Aftermarket Guide

tl;dr for the lazy

When adding a game to DAT-o-MATIC, ask yourself the following question: did the console manufacturer (Nintendo/Sega/etc.) approve the game you're adding at some point, even if it never ended up releasing during the original console's lifespan, or even if the game you're adding is a re-release with new content?

If they approved it at some point:

Don't worry about deciding Unlicensed or Aftermarket and just add the appropriate distinguishing tag instead, like (Limited Run Games) or (SNES Classic) or (Steam)

If they never approved it:

If it has stolen assets and it's old: (Pirate)

If it has stolen assets and it's new: (Aftermarket) (Pirate)

If it has unique assets and it's old: (Unl)

If it has unique assets and it's new: (Aftermarket) (Unl)

For systems with no approval process, just go by the year the platform was discontinued instead.

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

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

• Licensed = The original console manufacturer approved that game for sale at some point. Official re-releases inherit the licensed status of their original release, and have an additional tag to distinguish them.
• (Unl) = Short for Unlicensed. Any game that wasn't approved for sale by the original console manufacturer at some point. If there was no approval process, then go by the Aftermarket Start Year (see below).
• (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. 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 game for sale at some point. Official re-releases inherit the licensed status of their original release.

If:

Original console manufacturer approved game at some point

Licensed -> yes

Original console manufacturer did not approve game at some point, and the game has unique assets

Licensed -> no

Original console manufacturer did not approve game at some point, and the game 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

Unlicensed 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:

Old pirate games:

1. NES game 290-in-1 released in 1993
2. Nintendo never approved of 290-in-1, so it's unlicensed
3. The game has stolen assets, so it's a pirate game
4. 290-in-1 released within the NES's lifespan (before the Aftermarket Start Year of 1995)
5. Dat as Licensed -> no: pirate and Aftermarket -> no
6. The (Pirate) tag should be auto-added to the entry

Old unlicensed programs:

1. DS application Action Replay DS released in 2006
2. Nintendo never approved of Action Replay DS, so it's unlicensed
3. The application has unique assets
4. Action Replay DS released within the DS's lifespan (before the Aftermarket Start Year of 2016)
5. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> no
6. The (Unl) tag should be auto-added to the entry

Homebrew released the same year the console was discontinued:

1. GBA homebrew Anguna: Warriors of Fate released in 2008 via the developer's website
2. Nintendo never approved of Anguna, so it's unlicensed
3. The game has unique assets
4. Anguna released outside of the GBA's lifespan (in the same Aftermarket Start Year of 2008)
5. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> yes
6. The (Aftermarket) (Unl) tags should be auto-added to the entry

Unported itch.io homebrew:

1. GBC homebrew Swordbird Song: The Iron Owl Tower released on itch.io in 2021
2. Nintendo never approved of Swordbird Song, so it's unlicensed
3. The game has unique assets
4. Swordbird Song released outside of the GBC's lifespan (after the Aftermarket Start Year of 2003)
5. Dat as Licensed -> no and Aftermarket -> yes
6. The (Aftermarket) (Unl) tags should be auto-added to the entry

Licensed Examples

Officially ported itch.io homebrew:

1. GBA game Goodboy Galaxy released on itch.io in 2023
2. They are planning a Switch port to release in 2024
3. Nintendo approved of the Switch port, so the itch.io build is retroactively licensed
4. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
5. Add the (itch.io) tag

Other platform re-release:

1. SNES game River City Girls Zero re-released on Steam
2. Nintendo approved the original River City Girls Zero on SNES back in 1994
3. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
4. Add the (Steam) tag

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. Nintendo approved the original Super Turrican on SNES back in 1993
3. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
4. Add the (Strictly Limited Games) tag

First-party, same ecosystem:

1. SNES game Star Fox 2 released for SNES Classic
2. Even though it never released during the SNES's lifespan, Nintendo approved Star Fox 2 back in 1996
3. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
4. Add the (SNES Classic) tag

First-party, different ecosystem:

1. GEN game Shining Force II released for Switch Online
2. Sega approved the original Shining Force II on Genesis back in 1993
3. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
4. Add the (Switch Online) tag

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. Nintendo approved the original Ninja JaJaMaru game on GB back in 1990
3. Dat as Licensed -> yes and Aftermarket -> no
4. Add the (Switch) tag

February 16, 2024 Update Note

No-Intro tags are intended to be minimalistic by design, so they should be applied sparingly. When in doubt, we should omit tags rather than frivolously include them and debate endlessly about their licensing status. Therefore, the (Aftermarket) tag should be applied to recent homebrew which is clear cut, not for games that Nintendo, Sega, etc. previously approved which is often nebulous.

This recently-updated method makes the process much cleaner for datters. Now we are judging games based on whether the game itself was ever licensed, rather than trying to figure out the licensing status of particular builds, which was a fool's errand.