10 most important video games of all time

[popopot]

Story below. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/arts/design/12vide.html?ex=1331352000&en=380fc9bb18694da5&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink


When Henry Lowood, curator of the History of Science and Technology Collections at Stanford University, started preserving video games and video-game artifacts in 1998 he thought it was closer to professional oblivion than a bold new move into the future.

In just a few years, however, Mr. Lowood’s notion that video games were something with a history worth preserving and a culture worth studying has gone from absurd to worthy of consideration by the Library of Congress.

On Thursday at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Mr. Lowood announced a game canon, an idea that grew out of a proposal submitted to the Library of Congress in September 2006 by a consortium made up of Stanford, the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois.

“Creating this list is an assertion that digital games have a cultural significance and a historical significance,” Mr. Lowood said in an interview. And if that is acknowledged, he said, “maybe we should do something about preserving them.”

Mr. Lowood and the four members of his committee — the game designers Warren Spector and Steve Meretzky; Matteo Bittanti, an academic researcher; and Christopher Grant, a game journalist — announced their list of the 10 most important video games of all time: Spacewar! (1962), Star Raiders (1979), Zork (1980), Tetris (1985), SimCity (1989), Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), Civilization I/II (1991), Doom (1993), Warcraft series (beginning 1994) and Sensible World of Soccer (1994).

Mr. Lowood’s canon was closely modeled on the work of the National Film Preservation Board, which every year compiles a list of films to be added to the National Film Registry, managed by the Library of Congress since 1989 (a consequence of the National Film Preservation Act, passed in 1988). The first list of films included “Casablanca,” “Citizen Kane,” “The Searchers” and “Nanook of the North.”

Almost all of the games on the Lowood list represent the beginning of a genre still vital in the video game industry. Spacewar!, for example, created by a group of early computer programmers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the first multiplayer, competitive game, and the first action game too. The first three Warcraft games represent the introduction of real-time strategy overlaid on a narrative; and Zork introduced the world to the adventure game.

SimCity helped establish the genre known as god games, in which players take on an omnipotent role, controlling the game world rather than simply participating in it. It also broke convention by refusing to establish criteria for winning, leaving the decision of what constituted success up to the player.

SimCity was selected by Mr. Bittanti, a researcher at the Humanities Lab at Stanford who works with Mr. Lowood. The game is “one of the most important art works of the 20th century,” Mr. Bittanti said, adding: “It completely reinvented the whole notion of games. And then it transcended the game world to become a cultural phenomenon.”

SimCity and its four follow-ups have sold 17 million copies, and the franchise it spawned, the Sims, has sold 85 million copies.

Mr. Grant, the editor of the popular Web site joystiq.com, who selected Super Mario Bros. 3, said the game was important for its nonlinear play, a mainstay of contemporary games, and new features like the ability to move both backward and forward.

Mr. Lowood said that preserving video games presented certain challenges. For example the hardware that games are played on changes so frequently that there are already thousands that can only be played through computer programs called emulators, which, while readily available on the Internet, technically violate copyright laws.

“We have to be really careful here because the technology is just going to make this harder for us,” Mr. Spector said. “The game canon is a way of saying, this is the stuff we have to protect first.”

[Bucktoof]

I think wolfenstein 3d should've been there, that was before Doom! :) I don't agree with sensible world of soccer...I've never even heard of it, and from around 93 to 96 when I finally got fifa 96, I was looking for a soccer game and couldn't find a good one.

I love final fantasy, I don't know if it belonged in the top 10, but definitely top 20 --> probably the most successful RPG franchise.

[mountain_rage]

Sensible soccer was the first sports game to integrate team management and diversity into its game, which is why it is on that list.

In fact I keep hearing allot of people mention that they haven't heard of it so it shouldn't of made the list. But this isn't a popularity list, rather then just flat out denying it the light of day, why not look it up? As it turns out it was a huge success at its time with rave reviews. The fact that its still around since 1990 is also impressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensible_Soccer

[Indranil]

I agree with you

[thepuzzler]

Someone neg rep this guy so he can't post in the trading forum. I've run out of rep for 24 hours.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Sorry puzz...don't see the justification. S/he earned their posts over the past several months. Got any good reason other than the well thought-out response they gave?

[popopot]

Sensible soccer was the first sports game to integrate team management and diversity into its game, which is why it is on that list.

In fact I keep hearing allot of people mention that they haven't heard of it so it shouldn't of made the list. But this isn't a popularity list, rather then just flat out denying it the light of day, why not look it up? As it turns out it was a huge success at its time with rave reviews. The fact that its still around since 1990 is also impressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensible_Soccer


Man I used to love Sensible Soccer. But I have found out why, out of all of the great teams in it, Benfica had 4 starred players? What was all that about?

[frankie97]

Contra is by far the most important..ok.. COOLEST game..
if you don't know the cheat code...then God must hate you

up, up, down, down... (finish it baby!!!!)

[sunnykill]

god of war rules

[mountain_rage]

I love how in every discussion board on the internet that has covered this story some lone teenager who was not around in the early days of video games feels the need to tout their favorite game. I am mainly talking about the Playstation generation, or the newly formed Xbox generation. They are not categorizing what people feel is the best game in history, nor what was the most popular, these are games that revolutionized the industry. God of War in no way revolutionized any genre of games.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

I agree. It's a nice improvement, but nothing cataclysmic.

[Excrement_Cranium]

If you were going to try to bring in contemporary games that did something "new," the ones worth mentioning would be:

Ape Escape - some of the first full utilization of dual analogs (PS2)

Metal Gear Solid - set the standard for non-arbitrary use of the rumble feature, as well as some other tricky innovations (PS1)

Gran Turismo - once again, set a standard for licensed vehicles as well as the beginning of customization in racing games (PS1)

I could ramble off a few more, but it isn't needed.

None of the games I listed changed ALL of gaming, but each had their impact in one way or another, sometimes genre specific.

[Mels_Smileys45]

Super Mario Bros. 3

That was a good game but without the first one there would have never been a three. I remember when that came out on consle (first one) and it blew my mind. There had been like a three year gap where there were no consloes or games on the market then Nintendo released nes with a handful of games along with Super Mario Brothers. Until then there was nothing like this. Pit Fall 3 tried something similar but it just didnt have what SMB had. The variety of levels and gameplay make it one of the most important games ever.

[Feather]

puzzler you really shouldnt miss use your rep points like that.

now to the question at hand no 1 vid game should be the quake series minus quake4

[Darkkiller0]

Wow, that brought back memories :) I remember when I once stayed up all night playing Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3. It was a fantastic game, and totally addicting. There was also a cool game called Dragon Warrior that later spawned a few sequals. I think for the best Story-Unfolds-As-You-Play would go to Half-Life. I know this came out of the blue and all, but it really was a good game.

[mountain_rage]

I was actually surprised not to find Dragon Warrior (Dragon quest) on the list. Although it wasn't the first RPG, it was the first RPG to successfully combine all the elements of past role playing together in a polished manner. The framework Enix created is basically the same used in all current turn based RPG's.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

My experience with SMB3 was driving from Colorado Springs to Alberqueque just to get my hands on a copy when it came out. When I got home, I played it all night until it was beat. Great game.

I'm also one of the few that enjoyed SMB2. I think that both of them are better than SMB in the long run.

[Hath]

Well, I completely disagree with that list. I don't even know where to start.

[sammysam]

This writer missed any of the old sierra games (kings quest,space quest, police quest etc)

Plus I think GTA 3 should be on there since theres that was the first real kinda world you do almost anything

[mountain_rage]

Wrong you are sammysam, you could do everything that is in gta 3 in gta 1 only it was top view 2d. Not only that but years before that the Ultima series allowed you to pick up just about any object on screen and equip it as a weapon, this ability also allowed you to steal from people. Finally a piece of the puzzle that makes it the most like gta it also allowed you to kill anyone you wanted and once you were caught doing it or killed too many people it had the guards coming after you. Its almost like a midevil version of gta if you want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_VII

As for the old sierra games I don't think they invented the genre just polished it with a compelling story and graphics. It would also be hard to distinguish which game gets the vote because their was also allot of Lucas arts games at the time with just as much polish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_games

[Excrement_Cranium]

Wrong you are sammysam, you could do everything that is in gta 3 in gta 1 only it was top view 2d. Not only that but years before that the Ultima series allowed you to pick up just about any object on screen and equip it as a weapon, this ability also allowed you to steal from people. Finally a piece of the puzzle that makes it the most like gta it also allowed you to kill anyone you wanted and once you were caught doing it or killed too many people it had the guards coming after you. Its almost like a midevil version of gta if you want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_VII

As for the old sierra games I don't think they invented the genre just polished it with a compelling story and graphics. It would also be hard to distinguish which game gets the vote because their was also allot of Lucas arts games at the time with just as much polish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_games


Aye, but as you note with Dragon Warrior, sometimes perfecting a genre with polish is enough to make a game revolutionary.

Kind of why doom wins out over Wolfenstein 3D. Doom was just more polished.

I prefer Dragon Warrior to any of its 8-bit sequels, but I think the interface was better in the sequels.

[grumpymonkey]

two word's for you "DUCK HUNT"

[sammysam]

Yeah but in gta1 was a much easier game to make since it was only 2d. I was more thinking about bringing a city to life. But your right about ultima.. I remember being a able to do almost anything and thinking how great it was I don't think I even played much quest just went around killing people when ever my computer wasn't crashing but i never thought of it as a gta but i'm sure that where they may of got some of there ideas from.

I think sierra should of gotten one because I think they where out before lucas arts. It really helped with my typing skill also. Lucas Arts just made it easier by putting all the commands down at the bottom. Even though I was around 10 when I played my first sierra game I don't think even now i could beat it with one of those hint books lol. Heroes quest was my fav since you could break into peoples house and steal there stuff.

[gastur]

umm.. starcraft anyone? i think that game is one of the most influential games of all time. it started the whole field of professional gaming!

[mountain_rage]

The reason Starcraft isn't their is that it simply did not bring anything new to the table that wasn't already there. Its a very good and popular game but didn't change the medium of video games much.

[Excrement_Cranium]

The reason Starcraft isn't their is that it simply did not bring anything new to the table that wasn't already there. Its a very good and popular game but didn't change the medium of video games much.


Revolutionize?

Neh.


It did popularize online RTS games, though.


*edit*

Have to add, popularized enough that Blizzard went back and tuned Warcraft II w/ an online component.

While WoW might be their money generator now, Starcraft is part of the Genealogy that brought WoW about.

[UncleZeb]

Donkey Kong Country & Super Mario Bros still get me going !

[varna~1]

command & conquer generals and tiberium wars are the best games

[Oimer]

Zelda - Ocarina of Time.

Most sold game for the N64.

[Signa]

i just realized that i havnt played most of those games, or im not intimately familier with all of them. im kinda surprised that pong isnt on there as that was like the first game you could play at home. i would definately replace tetris for that one as i never really thought tetris was that revolutionary.

[BlueBirdRedSky]

Definitely Wolf 3D over Doom, as Doom is just an improvement on Wolf 3D's raycasting engine. It's still just simple 2D raycasting, although it looks good.

[mountain_rage]

Definitely Wolf 3D over Doom, as Doom is just an improvement on Wolf 3D's raycasting engine. It's still just simple 2D raycasting, although it looks good.

Doom given the award based on its mechanics as well as the numerous other options that became standard in fps after its release. It was one of the first online games, I think it started the bfg and it really just revolutionized the fps.

[shawners]

I would say these.
Karate Champ (Arcade and commodore)
Kung Fu Master Commodore
Pac Man Commodore
Asteroid
Legend of Zelda
Metal Gear (ORIGINAL NES) First game that you can carry a pack of smokes on and smoke.
leisure suit larry
Dungeon (Way back on the commodore)
Dungeons and dragons on atari or before. It was where you took a bow and arrow and travel in the mountain. Every time you move in to a direction the room would lit and could reveal dangerous snakes or dragons.. You had to collect arrows to make your way to other mountains to finish the game.
Olympic games and Summer games was pretty good.

[rickross]

supermario
starwars
legend of zelda
nbalive 2006
pacman
007

[Gamer8585]

I'd have to add Wing Commander and Street Fighter II to the list.

WC- revolutionized space combat sims and set a high standard.

SFII- is practically the archetype of Tournament Fighting Games.

Metal Gear (ORIGINAL NES) First game that you can carry a pack of smokes on and smoke.

Close, the MSX version was the original (and canonical) version. It would make a good addition because it defined the modern Stealth-Espionage genre.

[sheva85]

Dune! started the whole RTS genre!

[Excrement_Cranium]

Dune! started the whole RTS genre!



Nein!


Dune II set off the modern RTS.

[xguju]

no zelda? why not, it revolutionized top screen play with a huge adventure.

[jazzedup]

I loved Mario, Tetris and SimCity. These are classic, never able to forget, type games... Haven't played any other!

[Shishak]

OREGON TRAIL??!?!?!?!? that game revolutionized the gaming world...i think, probably not. But I remember it being amazing!

In all seriousness, DOOM is still the most important game to the online gaming world, followed closely by the original wolfenstein.

[carinio]

sensible world soccer? this game was a crap!!

[Signa]

so was Tetris IMO, but look how it gave way to games like Puzzle Quest and Meteos. anything that sparked something new and revolutionary was considered for the list. it didnt have to be a mindblowingly awesome game

[HelenaP]

Legend of Zelda.
LMAO!

Shows how ling it's been since I played anything...

[DotEater]

Most of the best games are mentioned. I would recommend HG101 (http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/) to anyone wanting to see all the best games you've NEVER played.

[dimeslime]

double dragon was largely responsible for making arcade games popular,have to agree that sensible soccer was the best game,i mastered that game lol,all the spots where u get a goal no matter what i covered

[farklefred]

I hate to say this but Pokemon. It was the first game I can think of that let you take your attributes (i.e. levels Pokemon) gained in a single-player experience and use them while playing multiplayer. Granted you had to use the connect cable to link the gameboys, but it kind of all at once re-invented system link. Like caveman xbox live.

[cheekcha]

I disagreeeeeeeeeeee,

Wolfstein not Doom created the FPS genre.

Kick Off 2 not Sensible Soccer (Dino Dini fans regoice)

Dune 1 was an adventure game, Dune 2 created by westwood adquired lately by EA, Westwood was the original IP creator of the RTS games. after that Command and Conquer by Westwood and Starcraft by Blizzard take off.