Most influential games

[jasonec]

Came across this on the Interwebz today and immediately thought "Yeah - if I were to pick the six most influential/pivotal games historically, it'd be these." Anyone else agree/disagree?

[CanadianRyGuy]

I feel like maybe a Zelda or Final Fantasy game over WoW?

[theyangman]

I feel like maybe a Zelda or Final Fantasy game over WoW?

As much as it pains me, I can see how WoW would be on the list, ahead of Zelda, for what it did for PC gaming and changed the way MMORPG's are today.

Zelda would be in the top 10 or top 25 of all time though, as would things like Oregon Trail, The Sims, GTA III, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, Pokemon Red & Blue, Final Fantasy XII, Wii Sports, And Sonic 1.

They have to be individual titles that somehow shifted the landscape of gaming in their own way. Not as a series, but as a stand alone title. I don't think Zelda makes a top 5 cut. Not when compared to the impact of the six up there already.

Final Fantasy only really has 4 titles out of the entire series that meant anything to me. 1 (Nes), 2(SNES), 3 (SNES) & 7(PS). All the rest I never could get into.

[RayB]

It's tough to decide... Was WoW *the* influential mmorpg or does it owe everything to its predecessor Everquest? Or for that matter should we go back farther to Ultima Online? Doom or Wolfenstein 3D ? It's Wolf3D that established the "get 1 complete chapter of the game for free, pay for the the other 2" shareware model that became SO popular afterward with Doom and other games, and it was the first use of some amazing programming techniques to simulate 3D. Doom was just an evolution of that tech.

[theyangman]

It's tough to decide... Was WoW *the* influential mmorpg or does it owe everything to its predecessor Everquest? Or for that matter should we go back farther to Ultima Online? Doom or Wolfenstein 3D ? It's Wolf3D that established the "get 1 complete chapter of the game for free, pay for the the other 2" shareware model that became SO popular afterward with Doom and other games, and it was the first use of some amazing programming techniques to simulate 3D. Doom was just an evolution of that tech.

It is not always the "inventor" of the genre that gets all the credit in these situations. Before Everquest, was the granddaddy of them all, Ultima Online, which predates Everquest by 2 years, and WoW by like 7. WoW was the first to really get their claws into the people and get them really into the game. Ultima only really had a few hundred thousand subscribed players, and Everquest peaked at less than half a million, WoW peaked at like 12 million.... It really shattered previous records and without a doubt made a bigger impact than the previous two games.

As for Doom vs Wolf 3D, the biggest deciding factor between the two? Multiplayer. Wolf 3D was single player only, but when doom brought multiplayer it changed the landscape of FPS games going forward forever. Even today, who plays single player campaigns for any of the newer FPS games? No one, it is all about online play. Thanks to Doom.

[RayB]

As for Doom vs Wolf 3D, the biggest deciding factor between the two? Multiplayer. Wolf 3D was single player only, but when doom brought multiplayer it changed the landscape of FPS games going forward forever. Even today, who plays single player campaigns for any of the newer FPS games? No one, it is all about online play. Thanks to Doom.

Ah yes, Deathmatch!

[jasonec]

I feel like maybe a Zelda or Final Fantasy game over WoW?

As much as it pains me, I can see how WoW would be on the list, ahead of Zelda, for what it did for PC gaming and changed the way MMORPG's are today.

Zelda would be in the top 10 or top 25 of all time though, as would things like Oregon Trail, The Sims, GTA III, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, Pokemon Red & Blue, Final Fantasy XII, Wii Sports, And Sonic 1.

They have to be individual titles that somehow shifted the landscape of gaming in their own way. Not as a series, but as a stand alone title. I don't think Zelda makes a top 5 cut. Not when compared to the impact of the six up there already.

Final Fantasy only really has 4 titles out of the entire series that meant anything to me. 1 (Nes), 2(SNES), 3 (SNES) & 7(PS). All the rest I never could get into.

I totally agree with everything you just said!
And, yeah - although it's nice to recognize the "firsts" in the industry, I think the games with the "biggest societal impact" deserve first place.