensed games from older ones. Therefore, only the year of original release for the content is relevant to compare with the Aftermarket Start Year.

If:

Licensed -> yes

Aftermarket -> no

If:

Licensed -> no

or

Licensed -> no: pirate

Then:

If year content originally released was before the Aftermarket Start Year:

Aftermarket -> no

If year content originally released was the Aftermarket Start Year or sooner:

Aftermarket -> yes

Datting Examples

For those who are unaware, a matching build goes on a licensed game's original entry as a redump. These datting examples only apply to non-matching builds that require new entries. This is the logic a datter should follow when creating a new entry in DOM:

Unlicensed Example (Website):

1. GBA game Anguna: Warriors of Fate released via the developer's website, so it's unlicensed
2. The Aftermarket Start Year for GBA is 2008
3. Anguna originally released in 2008
4. Therefore, Anguna's GBA ROM receives the (Aftermarket) (Unl) tags because it was unlicensed and the year it originally released was the Aftermarket Start Year or sooner
5. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> yes

Unlicensed Example (Other Platform Re-release):

1. SNES game River City Girls Zero re-released on Steam with no apparent new content
2. Third-party Steam ports aren't approved for sale by the original console manufacturer (Nintendo), so it's unlicensed
3. The Aftermarket Start Year for SNES is 2000
4. River City Girls Zero originally released in 1994
5. Therefore, River City Girls Zero's SNES ROM receives the (Unl) tag
6. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> no

Unlicensed Example (Reproduction Cartridge Re-release with New Content):

1. SNES game Super Turrican re-released as a reproduction cartridge by Strictly Limited Games with new Director's Cut content not present in the original
2. Third-party reproduction cartridges aren't approved for sale by the original console manufacturer (Nintendo), so it's unlicensed
3. The Aftermarket Start Year for SNES is 2000
4. The new Director's Cut content originally released in 2022
5. Therefore, Super Turrican's SNES ROM receives the (Aftermarket) (Unl) tags
6. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> yes

Licensed Example (First-Party, Same Ecosystem):

1. SNES game Star Fox 2 released for SNES Classic
2. Star Fox 2 is approved for sale by the original console manufacturer (Nintendo)
3. Because Star Fox 2 is licensed, even though it released after the SNES's lifespan, it does NOT receive the (Aftermarket) (Unl) tags
4. Instead, Star Fox 2's new SNES ROM receives the (SNES Classic) tag indicating its new console
5. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no

Licensed Example (First-Party, Different Ecosystem):

1. GEN game Shining Force II released for Switch Online
2. Even though Shining Force II is on a non-Sega console, it is still approved for sale by the original console manufacturer (Sega)
3. Therefore, Shining Force II is licensed, and its GEN ROM receives the (Switch Online) tag
4. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no

Licensed Example (Original Manufacturer Re-release with New Content):

1. GB game Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure re-released for Switch with new GBC-exclusive content not present in the original
2. A Switch build of a GB game is implicitly approved for sale by the original console manufacturer (Nintendo)
3. Therefore, Ninja JajaMaru is licensed, and its new GBC ROM receives the (Switch) tag
4. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no

Datting FAQ

Question	Answer
Why is this necessary?	Since its introduction last year, the (Aftermarket) tag was never properly defined by No-Intro. This guide promotes a uniform, standardized application for Aftermarket content to hopefully minimize datting errors moving forward. A big thanks to the community for their advice and guidance which led to this guide's development.
What happened to the (Homebrew) tag? Why did it randomly disappear?	The former (Homebrew) tag has been deprecated within DOM and removed from all entries because in practice it was too vague to be consistently applied, and therefore lacked utility for end-users. The (Aftermarket), (Unl), and (Pirate) tags cover all use cases for the former (Homebrew) tag in a more consistent fashion.
Are there any licensed Aftermarket games?	No, this tag only applies to unlicensed content. Make sure not to inadvertently apply the (Aftermarket) tag to any licensed re-releases.
Can the (Aftermarket) tag exist as a standalone tag?	No, with this change there should be no further uncoupled (Aftermarket) tags in DOM. All Aftermarket entries on DOM must be either (Aftermarket) (Unl) or (Aftermarket) (Pirate) moving forward. If you see an (Aftermarket) tag by itself, please correct it as that indicates a Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> yes error on DOM.
If the Homebrew I'm datting released a few months before the last-known licensed release, is it still Aftermarket?	Yes. Do not get hung up on needless precision like this and only compare years when datting Aftermarket, as per the guide. Months and days are irrelevant here.
What if I can't determine the original release year for the game I'm datting?	If the original release year of the game you're adding is unclear, use your best judgment with the available information at the time of datting to determine a probable release window (e.g. post-2010). Then, compare your release window with the relevant Aftermarket Start Year (e.g. 2002) to make a decision. In this case, you would still add the (Aftermarket) tag even though you're not 100% sure.