This is I think a gray scale area. I mean, I haven't actually played either so I can't really know, but I think that they did do a alot of improvements and changes in Subsistence and it might be enough to classify it as its own game. I've written about things like this to Jeff asking about what to do in these situations. I haven't heard back yet. For now my frame of reference is Super Street Fighter 2 and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Less differences between two games than those two games=merge, more differences than those two games=split. Meaning in this case MSG3:SE and MSG3:Sub should stay split. But since there's no officially word yet I don't know...
"It's the same game with more content. A really good rerelease, but a rerelease. "
It's not exactly the same game...they did overhaul the camera and that's a pretty big change. They also added an online component too which is pretty big. They are very, very similar but I think this is one of the few cases where they should stay seperate.
Shouldn't every version of Street Fighter 2 merge then aswell, from Street Fighter 2 til Hyper Street Fighter II? I'm thinking that Jeff would hate that idea.
The differences between SF 2 versions are big gameplay differences with tweaks to the balance and new characters. Subsistence adds a couple extras and a multiplayer component that isn't even active anymore. Gears of War for the PC contains an entire chapter of new content and is considered the same game.
There's a LOT of discussion about this kind of stuff on IRC and Jeff's commented on it a couple of times. Nonetheless, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence falls in the same category of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Gears of War on the PC- they may be extended Director's Cuts so to speak with more content, but it is the same game in the end.
You should try to disregard how things are currently as much as possible. Not everything has been worked out fully. There a lot of weird merges, my personal fave is merge of Castlevania for the N64 and Castlevania for the NES. That's so completely insane that... I don't know really. But anyway... Think about how you would want it rather than how things are right now. Just make sure you're consistent.
I'm still confused though as how SF2 and SF2T are more different games than for example MSG3:SE and MSG3:Sub. Cause the difference between SF2 and SF2T is tweaks and a few new outfits. Just the mere used of a word like tweaks, basically had it been PC it would have been called a patch. The difference between MSG3:SE and MSG3:Sub is (as I've come to understand it) an entire new game mechanic and a bunch of new modes. To continue the patch allegory, sure, it might also be a patch, but it sure would be a much more significant one. I'm not saying that MSG3:Sub should have its own entry cause I kinda do view it as little more than an update, I just fail to see how SF2T is more than a marginal update aswell.
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