What are the seven wonders of the gaming world?

[mark_n_b]

Everything needs seven wonders. We always talk about the really amazing and cool stuff coming out, So what are the most defining / mind blowing of these things? Toss in one or seven (not eight, never eight) and justify. Maybe we can define the seven wonders list.

A couple ground rules:
1. It can't be a living person (Miyamoto isn't a wonder, but his creation Mario might be)
2. It can't be Zero Punctuation (too many ZP fanboys 'round these parts to make an objective assesment)
Other than that anything goes: it can be a system, a game, a company, a website, whatever.

I'll get things started:
I nominate
Mario, for obvious reasons, already talked about it a bit.
Nintendo the company: over 150 years old, saved the video game industry in the eighties, dominates the portable market, etc.
World of Warcraft, pretty obvious.
Final Fantasy, do you know what FF is? That's why.

 

[Graustein]

Does it have to be video games?
I nominate Dungeons and Dragons. I cannot think of a single game that has had a more profound impact on virtually every other genre of gaming there is.

 

[meatloaf231]

Does it have to be video games?
I nominate Dungeons and Dragons. I cannot think of a single game that has had a more profound impact on virtually every other genre of gaming there is.

The peoples republic of Meatloaf seconds this motion.

 

[mark_n_b]

Dungeons & Dragons is, I think a very good nominee for one of the seven wonders of the gaming world.

juandonde, one word answers just serve to annoy mods,

what's your reasoning for suggesting id, in your position I might have said Quake because of its impact on the game mod community. But id, as a company is nothing special (IMO only, which is just as valid as anyone else's, this is why we need to hear justification)

 

[PurpleRain]

Glare and brighter than bright lighting. That basically made next gen. That and blurr motion.

 

[Joeshie]

what's your reasoning for suggesting id, in your position I might have said Quake because of its impact on the game mod community. But id, as a company is nothing special (IMO only, which is just as valid as anyone else's, this is why we need to hear justification)

Whut? id pretty much pioneered an entire genre, multi-player gaming, and numerous graphical/technical achievements. I'd say that's pretty significant.

You would come up with few games that match the significance of Doom and even fewer developers that match the influence of id Software.

 

[Reaperman Wompa]

Zelda OoT etc. just because they are games that every gamer has playeed.
Kinda like Mario but not as powerful, should still be considered though.

 

[mark_n_b]

what's your reasoning for suggesting id, in your position I might have said Quake because of its impact on the game mod community. But id, as a company is nothing special (IMO only, which is just as valid as anyone else's, this is why we need to hear justification)

Whut? id pretty much pioneered an entire genre, multi-player gaming, and numerous graphical/technical achievements. I'd say that's pretty significant.

You would come up with few games that match the significance of Doom and even fewer developers that match the influence of id Software.

That's what I'm talking about, see how much more impressive and meaningful that is than:

id

 

[Brockyman]

(I made this post without reading any other. I'll go back but I wanted to come up with my own before reading other opinions)

1. Dungeons and Dragons - Without this table top game, video games wouldn't have developed in the same way. RPGs wouldn't even exist!
2. The Video Arcade Classics: Pong/PacMan/Donkey Kong - Classic Characters that together helped consumer begin buying home systems.
3. Nintendo: Revitalized the console business and their innovation has affected everyone and everything in the business. Classic Franchises as Mario, Zelda, Metroid, ect. (GameBoy, Wii)
4. Mario: While should be bundled with Nintendo, Mario has special status b/c of his far reaching effect in the past 4 generations of gaming! Mario's contriubtions can't even be measured!
5. Halo: The Halo Franchise (while not perfect) has proven that video games have reached the same level of profitablity and respect as motion pictures and sports. It's also one of the most popular Multiplayer game, that many other games have adapted to their needs (COD, Resistance, Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto)
6. World of Warcraft: Started the MMORPG craze!
7. XBox Live. Created a (mostly) stable, easy to use enviorment for multiplayer gaming, as well as multimedia content and the revitalization of classic games, simple games, casual games, and independant games via the XBox Live Arcade. Spawned the Playstation Network and Wii Channels/Ware.

Honorbale Mentions
Sony/Playstation (introduced disc format as main game media)
Final Fantasy
Grand Theft Auto (innovation, social debates)
DuelShock Controller (added feeling to the game experience)
ESRB (while not prefect, it helped stifle government intervention in the industry and allows more diverse games to be made)

 

[SimuLord]

1. Dungeons and Dragons - From tabletop RPGs came computer RPGs came JRPGs. Just about everyone has some connection to D&D as a gamer.
2. Sid Meier's Civilization - Build an empire to stand the test of time. Many PC gamers really got hooked on the PC once and for all by playing a game in this series.
3. Crysis on max settings (even if you're limited to just screenshots) - Because nothing helps immersion quite like incredible graphics (even if nothing kills it like hitchy framerates.)
4. Bo Jackson - Tecmo Super Bowl. Greatest cyber-athlete of all time.
5. SimCity - Launched Will Wright's career and taught the world that there's more to video games than "save the princess" or "shoot everything in sight."
6. The Havok physics engine - From the Gravity Gun to Portal to its use to power countless games over the past few years, if you want something to make things move the way things should move, Havok makes it possible.
7. Spacewar! - Because who knows if Nolan Bushnell would've discovered the chops to make what became the Atari 2600 without it. A timeless classic - as RAKtheUndead has pointed out, the game is still very much playable and enjoyable even today.

 

[sokimit]

seconded

also i nominate diablo 2 because its just that amazing

edit: seconded to the meatloaf thing forgot to hit the quote button

 

[meatloaf231]

I think Steam belongs there more than Xbox Live.

Steam is awe-inspiring, I suppose, but I see your opinions as massively skewed by your reputation of intense PS3 enjoyment.

Perhaps I am mistaken.

 

[Corven]

The KOTOR series: for pumping new blood into an old franchise.

 

[The Iron Ninja]

If xbox 360s spead a cure for aids whenever activated and spent all their time helping old ladies across the street while handing wads of cash to orphans Indigo Dingo would find something bad to say about them.
So no, you are not mistaken.

 

[stompy]

Perhaps something more like Quake for online play, and perhaps Xbox Live for bringing that experience to the consoles? I mean, making it popular, not the first (that honour belongs to the Dreamcast).

As for my mention, I'd like to add Half Life: they pioneered scripted sequences, a staple in many FPSs these days.

 

[Brockyman]

Perhaps something more like Quake for online play, and perhaps Xbox Live for bringing that experience to the consoles? I mean, making it popular, not the first (that honour belongs to the Dreamcast).

As for my mention, I'd like to add Half Life: they pioneered scripted sequences, a staple in many FPSs these days.

I know that XBox Live isn't the first, with Doom and Quake, and other PC multiplayer games, but in my opinion (as a "consule tard"...I don't do alot of PC gaming) XBox Live seemed to make multiplayer more mainstream WHILE offering DLC for games, TV shows, Movies, and Keeping track of your achievements. Rock Band and Guitar Hero are examples of the power and need of downloadable content, and XBox Live and PSN help distribute what would have taken retail disks to do in the past.