52 Most Important Games of All Time

[MarioMania]

Why the hell GTA first

My pick is

1. Super Mario Bors.
2. Zelda
3. Pac-Man
4. Doom

[diskoboy]

Halo 2 was higher than Halo 1? I think not.

Halo, alone, was mainly responsible for the Xbox 1's first year and a half of sales. Halo 2 was obviously gonna be just as popular.

EDIT - I do have to agree with their write-up on Metroid:

What started out as a quiet, unassuming platform game with a goofy title stunned players with a plethora of surprises, from sprawling hidden areas and epic, exhausting boss battles to its coup de grace, the revelation that your fearsome hero, Samus, was actually female.

I would've probably never have even played Metroid if it wasn't for my friend in 6th grade who got this game for Xmas. When we came back to school after the new year, he talked on and on about this game he got called "Metroid". I'm glad I listened to him!

These 'lists' are starting to drive me nuts, though.

[Andred]

45. Halo
... Other trend-setting developments included limiting players to carrying two weapons at a time, a design choice that highlighted strategy and realism ...

Being a once-avid Counter-Strike Player, I can't understand why Halo gets credit for that trend.

This list is seriously wrong. PONG deserves to be in the top 3.

And what is this???

20. Halo
... Not one game has ever even approached the flexibility and simplicity of Halo 2's online service -- it's still at the top of its class ...

So they've obviously never played a PC game, right?

Also, they credit both Diablo II and Starcraft for Battle.net.

Wii Sports has no place on this list. Games have to have time to influence something before they can be called influential.

I mostly agree with what they say about Zelda but then why list Dragon Warrior as well?

Madden being number 2 is a travesty. I thought they plainly stated at the beginning of the article that the selections weren't based on sales. The only people I see copying the Madden franchise are... well, EA. I guess that's cause they'd sue the pants off of anyone that tried. Madden might be selling consoles and growing the industry but tell me how that's more influential than PONG which practically CREATED the industry, SMB/Zelda which together resurrected the industry or Tetris which, as they state, helped create an entirely new branch of the industry. There's no excuse for this being in the top 10, let alone #2.

GTAIII is THE most influential game ever made??
Actually, it's funny but I think they pretty much had to list one of the GTA games as #1. I'm sure most of their regular readership have never played the older games on this list. Listing the true "most influential game" at #1 would be biting the hand that feeds. They're just catering to their audience. Still that's no excuse and so I say, "Poop on you, GamePro".

[jajaja]

Why is Enter the Matrix and Gemoetry Wars (especially this??) on the list? Never really played Enter the Matrix, but isnt it just another 3d action game? Gemoetry Wars is probly fun, but its just a remake of them old arcade games so why is this listed as one of the most important games?? Strange.. O_o

Otherwise the list is fine. Dont know about the ratings tho, but surely ALOT of great classic games are mentioned

EDIT: Oh, and GTA 3 on 1st place, whats up with that?

[diskoboy]

Why is Enter the Matrix and Gemoetry Wars (especially this??) on the list?

I agree with Geometry Wars, as well.

If that game is on the list and Robotron, Smash TV, or Total Carnage aren't?

Robotron is still a great game, even by todays standards and should be substituted for Geomwetry Wars.

[Poofta!]

Nope. This is what Gamepro says.

"The GamePro editors generally decided that, in order to make a spot on the list, the game had to meet the following criteria:
-Have a lasting influence that's still observed in modern gaming

This automatically rules out huge but largely irrelevant series like Sonic the Hedgehog (which sprung from the same pool as Super Mario Bros. anyway). Ditto for Castlevania."

To be honest, I agree to some extent. No point to have numerous platform games on there if their intent is to highlight 52 games that are supposed to be independent of each other.

I'd love to try Mystery House sometime, though.

i agree with this. this is also why metroid shouldnt have been on the list IMO.

enter the matrix shouldnt even be in the same magazine lol.

i agree with number one adn two. those two games have sold more copies than SMB, pong, doom etc etc ever came close to (in their respect dates of production, not re releases etc). GTA3 spawned countless clones, led to an explosion in the user base of the console and introduced a previously unimportant game mechanic (open ended game play). madden is the best selling game of all time. ever. if that isnt 'influential' i dont know what is.

[MarioMania]

i agree with this. this is also why metroid shouldnt have been on the list IMO.

enter the matrix shouldnt even be in the same magazine lol.

i agree with number one adn two. those two games have sold more copies than SMB, pong, doom etc etc ever came close to (in their respect dates of production, not re releases etc). GTA3 spawned countless clones, led to an explosion in the user base of the console and introduced a previously unimportant game mechanic (open ended game play). madden is the best selling game of all time. ever. if that isnt 'influential' i dont know what is.

I bet to differ GTA SHOULD NOT be on the List, SMB, Tetris, Zelda, Street Fighter 2 should be in the Top 5 as well as Doom or Wolf 3D

[Rob2600]

As for stuff like Castlevania and Sonic, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these writers only played the recent 3D titles in those two series and based their quick dismissal of both franchises on those games.

In terms of game play, the original Sonic the Hedgehog games weren't important. They weren't innovative or influential, either. They were basically Super Mario Bros. imitations. However, Sonic the Hedgehog ended up being an important game after all because its marketing campaign helped give the Genesis a "cool" image, which boosted the console's sales at the time. Therefore, it should be included in GamePro's list "The 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time." (I remember Sega's commercials that compared Sonic the Hedgehog's in-game footage to Super Mario Kart's title screen. )

Metroid, on the other hand, was not an imitation of Super Mario Bros. It surprised gamers with its female star, but I haven't decided whether or not it should be classified as an important game. Any thoughts?

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most important video games ever. It played a major role in reviving the entire home video game industry in the U.S.

[goemon]

No love for Space Invaders, huh, GamePro? That's cool, that's cool. When they do invade, I'll be riding one of those pixelated aliens like the bomb in Dr. Strangelove! And no amount of GTA III or Madden Football will be able to save you from my four pixel lightning shots.

[Push Upstairs]

In terms of game play, the original Sonic the Hedgehog games weren't important. They weren't innovative or influential, either. They were basically Super Mario Bros. imitations. However, Sonic the Hedgehog ended up being an important game after all because its marketing campaign helped give the Genesis a "cool" image, which boosted the console's sales at the time. Therefore, it should be included in GamePro's list "The 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time." (I remember Sega's commercials that compared Sonic the Hedgehog's in-game footage to Super Mario Kart's title screen. )

I'd say it's important because it was the game that finally showed that someone else could compete with Nintendo and win. It was the game that really showed us that Nintendo's monopoly years were never going to return.

If they can put "Enter the Matrix" on there with some lame ass "movie/game franchise crossover" bullshit they certainly can say something about Sonics impact.

[bangtango]

I'd say it's important because it was the game that finally showed that someone else could compete with Nintendo and win. It was the game that really showed us that Nintendo's monopoly years were never going to return.

So Sega at least softened the opposition for the likes of Sony, you're saying?

What I find odd is that Nintendo never really came up with an actual answer for Sonic. Unless someone wants to make a case for Donkey Kong Country but that seemed like more of an answer to the 32X, etc. Mario didn't change a bit, not on account of Sonic.

[Rob2600]

I'd say it's important because it was the game that finally showed that someone else could compete with Nintendo and win. ... If they can put "Enter the Matrix" on there with some lame ass "movie/game franchise crossover" bullshit they certainly can say something about Sonics impact.

We agree with each other. To repeat what I wrote, the original Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't important because of it's game play, it was important because of the successful marketing behind it. It helped give the Genesis a "cool" image, which also helped boost Sega's sales.

Also, the marketing campaign eventually marked the debut of "blast processing."

[Gentlegamer]

What I find odd is that Nintendo never really came up with an actual answer for Sonic.

Nintendo didn't need an "answer" for Sonic. Nintendo and Mario were #1. Despite Sega's two year head-start and hype giving them a short lived slight edge in market share, Nintendo won that round.

[Rob2600]

Mario didn't change a bit, not on account of Sonic.

Of course the Mario games didn't change. Nintendo knew the old Sonic the Hedgehog games were imitations of the old Super Mario Bros. games. There wasn't anything innovative about the game play. Still, the Sonic games were solid and well-produced and were backed by strong marketing campaigns.

Many times, creating great marketing is even more important than creating a great product.

[Graham Mitchell]

Metroid, on the other hand, was not an imitation of Super Mario Bros. It surprised gamers with its female star, but I haven't decided whether or not it should be classified as an important game. Any thoughts?

You know, one thing this list completely ignores is that Metroid and Zelda were not cartridges when they were originally released in Japan. Although the size of Ghosts 'N' Goblins trumped the capacity of a Famicom Disc System diskette a mere month after the FDS's release, the added size of the games and the ability to save on diskette allowed for them to make a console game that took more than an hour to complete, allowed for real exploration and a game that you returned to and unravelled like a novel. At the time, I don't think anything like that had been done on a console, and I also can't think of an ACTION game predating Metroid's ambition and scope. There were adventure games and RPG's like Ultima around on the PC, but action games were largely expendable twitch-fests. Based on that, both Metroid and Zelda are very important--the element of an epic action game still exists today. But since both games were released at the same time and accomplished the same goal, I don't think both of them should be on the list.

And in response to the GTA III thing--their whole argument for this is the fact that GTAIII did away with level-based gameplay. Fucking Starflight did this in 80's, and Shenmue had been in development since the 90's.

Other than that and a few inaccuracies (the whole Dragon Warrior leading the way to Zelda thing...) it wasn't a totally awful list. I think Madden was an appropriate choice. Just because I hate it doesn't mean it's not important. Gaming in general is on a slow but constant decline, and shit like Madden is the reason why. Madden has a huge impact on gaming, like it or not.

I'll say this, though; a lot of these magazines think life and death occurs in the US. The US has only been a major contributor to gaming for about 5-7 years. Trends and interests are quite different overseas, and I wish people would take that into account before compiling these lists.

[Rob2600]

...both Metroid and Zelda are very important--the element of an epic action game still exists today. But since both games were released at the same time and accomplished the same goal, I don't think both of them should be on the list.

I agree with you about Metroid and am now convinced it is an important video game. I think The Legend of Zelda, though similar to Metroid in some regards, is still important for an additional reason: in its cartridge form, it had a built-in save feature, allowing players to save their progress without having to write down passwords or codes. As far as I can tell, it was the first home video game to do so and set the standard for the next 18+ years.

And in response to the GTA III thing--their whole argument for this is the fact that GTAIII did away with level-based gameplay. Fucking Starflight did this in 80's, and Shenmue had been in development since the 90's.

You're right, those games were released first, but I guess Grand Theft Auto III set the standard. It certainly received the most publicity and brought a different style of game play into the mainstream. It's like Super Mario Bros...it wasn't the first side-scrolling action game, but it set the standard.

I'm not a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series, but I can't deny its been very popular and has inspired a surge in gangster/hitman/criminal-style video games over the last few years. Still, I don't think it is anywhere near the number one most important video game ever.

Madden has a huge impact on gaming, like it or not.

Good point. I suppose a particular video game can be important in a bad way.

[Iron Draggon]

I like how they listed the selection criteria at the start of the list and then apparently went on to completely abrogate its points.

What? No love for blue hedgehogs?

And if I had a quarter for every time the list used some hyperbole along the lines of "changed the face of gaming", "changed the way we look at gaming" etc. I'm betting I'd have something in the neighborhood of four dollars.

QFT!

Wii Sports hasn't even been out long enough to "Have a lasting influence that's still observed in modern gaming", and neither have many of the other games on this bullshit list of theirs... were they smoking crack again, or what?

"This automatically rules out huge but largely irrelevant series like Sonic the Hedgehog (which sprung from the same pool as Super Mario Bros. anyway). Ditto for Castlevania."... and it should automatically rule out Contra, Tony Hawk, Gran Turismo, Duke Nukem, Mario Kart, Halo, Nintendogs, Enter the Matrix, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat 2, Devil May Cry, Diablo 2, Dragon Warrior, Deus Ex, Dune 2, DDR, Zork, Ultima Online, Half-Life, Guitar Hero, Resident Evil 4, Counter Strike, Myst, Halo 2, StarCraft, Sim City, Street Fighter 2, Doom, Metroid, Final Fantasy 7, Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Civilization, Metal Gear Solid, GoldenEye, The Sims, Wolfenstein, Pac-Man, Super Mario 64, World of Warcraft, Zelda, John Madden, GTA 3, and any other game that ever had a sequel or a prequel... in other words, it should've automatically ruled out all but 8 of the games on their list... and I didn't count Pitfall because it's sequel didn't come out until long after the original, and it wasn't really a sequel as much as it was a remake of sorts... this list is BULLSHIT!

and WTF is up with Katamari Damacy not making this list? surely they should agree that it "Impacted the industry in a way beyond mere sales" and it "Had a lasting influence that's still observed in modern gaming"... but then again they were obviously too busy smoking crack again to remember to include it...

I shit on their list and then I piss all over them... stop smoking rock, LamePro!

[Griking]

I'll say this, though; a lot of these magazines think life and death occurs in the US. The US has only been a major contributor to gaming for about 5-7 years. Trends and interests are quite different overseas, and I wish people would take that into account before compiling these lists.

Well it IS an American magazine. The top 50 games you never heard of before would be an entirely different list.

That being said, how the hell do you think that the US has only been a major contributor for 5-7 years? Where was the Odyssey developed? What about Atari? Have you played any computer games at all? Wizardry, Ultima, Doom, Sierra. I can go on and on.

[Graham Mitchell]

Well it IS an American magazine. The top 50 games you never heard of before would be an entirely different list.

That being said, how the hell do you think that the US has only been a major contributor for 5-7 years? Where was the Odyssey developed? What about Atari? Have you played any computer games at all? Wizardry, Ultima, Doom, Sierra. I can go on and on.

I meant mostly in terms of console games. Yes I've played all those computer games. But really, after Atari tanked, I don't remember a whole lot of hugely successful American-designed console games showing up until the Xbox arrived on the scene. PSX had a couple, like Twisted Metal, and Midway's always been a relatively strong presence due to it's coin-op division, but outside of sports games there wasn't a whole lot for 8-bit, 16-bit or 32-bit consoles. That's just how I remember it. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I remember.

[Push Upstairs]

So Sega at least softened the opposition for the likes of Sony, you're saying?

Even that would be better than the reason given for "Enter the Matrix".

Not really sure why I care so much about Gamepro and their list...the only thing they were good for in the early 90's was the game genie codes provided in the magazine. The puns in the reviews are so bad, I want to invent time travel so I can go back and punch every single person there in the face.

If EGM sucks today then Gamepro has got to be single worst waste of paper in the world.