This Generation's Cultural Milestones

[TwoHeadedBoy]

As this current generation comes to a close, it's probably a good time to look back and try to ascertain which titles and/or series will be seen as important step-forwards in the medium. This doesn't necessarily mean commercial success or the even how good the game is, just how much importance and influence that you think the title bears.
This all highly subjective so please let opinions be opinions. (That alright, dawg?)
Feel free to agree or disagree with the list below to whatever extent you see fit.

Examples that spring to mind:

- Portal
- Mass Effect 2 (or 3, if you think the ending scandal counts as an important event that is worth being remembered for generations to come.)
- Braid
- Telltales' The Walking Dead
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Red Dead Redemption
- Angry Birds
- Minecraft
- Spec Ops: The Line
- Dark Souls
- Bioshock & Bioshock Infinite
- Fallout 3 (though I prefer New Vegas)
- Skyrim
- GTA IV
- Wii Sports
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown

There's probably loads I've missed out due to having being biased towards certain genres.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Shall I chuck Skyrim out there? I'd say that's a huge, huge step forward and about 99% of players loved it. Also XCOM to a minor extent. Proving that both strategy games and remakes still have a place, and also that strategy works fine on consoles!
EDIT: What about Dayz? Proving that a game doesn't have to be... well, a game to become popular. It just needs ideas that everyone wants and let the community do the rest.

 

[krazykidd]

X-com : Enemy Unknown . ( Proved publishers wrong )
Diablo 3 ( Always on DRM is evil , especially for an offline AND online Game )
Dead Space 3 ( micro transactions in a single player game? Lolwut?)
Mass effect 3 ( fan outrage can make developpers change things , if so slightly)
Dark souls PC version ( Petitions work! But people still complain even if Devs said it'll be bad)
SFxT ( DISC LOCK CONTENT IS BAD)
War Z ( steam doesn't check it's games before hand )
Ni no Kuni ( Jrpgs aren't dead)
Resident evil 5 ( CO-OP for everything ! Even "horror" games)
L.A Noire ( Innovation is good ,but requires polish )
Mirrors edge ( Innovation is good , but publishers hate risk )
Street Fighter 4 ( Capcom still has it!)
UMVC3 ( Capcom can release an updated standalone game 9 months later and people will still buy it in big numbers)

 

[Keoul]

Diablo 3 and Simcity come to mind.
When somebody makes a mistake you better take some goddamn notes. Apparently EA didn't learn this lesson and made the exact same mistake. Both got quite a lot of attention.

 

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Shall I chuck Skyrim out there? I'd say that's a huge, huge step forward and about 99% of players loved it. Also XCOM to a minor extent. Proving that both strategy games and remakes still have a place, and also that strategy works fine on consoles!
EDIT: What about Dayz? Proving that a game doesn't have to be... well, a game to become popular. It just needs ideas that everyone wants and let the community do the rest.

(Slaps himself on the forehead) Was going to mention Skyrim or Oblivion but it slipped my mind!
Having never played DayZ, my opinion means nothing regarding how important it is. However, you are making a good case for it.

 

[TwoHeadedBoy]

L.A Noire ( Innovation is good ,but requires polish)

I was really on the fence about including LA Noire, I think we'll have to wait and see if the motion capture technology used in the title is utilized in future games (to the same extent).

 

[sextus the crazy]

I'd Chuck in all of the operation rainfall games, which showed: 1. the power of the consumer action & 2. that JRPGs can still be successful in this generation.

Also, FTL: Faster than light or some other kickstarter game that proved that crowdsourcing is a viable way to create successful games.

 

[Terminate421]

Put Halo 3 in there. It's a shooter than can be heavily modified without the need for mods.

Seriously, one of the greatest arena shooters of all time.

 

[fezgod]

I'd replace Red Dead with GTA IV, I know they're pretty much the same game but I feel that GTA had more cultural relevance since you literally saw advertising for it everywhere.

Arkham Asylum/City, only good superhero/comic book game that we've had in this generation (and arguably for earlier generations too)

Put Halo 3 in there. It's a shooter than can be heavily modified without the need for mods.

Seconded, not just because Halo 3 is a great game but because the Halo series in general has made Master Chief one of videogaming's icons. He's one of those characters where you could put his picture on a random wall and people will know, at the very least, that he's a videogame character. His level of recognition is on par with Mario or Pikachu.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I would add Team Fortress 2 for a variety of reasons:

-One of the most critically acclaimed class-based shooters this generation, if not all time.

-Prime example of a Free-to-Play title done right.

-Hats and what it says about the nature of players that obsess over them, for better or worse.

-It's left an indelible mark on internet culture. Most of my friends have never played TF2, yet they're still familiar with the characters and setting thanks to the "Meet the Team" videos and a myriad of quality fan creations:

Spoiler

 

[CityofTreez]

- Portal
- Mass Effect 2 (or 3, if you think the ending scandal counts as an important event that is worth being remembered for generations to come.)
- Braid
- Telltales' The Walking Dead
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Red Dead Redemption
- Angry Birds
- Minecraft
- Spec Ops: The Line
- Dark Souls
- Bioshock & Bioshock Infinite
- Fallout 3 (though I prefer New Vegas)


There's probably loads I've missed out due to having being biased towards certain genres.

I might add Uncharted 2 over Fallout 3, but that's me. Halo 3, TF2 are right there was well.

I agree with the list overall though.

 

[The]

How about GTA 4? First GTA of this gen could be a big one.

 

[yamy]

I would include FTL on the list as well. From my understanding its the first (if not the highest profile) game that came out of the Kickstarter phenomenon- and the fact it was GOOD proved that the Kickstarter concept was workable and it could be the future for the development of indie games.

I didn't feel GTA IV moved the medium forward in any significant way. Arguably GTA III had already achieved the role of advocating the possibility and fun of giant open world games. GTA IV was just an extension of that.

Whether you like it or not - Wii Sport was definitely a cultural milestone - it proves that a console with a game that instantly explains its feature sells, and it helped broaden gaming's audience massively. It helped to solidify the idea that a so called 'casual' market exits and that they were satisfied with just having one console with a few solid games that sold the core concept well.

 

[TwoHeadedBoy]

I didn't feel GTA IV moved the medium forward in any significant way. Arguably GTA III had already achieved the role of advocating the possibility and fun of giant open world games. GTA IV was just an extension of that.


Love it or hate, GTA IV was a technical marvel. Liberty City was one of the most fully realised and detailed worlds I've ever seen in a game.
Though I do feel that Red Dead Redemption is the more memorable title, the finale on John's farm is devastating.

Agree totally with you on Wii Sports.

 

[spartandude]

X-com : Enemy Unknown . ( Proved publishers wrong )

This along with recent successes on Kickstarter

hello classic style computer RPGs we've missed you

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Shall I chuck Skyrim out there? I'd say that's a huge, huge step forward and about 99% of players loved it. Also XCOM to a minor extent. Proving that both strategy games and remakes still have a place, and also that strategy works fine on consoles!
EDIT: What about Dayz? Proving that a game doesn't have to be... well, a game to become popular. It just needs ideas that everyone wants and let the community do the rest.

I wouldn't put Skyrim there. Sure it was a great game, but it didn't really push any envelopes and neither was it heralded as perfection in the way, say, Super Mario Galaxy was. I see it more as a summer blockbuster of gaming rather than something truly extraordinary: big, entertaining, makes a huge amount of money, but not really that deep.

Also, Dark Souls seems like an odd choice, since the way I see it, Demon's Souls was the one that brought "true hardcore" games back on the map, with Dark Souls being just a more refined version of it. And it was more of a phenomenon in the inner hardcore scene, whereas most of the games you listed were more widely known. And I think you should probably include the Mass Effect series as a whole, rather than one specific game, since it is a nearly unique phenomenon in gaming.

Some suggestions:

- Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Still heralded as possibly the best Wii game and showed motion controls done right.

- Heavy Rain? Despite the criticisms it got, it seemed to be universally acclaimed, and at least tried something vastly different. While we've seen that before, how many times have we seen it succeed as well?

- Maybe games like VVVVV, the newer Mega Man games and Super Meat Boy, marking the resurrection of the ultra-hard 2D platformer?

- Gears of War 1. Don't know if it was the first, but it certainly permanently popularized the ultra-gritty super macho testosterone-fueled 3rd person cover shooter violence porn that was rather prevalent at one point during this generation.

- And for the ultimate heresy: FARMVILLE, whether you consider it an actual game or not.