7 Games that Changed the World (according to Yahoo)

[axia777]

I can't believe Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time aren't on the list.

Yah, wasn't Mario 64 the first real 3D Platfomer?

 

[psico666]

Rock Band instead of Guitar Hero

Without GH there would be no Rock Band, and Guitar Hero is a much more recognizable name than Rock Band is. Yes I know that the people behind Rock Band originally made Guitar Hero, but Harmonix would not have tried to make a game with an entire band ensemble had they not tested it with one instrument first.

The only impact i personally feel GH had on Rockband was Harmonix leaving GH and working on Rockband instead of GH3.

 

[Calax]

This is just me but I actually agree with most of their choices. Now before you get your axes hear me out.

Most of the games on there are recognizable to ANYONE. Pong and Pac Man started gaming and actually had a craze around the latter back in the 80's (pac man fever anyone?)

Doom arguably kickstarted the FPS genre (hence the term Doom-clone).

Earlier this decade DDR caught on like wildfire, to the point where kids would do their damndest to get through the technomix tracks. It's honestly the only one that MIGHT not belong here as it is, while recognizable, not as popular or crazetastic as Mario.

World of Warcraft deserves to be on here because, while EQ, UO and, DAoC are all previous members of the MMO club, WoW is what brought it to the general public. Before WoW the term MMO was barely known because people would just use the titles or say "Like EQ but" to describe it. Now MMO's have become MUCH more mainstream, to the point of affecting pop culture.

Guitar Hero broke ground that made rhythm games MUCH more mainstream (previously all you had were a batch of konami and karaoke games). When guitar hero first came out it was the only one of it's kind, now there are three entire game franchises dedicated to the band experiance, and a whole SLEW of others just for Karaoke.

Wii Sports is the game that everyone and their parents have played and LOVED. I think that it's the only game that I've seen droves of people over the age of 30 have fun with (usually they just play to see what their kids are playing and end up getting frustrated because they can't figure out the control scheme). The picture they put of it highlights why it should be on the list, people who normally can't even figure out the TV are able to play with relative ease.

 

[goodman528]

Tetris or Pacman? I think Tetris is far more influential.

 

[PirateKing]

I can't believe Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time aren't on the list.

Yah, wasn't Mario 64 the first real 3D Platfomer?

Yeah, I think it was. That's pretty important if you ask me.

 

[Valiance]

This is obviously written by a non-gamer.

I can't stand to see so much ignorance in one place. Hell, it's like "LOL THIS WAS POPULAR AT SOME POINT" pretty much.

It makes some good points, but I disagree with nearly the whole list. I started typing a response but it will just come off as a huge flame, so I'll leave it at that.

You seem to be missing the point here. This isn't the hard-core gamers list of the 7 most popular games in the last year, so it's going to have games that may be a little dated. However, those "popular at some point" games are games that had major impacts on the gaming industry, which is what the article is trying to point out. It's good that you noticed that a non-gamer wrote the article, but calling their point of view ignorant is just showing ignorance of your own.

Changed the world.

Define "world."

Do they mean how 'outsiders' view gaming? Do they mean the gaming world? Do they mean mainstream gamers? I'm not entirely sure.

If it's the world in general, they made a few good choices. But hell, they might as well say Halo or Pokemon if they're going with what they're doing there.

Edit: I blatantly hate Halo, so don't pester me about being a fanboy.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I find the list acceptable. Each game mentioned was important for more than it's impact on games or a particular genre but because they all changed the way people viewed games. Pong brought the video game to the public eye in a big way for the first time. PacMan standups can still be found in most any self-respecting arcade. Doom made the PC the undisputed master of gaming for a decade. Wii sports brought games to people who would have never played video games otherwise.

They might not be the best examples of games in history (I prefer Ms. Pac-Man for example), but each of them was indeed important. Were the list longer I would expect to see a few other games make the cut.

 

[Uberjoe19]

They completely forgot Half-life 2!

 

[EnzoHonda]

I must be in a bad mood or something, because some of the comments in this thread are driving me nucking futs. Yahoo's list is good. Mario should be there in some form, but I can't bash the thinking on their other choices.

 

[viciousmaniac]

The list makes little sense in terms of advancing genres or the artform as a whole.

The list actually makes excellent sense in terms of games that have had an impact and major influence outside of the medium and the gaming community into the proles and the wonks running the establishment.

Although:

1. It is silly that Super Mario Bros. is not on there as that game was the Pied Piper that secured North America for Nintendo and made it a household name. If it simply had to be "7 games" I'd swap DOOM out as that was more or less just a controversy magnet with a lot of fans in office cubicles and software companies.

2. You could essentially swap Everquest with WoW.

3. Mortal Kombat is also mysteriously absent and deserves to be the token "controversial violent game" on the list moreso than DOOM.

 

[phar]

I kind of agree with most of the list.. all the titles listed have changed gaming and allowed the common idiot into gaming. Im sure if you ask the common halofag what dune 2 or wolf3d is im sure youd get some interesting answers. But I dont think they are the best choice.

As for the list its all dependant on the person.. Id like to have seen SF2 or MK in there for fighting games. Ive never seen so many people gather around and give tips on how to play a game as in the old MK days at the arcade.

AvP beat em up game at the arcades changed me, never really liked many of the original games of that genre until I was hooked on that.

Pong - Yes
PacMan - Not Really (never really did anything new or things that we are seeing in games today)
Doom - Yes (although if they put Wolf3d id agree as well)
DDR - No Way
WoW - Maybe (It has changed the world with all its subscribers and fans..)
GH - Maybe (Hey my mum has given it a shot a few times.. must be pretty world changing if it can do that)
WiiSports - Id say its the first game with interactive controls and is actually successful at doing so

Just my opinion on the list

 

[CirrusEpix]

I will agree with all of those except Wii sports. I don't think it has changed much. If it did, the PS3 would be scrambling to get motion sensitive controllers...

I would replace it with MYST. The first and only reason to get a CD Drive and Soundblaster card.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I think the people got Wii Sports too mixed up with the Wii itself. Wii Sports was just the first game to take true advantage of the Wii's revolutionary control scheme. It definitely would not be on the list had it not been BUNDLED with the Wii in the US.

 

[Vortigar]

You guys are all taking this as game enthusiasts, whereas the article says that there talking about the games that have made its mark on mainstream, popular culture. Were talking about things that everyone knows about, even those people who refer to a PSP as a Gameboy, or those people who if you referred to an X Box as a Nintendo, wouldn't notice. I'm not talking about people who couldn't remember Dune, Im talking about people who would find Sonic the Hedgehog or Master Chief too obscure to recognize. Things that a random elderly person on the street would know about. From that perspective, the list is pretty good. Pong and Pac Man are synonymous with the very birth of the video game, so simple and straightforward I would say it is even more iconic as a popular culture image then Mario. Mario should be on the list as well, but they probably just wanted to include things that are identifiable for more reasons then sheer age and ubiquity. Doom is identifiable as an incarnation of controversy in games because of violence. GTA3 might have been a better choice here, but both Doom and GTA3 fill the needed niche nicely. DDR and Guitar Hero strongly represent new school gaming, and gaming that appeals to non-enthusiasts. In the hobby of gaming, they may not be as big and distinctive as other games, but for the public at large, both DDR and Guitar Hero are almost a separate hobby altogether. World of Warcraft certainly has arguments against it in terms of how innovative it is, or how much it brought to the Genre of MMOs, but it definitely beats all competition in terms on how identifiable in pop culture it is. I know that there are people who know nothing about gaming who will refer to any video game from Half Life to Assasins Creed as World of Warcraft, because its just so massive. Wii Sports is a questionable choice. But I guess there thinking about how Wii Sports is identifiable with the Wiis new mainstream-friendly approach, and how that approach has really merged with the mainstream.

Personally, I would remove Wii Sports, added Mario, and replace Doom with GTA3. I think that list would be a good sample of how mainstream people see Video Games. I would do something completely different if I wanted a list of best, most innovative, or most influential, but they wanted to put a spotlight on pop culture identity, and I think they did a fair job. There writing for the culture at large, not us highly educated game connoisseurs.

I'd just like to quote this for truth and be done with it as many are blatantly ignoring this fact by nominating stuff like Dune and Spacewar and whatnot... Sure those games had impact on the games industry but Western culture as a whole has taken no note of them.

If you want to nominate Mario you may even have to pull out Donkey Kong to get recognition.

Xanadu84:
Same with me for GTA. GTA2 was the high point for me. The dodgy controls of the 3d iterations really put me off. And then there was this whole controversy while every friend I had had been playing the same ruddy game for some five to seven years already...

Well, the 3d games lack good controls and Elvis impersonators.

 

[Fraught]

not really, Wolfenstein was before Doom, but it didn't bring "murder simulation" to the masses, the dreamcast had a built in modem several years before the xbox, but it didn't bring online to the consoletards. Hopefully you see what I mean?

so people of this thread, what are your 7 games that you think changed the world.

You're hypocritical, judging by your last question.
You're talking that Doom was far more popular, but as you can see from the thread's title, it's asked what games changed the world, and there is no doubt that without Wolf3D, Doom wouldn't exist.
The whole FPS genre (maybe) wouldn't exist, so Wolf3D changed the world far more.

Wolf 3d VS Doom has no correct answer. Wolf 3D was the spark needed to light the Doom bomb of popularity, but would the genre be as popular as it is without Doom? Likewise, without the spark of Wolf3d, would the genre even be there to begin with?

Without the spark of Wolf3D, the genre probably wouldn't be there.
Read above for everything else.
It's not about popularity, it's about world changing('ness).

 

[DigitalSushi]

You're hypocritical, judging by your last question.
You're talking that Doom was far more popular, but as you can see from the thread's title, it's asked what games changed the world, and there is no doubt that without Wolf3D, Doom wouldn't exist.
The whole FPS genre (maybe) wouldn't exist, so Wolf3D changed the world far more.

Yeah I know, I was making a comment, I'm allowed that right? thanks

GT* interactive have design documents dating to Wolf3d's time regarding Duke Nukem 3D, it just took them forever to make it, if not them, someone else would have done it.

the GT in GT Interactive stands for "Good Times", hehe.