# Video game compilation

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A **video game compilation** is a type of [product bundling](/source/Product_bundling) in which different [video games](/source/Video_game) are available for purchase as a special collection.[1] They are often stored on the same physical media or digital package, making use of [menu interfaces](/source/Menu_(computing)) that allow players to select the game they want to play.[2] They are a form of [video game preservation](/source/Video_game_preservation).

## History

The [Nintendo Entertainment System](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System) received official [multicart](/source/Multicart) compilations that re-released earlier games, such as *[Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt / World Class Track Meet](/source/Super_Mario_Bros.#Release)*.[3] In the early 1990s, [Codemasters](/source/Codemasters), an unlicensed publisher, used multicarts to release new games in their [*Quattro* compilations](/source/Quattro_compilations).[4] *[Action 52](/source/Action_52)*, released by Active Enterprises, is infamous for its low quality.[5] [Pirate](/source/Video_game_piracy) Nintendo compilations often included [ROM hacks](/source/ROM_hacks) that replaced character [sprites](/source/Video_game_sprite).[6]

Following a new interest in [retro gaming](/source/Retro_gaming) in the 1990s, companies began re-releasing their back catalog in video game compilations commercially, such as *[Microsoft Arcade](/source/Microsoft_Arcade)* (1993) for Windows, and the 1995 releases of the first games in the *[Atari 2600 Action Pack](/source/Atari_2600_Action_Pack)* series for home computers and the *[Namco Museum](/source/Namco_Museum)* series for the [PlayStation](/source/PlayStation).[7][8] Video game consoles saw compilations of older arcade games, such as *[Arcade's Greatest Hits](/source/Arcade's_Greatest_Hits)* and *[Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits](/source/Williams_Arcade's_Greatest_Hits)*, while [Windows](/source/Windows) computers received compilations of console games, such as the *[Sonic & Knuckles Collection](/source/Sonic_%26_Knuckles_Collection)*.[9] *[Three Wonders](/source/Three_Wonders)* is unusual for a 1991 arcade machine for being a compilation of three games.[10]

Renewed interest in [retrogaming](/source/Retrogaming) has motivated the release of multiple compilations in the 2010s and 2020s,[11][12] such as *[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection](/source/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles:_The_Cowabunga_Collection)*[13] and the *[Irem Collection](/source/Irem_Collection)* series.[14][15][16]

## References

1. Stuart, Keith (12 July 2022). ["Classics and cash-ins: the unsung brilliance of video game compilations"](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/jul/12/classics-and-cash-ins-the-unsung-brilliance-of-video-game-compilations). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. Stewart, Marcus (11 November 2022). ["Preservation Through Play – How Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series Brings Video Game History To Life"](https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/07/05/preservation-through-play-how-digital-eclipses-gold-master-series-brings-video-game). *Game Informer*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240705203832/https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/07/05/preservation-through-play-how-digital-eclipses-gold-master-series-brings-video-game) July 5, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["Video game:Nintendo Compilation: Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, World Class Track Meet - Nintendo"](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/video-game-nintendo-compilation-super-mario-bros-duck-hunt-world-class-track-meet-nintendo/_gG6sQk0NB_UWQ). *Google Arts & Culture*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. Wynne, Rhys (1 June 2022). ["The Codemasters 4 Quattro Compilation with SIX Games On It"](https://www.retrogarden.co.uk/features/the-codemasters-4-quattro-compilation-with-six-games-on-it/). *Retro Garden*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. Smith, Ernie (13 December 2016). ["The Video Game That Promised to Contain 52 Video Games And Failed Miserably"](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-video-game-that-promised-to-contain-52-video-games-and-failed-miserably). *Atlas Obscura*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["Dream and Friends» Blog Archive » Happy Weird-Ass Pirate Multicart Day 2011"](https://dreamandfriends.com/2011/06/18/happy-weird-ass-pirate-multicart-day-2011/). Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. "Revival of the Fittest". *Next Generation*. Vol. 1, no. 2. GP Publications. February 1995. p. 48. [ISSN 1078-9693](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1078-9693)

1. Barbagallo, Ralph (June 1997). "Retro-Inter-Active". *Digital Diner*. Vol. 2, no. 2. United States: Metropolis Publications. p. 71.

1. ["1997-03-18: Sega Entertainment brings three enhanced Sonic classics to the PC for the price of one"](https://segaretro.org/Press%20release:%201997-03-18:%20Sega%20Entertainment%20brings%20three%20enhanced%20Sonic%20classics%20to%20the%20PC%20for%20the%20price%20of%20one). *Sega Retro*. 1997. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210612080714/https://segaretro.org/Press%20release:%201997-03-18:%20Sega%20Entertainment%20brings%20three%20enhanced%20Sonic%20classics%20to%20the%20PC%20for%20the%20price%20of%20one) June 12, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 November 2019.

1. ["Three Wonders"](http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/three-wonders/). *Hardcore Gaming 101*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["Best Nintendo Switch Collections And Compilation Games"](https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/best-nintendo-switch-collections-and-compilation-games). *Nintendo Life*. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["Atari digs up 39 more retro classics for 50th anniversary game compilation"](https://www.techspot.com/news/103568-atari-digs-up-39-more-retro-classics-50th.html). *TechSpot*. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. Salkowitz, Rob. ["Cowabunga! New Collection Celebrates 40 Years Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2024/04/12/cowabunga-new-collection-celebrates-40-years-of-the-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles/). *Forbes*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["irem Collection Volume 1 launches November 21"](https://www.gematsu.com/2023/11/irem-collection-volume-1-launches-november-21). *Gematsu*. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. Extension, Time (25 April 2023). ["Irem Collection Vol.1 Brings Image Fight II To The West For The First Time In Physical Form"](https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/04/irem-collection-vol-1-brings-image-fight-ii-to-the-west-for-the-first-time-in-physical-form). *Time Extension*. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

1. ["Review: Irem Collection Volume 1 (Switch) - Three Great Games, But One Slim Package"](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/irem-collection-volume-1). *Nintendo Life*. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Video game compilation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_compilation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_compilation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.