edit · history · watch · refresh  To-do list for Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Video game images:
Add all video games articles without box art to the Category:Video game articles requesting identifying art. Add all video games articles without screenshots to the Category:Video game articles requesting screenshots. Find, upload, and add the images to their respective articles. Add FAIR USE RATIONALE to all fair use images!

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The Video game images department is a working group of members of the WikiProject Video games dedicated to ensuring that all video game-related articles have images, whether they are boxart, screenshots, or both.

[edit] Guidelines

Main article: VG Guidelines on screenshots and cover art

To indicate that an article falls within the scope of this department, please add "|cover=yes" and "|screenshot=yes" to the {{WikiProject Video games}} talk page template. For example, {{WikiProject Video games|cover=yes}}. Doing this will add the article to the categories mentioned above.

[edit] Obtaining images

The best way to obtain an image is to take a screenshot yourself. For older games, using a console emulator, DOSBox, or MAME (for arcade games) is the easiest way to make a screenshot. If you do obtain a screenshot from a third party, please ensure that it does not contain any watermarks.

[edit] Participation

This user participates in the Video Game Images department.

To indicate your participation in this department you can add the userbox {{User WPVGi}}, seen on the right, to your userpage.

[edit] Non-free use

Main page: Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline

When a non-free image is used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use, a justification for its usage, called a fair use rationale, must be presented in the Image description page. A separate rationale must be provided for each use of the image. If you are claiming fair use, you must include two things on the image description page:

1. An appropriate fair use license tag. See Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Non-free for a list.
2. A detailed fair use rationale.

This justification will help other users determine if the "fair use" could apply to a wide variety of uses or a narrow range of uses. It will also help determine if the given claim of fair use is appropriate for Wikipedia in the first place.

Images that do not include both a fair use copyright tag and a detailed fair use rationale will be deleted!

• {{vgrationale}}: This template can be used with {{subst:}} to provide general fair-use rationales for most screenshots and box art images. Visit the link to read the instructions on how to use this template. Note that the patrol bots will NOT accept template links - you must use the correct {{subst:}} syntax for the rationale to be accepted.

[edit] Examples

{{subst:vgrationale|Pong|title=PONG|system=Atari 2600|type=port|purpose=compare|hires=yes|subst=subst:}}

This yields:

Other examples

 === Non-free use in ''[[ARTICLE NAME]]'' === Though this image is subject to copyright, I feel its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because: # [[Developer]] has released no such images into the public domain, and a replacement image could not be created that would adequately provide the same information. # The image is being used for no purpose other than to identify the subject of the article. # The image resolution has been significantly decreased from the original, so copies made from it would be of inferior quality. # The use of this image neither detracts from the game nor inhibits its saleability in any way. ~~~~ 

 === Non-free use in ''[[ARTICLE NAME]]'' === Though this image is subject to copyright, I feel its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because: # [[Developer]] has released no such images into the public domain, and a replacement image could not be created that would adequately provide the same information. # It is a low resolution screenshot of a video game. # It does not limit the copyright owner's rights to sell the video game in any way. # The image is being used solely for informative purposes, as it serves to illustrate the form in which the game takes place. ~~~~ 

[edit] License templates

What to type	What it makes
{{Non-free game cover}}	This image is cover art for a video or computer game, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the game's publisher or developer. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of game cover art to illustrate the packaging of the game in question on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, constitutes fair use under United States copyright law. Other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, might be copyright infringement. See Wikipedia:Non-free content for more information. To the uploader: please add a detailed fair use rationale for each use, as well as the source of the work and copyright information. Additionally, please specify at least one platform in the first parameter. See usage below. Usage: This template accepts the platform(s) as parameters to better categorize the tagged image. {{Non-free game cover|Macintosh|Linux|Windows}} or {{Non-free game cover|Macintosh}} or just {{Non-free game cover}} if the platform is unknown. (For the platform names you can use, see the subcategories of Category:Video game covers.)
{{Non-free game screenshot}}	This is a screenshot of a non-free copyrighted video game or computer game, and the copyright for it is most likely held by the company or person that developed the game. It is believed that the use of a limited number of web-resolution screenshots for identification and critical commentary on the computer or video game in question or the copyrighted character(s) or item(s) depicted on the screenshot in question on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law, as such display does not significantly impede the right of the copyright holder to sell the copyrighted material, is not being used to generate profit in this context, and presents ideas that cannot be exhibited otherwise. See Wikipedia:Non-free content. To the uploader: please add a detailed fair use rationale for each use, as described on Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline, as well as the source of the work and copyright information. Note: This tag should not be used for screenshots of free software; use the license tag corresponding to the software's license instead, optionally alongside {{Free screenshot}}.
{{Attribution-Ubisoft}}	Ubisoft allows the users to publish screenshots of all their games under a free license. For more information, read the agreement. The permission for use of this work has been archived in the Wikimedia OTRS system; it is available as ticket 20051200210003144 for users with an OTRS account. To confirm the permission, please contact someone with an OTRS account. Ubisoft, the copyright holder of this file, allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that they are properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted.