Why don't the classic discussions rank things numerically?

[Anthony1]

When ever I read the posts like "50 Best Nintendo 64 games" or "20 Best Turbografx-16 games", the games aren't ranked numerically.

Like from 1 to 20, in the order of the absolute best, to second best, to third best, etc. etc.

I know that it's all subjective, and everybody has their own personally rankings, but if people submitted their picks in numerical order, then you just average out the rankings to determine the overall rankings. I wouldn't think it would be that difficult.

The reason that I bring this up, is because I have recently gotten some systems and I always check the lists, but because they aren't actually ranked numerically, I don't really know which games on the list are basically universally loved. If it's a top 50 list, all I know is that these are considered the top 50 games on that system, but not in any particular order.

It would be cool to see the games ranked in an actual numerical order so that you know which games get universal acclaim. So if you just got that system, then you can focus on maybe getting the Top Ten games first, before buying a game that's ranked 40th.

Now I know that popular opinion doesn't always translate to what would be the best game to get for that particular person, but it's a good place to start.

I don't know, maybe it's just me. I'm analytical by nature, and I have a need to have things organized.

Would anybody else like to see the games actually ranked in an actual order? Or are you fine with just having 50 misc games and not really knowing which one is a Top Ten game and which is a 50th ranked game?

[CanX]

Like you said I think it would be to hard for all of us to agree. Even just a number one game for any given system would be hard system would be hard. Reason number two is that it would also take a great deal of time and many people are not up to this.

[WiseSalesman]

We've tried something like it. All it turned into was a big damn argument.

[Anthony1]

I don't see why there would be any arguing whatsoever. Sure, you could argue all you want about the end results, but the end results would be determined automatically. Not by any arguments.

For example, lets say that we were doing a top 10 Super Nintendo games list. What happens, is everybody that replies to the post, would give their personal top 10. Then the games that appear ranked higher repeatedly, would end up ultimately with the higher ranking.

It's really, really simple. You know how College Football has their Top 20 teams ranking? You know how College Basketball has their Top 20 teams ranking? They have it just this same way. What happens is the people that vote on that, all submit their top 20 list. And then based on the teams that keep appearing in the No.1 spot, they end up getting the overall number one ranking. It's a point system.

It's super easy. I could do all the calculations if anybody wants. But it's super easy, anybody could do it.


Sure there would definitely be arguments about what ultimately ends up ranked No.1 or No. 2 or whatever, but it would have nothing to do with bickering between people. It would simply have to do with mathematics. The games that consistenly get ranked higher, by a higher number of people will end up being higher on the overall list.

How simple is that?

[WiseSalesman]

Well, see, we tried doing that too, and not enough people ever wanted to submit their personal lists. So later, we did one where everyone nominated games (it was Top 100 games of all time, if you're interested in the subject matter), and then we pared it down from there. Problem was, whenever a games was eliminated, someone was always fighting to get it back on, while an equal number of people were fighting to get it off. I forget who originally came up with the idea of everyone doing their own top list, and then compiling the results in the manner in which you have stated, but I know he never got enough volunteers. I didn't have time, myself, as it was during the school year. Nowadays, if someone were to ask, I would be happy to compile a personal top list.

[Anonymous]

I liked the idea of having to move one game off the list in order to get another game on the list. Also, I like the fact that the games are not ranked in an order. For example, with the Super Nintendo, which has hundreds of games, I think you could pick ANY of the games on the top 50 list, and be happy with it. The only addition I would make is adding the genre, so you know if it is a genre you enjoy.

Perhaps we could come up with a definitive list of genres for a system, then to top 10s for each genre, then generate a top 50 list for the system based on the genre top 10s.

[digitalpress]

Wouldn't ranking them top-to-bottom automatically make the list invalid to a very large group of people? For example, I can almost guarantee that my #1 Super NES game is different than the majority, for example.

We've been down this road before, and I've always said: if you want a ranked list, start it yourself! There are no rules against creating your own lists here for you to administer. But if I'm going to administer it, it has to be simple and appeal to a vast group.