Poll: Which one of these video game franchises do you think has been the most important/influential in ga-

[Vrex360]

Of the ones you listed, probably going to have to go with Mario and Zelda, as they are the only game franchises on that list that really appeal to me.
But still, as for the 'other' option, I still have to make my number 1 choice be Pong, simply because it was the first game ever to be made for a console/computer that was to be played not in an amusement arcade but in the home. This was a massive leap forward to the industry.

 

[Gebi10000]

for me, it's a tie between mario and zelda

 

[ImSkeletor]

Crash or Spyro, those games really got me into gaming.

 

[FightThePower]

Mario, because it was Super Mario Bros on the NES that got everyone into gaming again.

 

[Instant K4rma]

Well, I am a little bias to the Zelda series. Just look at my avatar. I've been playing Zelda games all my life; they are definitely the most influential games in my eyes.

 

[fletch_talon]

What happens when one does is that you get a company like Nintendo who keep on recycling old ideas ad nauseum until you have absolutely no progress whatsoever.

You don't fix what isn't broken. Nintendo games are popular for a reason, because they're entertaining. What's old and boring and repetitive to you, is brand new to new generations of gamers, and is every bit as interesting as it always was to older gamers.
Its funny how repetitive the Zelda series is, because of the games I've played (OoT, MM, TP, PH, ST, MC, WW, LA... and so on) No 2 are the same. Yes gameplay is similar, but if it weren't what the hell would be the point of it being a sequel.

Nintendo games have changed very little but they dared to do something different with an entire console. It doesn't matter if you don't like motion controls because that doesn't change the fact that its something new and they based an entire console around it. The influence can be seen already as Sony and Microsoft prepare to release their own motion control.
If that's not enough, they're influencial because they became popular, paving the way for the games industry we have today. Mario was the sidescrolling platformer, and then the move into 3D made it revolutionary. It probably didn't take long for a better 3D platformer to be released, but to do that, they needed an example to be lead by.

You don't have to like Nintendo, or their games, but to downplay their Influence on games because they currently show "no" progress, is foolish.

 

[Optimus Hagrid]

I think DooM was important for showing PC gaming could be more fun than stuffy wizardy RPGs.

 

[Proteus214]

I would have to say Mario since it showed that it is possible to have a loose narrative and an actual ending to gameplay. Up until 1985 most games consisted of just a counter for high score and that there was no concept of "success" really. I guess you could say that Donkey Kong did it first, but then again Mario knocked it out of the park.

 

[Zing]

All of these basically shaped their genre's completely for future titles, I really can't pick one. I mean think about it.

Mario was the original Platformer
Zelda set the precedent for all action-adventure epics like it.
Final Fantasy for turn-based RPGs
Warcraft(And Starcraft) Practically invented the genre, or at least made it incredibly popular.
And so on

It's hard to choose just one. However, if I HAD to, it would easily be Zelda, Mario was popular but really never had any kind of an interesting plot, or game play. Zelda(Ocarina of Time especially) was huge in scope and way ahead of it's time, the gameplay, the plot, the puzzles.

 

[slipknot4]

Pokemon of course. Everyone has played it and everyones has enjoyed it. It's was more or less the perfect GB game and it set the bar for every other portable game in gaming history.

 

[Henrik Persson]

Warcraft and Doom. They're to blame for the vast amount of mindless games almost identical to each other. Nothing else on that list even comes close, except possibly Final Fantasy, assuming it was the genre that made JRPGs popular.

 

[SnipErlite]

Pokemon of course. Everyone has played it and everyones has enjoyed it. It's was more or less the perfect GB game and it set the bar for every other portable game in gaming history.

Damn right, I still play Pokémon Yellow now and then. Such an awesome game.....

Although I'm still undecided between that and Zelda. Hm.

 

[Girafro]

The gaming world would be a very different place if Mario hadn't risen to fame. For better or worse, I don't know, but you cannot deny that Mario is the reason gaming became so popular, whether you like him or not.

 

[unoleian]

Mario is not only quite possibly the biggest, most popular icon in gaming ever, but Mario 64 also made the analog stick the industry standard for 3D game control.

You may not like him, but the influence on gaming (console in particular) is utterly undeniable.

 

[Marter]

I'll say Mario, for bringing us revelations in both 2D and 3D platforming.