What system spawned the most games that lead to franchises that are still alive today?

[gbpxl]

My first thought was the NES, but also, the PS1 has to be up there. And if you count the arcade and/or PC, those have gotta be up there. But if were talking strictly console gaming, the NES has...

Zelda
Metroid
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior
Castlevania
Mega Man
Duck Tales
Bomberman

Tempted to count Metal Gear but credit goes to the MSX for that one even if it didnt come out in North America.

Megami Tensei was first released on Famicom so I dont know whether to count that as an NES release. Same with RBI Baseball and Fire Emblem.

PlayStation:
Resident Evil
Twisted Metal
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro
Gran Turismo
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tomb Raider

Feel free to add to these lists. Im sure the arcade class as a whole would outnumber both PS1 and NES but Im not as familiar with those games, and same for PC.

[fluid_matrix]

Grand Theft Auto should really be added to the Playstation list.

[Aussie2B]

I don't see why you wouldn't count NES and Famicom as the same system, especially if you're grouping all arcade games and all PC games together, even though there's all sorts of different hardware behind those. On that note, Bomberman started on Japanese computers.

Anyway, as far as classics go, I think NES takes the cake, but when considering any long-running series, it gets a lot trickier. Pretty much any home console with mainstream success has seen the origins of lots of still-active series.

[gbpxl]

Grand Theft Auto should really be added to the Playstation list.
PC I believe

[kupomogli]

In your list, Mario is Missing(pun intended.)

[fluid_matrix]

PC I believe


Was it originally on PC? I just remember playing it on my PS1 BITD. Still have it somewhere too.

[Aussie2B]

In your list, Mario is Missing(pun intended.)

Mario Bros. started in the arcades.

[Gameguy]

Mario Bros. started in the arcades.
Plus the home versions were first released on the Atari 2600. Not sure if we should be counting Donkey Kong as the first Mario game either, that had lots of home ports before the NES.

Silent Hill should be added to the PS1 list.

Did anything else popular start on the Gameboy besides Kirby? There's a vast library so I assume there should be more.

[Aussie2B]

Well, there's Pokemon of course. The SaGa series also started on Game Boy. So did Mana, unless you want to rule that out as a Final Fantasy spin-off. Shantae started on Game Boy Color.

[jb143]

Duck Tales

Im curious what the thought process is with including Duck Tales?

[Mangar]

Some thoughts: I think listing some of these games as franchises is a bit of a stretch. Duck Tales isn't a franchise, nor is Twisted Metal really. Even Crash Bandicoot and Spyro are more just remastered versions of the old stuff. I wouldn't consider these franchise titles.

I also equate Tomb Raider with the PC more so then any console.

[Aussie2B]

DuckTales got two releases on NES and two on Game Boy, plus a semi-recent release, so I think it's fair enough to consider it a franchise (though one that was idle for a loooong time). I don't get the argument for Twisted Metal, Crash, and Spyro not being franchises. Those three all have a ton of releases.

Granted, with a couple of those, we're talking about the most recent releases being like 6, 7 years ago. Personally, I think "still alive today" would mean a release within the last couple years, or at least on the current gen systems, not the previous gen.

[gbpxl]

DuckTales got two releases on NES and two on Game Boy, plus a semi-recent release, so I think it's fair enough to consider it a franchise (though one that was idle for a loooong time). I don't get the argument for Twisted Metal, Crash, and Spyro not being franchises. Those three all have a ton of releases.

Granted, with a couple of those, we're talking about the most recent releases being like 6, 7 years ago. Personally, I think "still alive today" would mean a release within the last couple years, or at least on the current gen systems, not the previous gen.
Agreed

[jb143]

I guess my confusion was with defining the phrase "spawn a franchise" as "creating a media franchise". Where one could say the first Sonic game on the Genesis lead to the creation of a media franchise that consisted a series of games, multiple animated series, comic books, board games, a film, and so on.

I tend to see the term "game series" used more when just talking about the games, while "franchise" is a much broader term. It was not the Duck Tales game that was responsible for "spawning" it's franchise so that game alone in the list was throwing a wrench into my thought process.

[Aussie2B]

For games, I use "series" and "franchise" pretty interchangeably myself (outside of games that have spawned multiple sub-series, like how Persona is a sub-series of the overarching Megami Tensei franchise), but yeah, it gets confusing when differentiating between a game franchise and a media franchise. For the latter, if I'm talking about all media related to a game, then I'll probably just refer to it as an IP.

[kupomogli]

Mario Bros. started in the arcades.

"What system spawned the most games that lead to franchises that are still alive today? "

[Aussie2B]

I fail to see what kind of point you're trying to make by quoting the topic title. This topic is about console gaming. Both Donkey Kong (the first game with Mario) and Mario Bros. (the first proper Mario game) are arcade games. The lists in the opening post are for NES and PlayStation. So how is the opening post missing Mario?

[Spartacus]

PlayStation:
Ace Combat
Digimon (World)
Dynasty Warriors
Hot Shots (Everybody's) Golf
One Piece
Wipeout

[kupomogli]

For the illiterate. The topic title states which console had the most games that led to franchises that still exist today. Yes Mario started on arcades, but the series had the most titles and became the most recognized video game character due to the many releases on the NES. The topic isn't asking where the series started out, it's asking where the series initially had the most releases and the reason why it exists today. Mario Bros also appeared on the NES as well(same year as the arcade version,) and most following titles, all the major releases that have followed have been called "Super Mario." It's only ever went back to "Mario" over "Super Mario" if it was a spinoff title.

If you're picking out my response of Mario, how about I nitpick about a game that you've stated. Because if you want to really get technical, the title itself is irrelevant. SaGa started out on the NES as Final Fantasy 2, to the point that Squaresoft renamed the first actual SaGa game Final Fantasy Legends for stupid Americans to buy into the popularity of the brand. Just like Vampire Killer and Haunted Castle are Castlevania games, just like Persona titles are SMT games, Final Fantasy 2 is a SaGa game. Another thing to point out, Mario Bros is nothing like the rest of the franchise, where there are a lot of core similarities with Final Fantasy 2 and the SaGa titles.

[Aussie2B]

Are you capable of participating in a discussion without resorting to insults? It's ironic to call others illiterate when you don't appear to understand the topic question itself. The question isn't which systems have had the most entries of any particular series but rather which systems got the most brand-new IPs that are still active today. If it were the former, you could just as well credit Final Fantasy to SNES or PlayStation, which also had three games apiece and played a critical role in the lasting popularity of their series (plus SNES and PlayStation had even more Final Fantasy games than NES if you count spin-offs like Mystic Quest and Tactics). Heck, the argument for crediting Final Fantasy to SNES or PlayStation is even stronger if you're ruling out Final Fantasy 2 as a SaGa title, but that's just plain silly. From all the context of the thread, it's clear that this topic is about where series have originated.

[gbpxl]

Yeah i didnt count the Mario series because Donkey Kong was an arcade title

[WulfeLuer]

Hmm, if we count Super Famicom as SNES then Star Ocean and the Tales series come readily to mind. Otherwise they'd be PS1. NES gets Fire Emblem.

[kupomogli]

It's ironic to call others illiterate when you don't appear to understand the topic question itself. The question isn't which systems have had the most entries of any particular series but rather which systems got the most brand-new IPs that are still active today. If it were the former, you could just as well credit Final Fantasy to SNES or PlayStation, which also had three games apiece and played a critical role in the lasting popularity of their series (plus SNES and PlayStation had even more Final Fantasy games than NES if you count spin-offs like Mystic Quest and Tactics). Heck, the argument for crediting Final Fantasy to SNES or PlayStation is even stronger if you're ruling out Final Fantasy 2 as a SaGa title, but that's just plain silly. From all the context of the thread, it's clear that this topic is about where series have originated.

That may very well be what he meant but the sentence itself does not mean that and nothing in the opening post said anything different.

[Aussie2B]

The sentence does mean that, and you're the only person in this topic who drew a different interpretation. I can see how the "spawned the most games" could be confusing, but "that lead to franchises" makes it pretty clear. Sequels don't "lead to franchises", new IPs do (or new game IPs, in case of something like DuckTales, which already existed in other media). Either way, this is another case where it shows that it's best to read through a topic before hitting reply, and especially before flinging out insults.

[Tanooki]

I think this one is kind of hard, but he did say to exclude the PC and arcade, so it's less difficult.

The NES would have to be it, and yes that includes the Famicom. So far that first post listed.
Zelda
Metroid
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior
Castlevania
Mega Man
Duck Tales
Bomberman

I can think one could also easily add in:
Dr Mario
Tetris
Darkwing Duck (has a GB and TG16 game)
Kid Icarus (GB and 3DS)
Fire Emblem (FC to present)
Famicom Wars (better known to most as Advance Wars)
River City Ransom (Kunio)


I think the case for Mario could be made in all fairness though. Mario Bros was a stand alone arcade game, in Donkey Kong he was Jumpman even. Super Mario Bros itself from 1985 was entirely a different thing, sure Mario got his name on DK jr as a second banana bad guy daddy jailer but it wasn't the start of the actual Super Mario franchise and the mushroom kingdom that was born with it. I mean if you want to start splitting hairs that much, bomberman came out in 1983 on Japanese computers and mega man had points for a reason and that was it was an arcade game first.

[Aussie2B]

The first Kunio-kun game was an arcade game. The earliest versions of Tetris were for computers.

This is the first I've ever heard anything about Mega Man being an arcade game first. Do you have a source on that?

[kupomogli]

The sentence does mean that, and you're the only person in this topic who drew a different interpretation. I can see how the "spawned the most games" could be confusing, but "that lead to franchises" makes it pretty clear. Sequels don't "lead to franchises", new IPs do (or new game IPs, in case of something like DuckTales, which already existed in other media). Either way, this is another case where it shows that it's best to read through a topic before hitting reply, and especially before flinging out insults.

Another example would be Metal Gear Solid on the PS1. Because yes, the series originally released on the MSX2, but after the NES ports, the series all but disappeared until a whole two generations later. Its popularity and the reason the series still exists isn't because the original releases, it's because the PS1 release. Just like Mario Bros isn't the reason why the series blew up, it was the NES.

Now I know you might say, "well there's only one Metal Gear on the PS1." But the topic does also read "that lead to franchises that are still alive today." And if not for Metal Gear Solid and its popularity, the franchise wouldn't exist, the same way it didn't exist for such a long time after it first released. Seriously. 8 years without an entry and that's the Metal Gear 2 NES port. It's not like Kojima was working on an open world 2D game that would surpass everyone's expectations being the reason why it skipped a full generation and past the middle of the PS1 gen.

The topic title asks two questions, and none specifically state when the initial release of a series that still exists today. It actually only took this long for a reply because I was trying to think of a series that only exists because of a future title and didn't gain its popularity from its initial release. Because most games that gain popularity and exist are going to exist because of that initial release. Metal Gear is a rarity for sure. I'm sure there are others.

[Aussie2B]

Are you seriously still arguing this? The topic creator himself confirmed that the question is about where game franchises originated, not where sub-series within franchises originated, nor where franchises were popularized.

[gbpxl]

Are you seriously still arguing this? The topic creator himself confirmed that the question is about where game franchises originated, not where sub-series within franchises originated, nor where franchises were popularized.

Yeah basically.

I think the NESs popularity can be attributed to the fact that so many of todays popular series started on NES.