Skip to main content

Release Dates per Region

LaunchBox Games Database

šŸ“‹ Summary

Add support for storing multiple regional release dates for each game in the LaunchBox Games Database. This would allow LaunchBox to display, sort, and filter by the correct release date depending on region, instead of relying on a single global date.

ā— Problem

Many games released at different times across regions (e.g. Japan, North America, Europe). The database currently supports only one release date, making it impossible to:

  • View region-accurate release timelines

  • Sort or filter games by release date based on your local region

  • Recreate historical release schedules as experienced by players in specific parts of the world

For users who want an authentic chronological experience ā€” especially parents recreating their childhood library for their kids ā€” this limitation becomes a major obstacle.

šŸ’” Proposal

Add full per-region release date fields to the LaunchBox Games Database. Examples:

  • Release Date (JP)

  • Release Date (NA)

  • Release Date (EU)

  • Release Date (AU)

  • Release Date (World / International)

LaunchBox could then:

  • Display the appropriate regional date based on user preference

  • Allow sorting/filtering by region-specific dates

  • Expose all dates in the Edit Game window

  • Sync this metadata back down to LaunchBox/Big Box clients

Optional enhancements:

  • A fallback hierarchy (e.g., if NA is missing, use EU or World).

  • A toggle in LaunchBox settings to choose a preferred region for release-date sorting.

šŸ›  Example Use Case

A parent wants to recreate the order in which games were released during their own childhood.

They want their childā€™s NES or SNES platform to show games chronologically by North American release dates, not by Japanese ones.

Currently, this isnā€™t possible ā€” all dates default to a single universal date, often the JP release.

With per-region dates, the platform view could immediately sort games in the authentic order the user remembers.

šŸ“¦ Benefits

  • Enables accurate regional sorting and filtering

  • Supports collectors and historians

  • Improves authenticity for nostalgia-based setups

  • Allows playlist habits like ā€œGames released this month (NA)ā€

  • Better alignment with how most modern databases track releases

Posted by phaonica Ā·
Status: Open To Community3 comments

Log in to comment and vote

Comments3

  • AstroBob changed status to Open To Community
    Teamā€¢

    Dec 11, 2025

    Pinned

    Hi there!

    Thanks so much for submitting this request and for taking the time to explain your use case ā€” that context is always super helpful.

    Iā€™ve gone ahead and fleshed out the main idea using the info you provided, and Iā€™m opening it up to the community for further discussion and feedback. Please let me know if this fleshed-out version doesnā€™t match your original intended request.

    Feel free to let me know if you have any extra thoughts, examples, or edge cases you think might be relevant!

    Cheers,
    The LaunchBox team

  • 3333333333333333

    ā€¢

    May 6

    One thing that trips me upā€”and I know I'm not the only oneā€”is figuring out which release date is actually the right one to use. On MobyGames, there are often multiple dates listed, so I just grab the first one I see. Having a clear standard here would help narrow the scope, improve the quality of the database, and make submitting less confusing, which would definitely encourage more contributions.

  • phaonica

    ā€¢

    Dec 11, 2025

    One of my favorite features in Launchbox is having the ability to sort or filter by release date. However, it would be really helpful if different release dates could be specified for different regions. Iā€™ve been trying to recreate for my young son my experience of only having access to a limited number of games as they released, but I can currently only do that using (mostly) JP release dates and not the NA ones I experienced.