Top 15 Video Game Franchises
Published on November 16, 2007 - 139 Comments
Video games have been around for quite a while and have rapidly become one of the industrialized world’s greatest past times. Over the years, the staying power of many of the electronic entertainment industry’s mascots have depended greatly on how popular they play out with kids and adults alike. For instance, Pit Fall Harry hasn’t been all that exciting since a few popped up after his Atari hey-days, and Centipede was a huge contender 20 plus years ago, but his value faltered. As for today’s audience, it takes some massively engrossing adventures, spooky plots, and just a little bit of sex and violence to keep their collective heads above the saturated water. Here are TWELVE OF MANY that have done the job.
15. Doom
Igniting the First-Person Shooter genre in 1993, DOOM made a huge impact on the video gaming world. Allowing a player any number of borderline ridiculous weaponry, one was able to lay waste to monsters and aliens. Spawning a rapid sequel, DOOM II in 1994, the franchise has gone on to make a huge name for itself. Oh, and the movie starring The Rock was pretty sad. My personal favorite? I wore my controller out to DOOM for sure!
14. Castelvania
Spawning quite a few games of its own, the epic struggle of good versus vampire has been around since Simon Belmont first swung his whip. Now, several incarnations later, some of the best versions have mad appearances on the Nintendo hand-held systems and, as the rumor mill grinds, a movie is in the works as well.
13. Sports Games
Be them EA Sports, John Madden presenting, NASCAR sponsored, or the ever-present Acclaim, sports games have been around guarding its own little corner of the market since one could hurl a lighted red dot at another, slightly less red dot. The realism today is such that it nearly feels as though you are playing the television as opposed to a video game. My personal favorite? Hockey.
12. Star Wars
Never has a more viable movie double-trilogy transferred with such ease onto the video game screen. Back in the days of Atari (2600, 5200) one could experience the feel of The Empire Strikes Back by battling the dreaded ATAT walker, and things just got better from there. Now, with games dedicated to either the expansion or destruction –whichever you prefer– of the Jedi, you can practically run an entire galaxy. My personal favorite? Lego Star Wars.
11. Pacman
Since his gluttonous beginnings gracing arcades all over the place, the pellet-munching yellow fellow has grown to spawn as many sequels as possible ranging from Ms. Pacman, to Pacman Junior, to Pac-Land, to even his own Saturday Morning cartoon series from the eighties and a pretty retched cereal to boot. My personal favorite? I was always partial to Ms. Pacman. HOT!
10. Metroid
Remember when you discovered Samus was a girl? Yeah, I was pretty freaked out about that, too. But it was such an awesome original game for the NES that I forgave the oddity and went on to eventually play as many of her ‘offspring’ as I could. The game remains a Nintendo staple to this day. My personal favorite? Metroid Prime was outstanding!
9. Final Fantasy
I can still recall the very first time I fell in love with an honest to goodness roll playing game for the Nintendo, and Final Fantasy (along with Dragon Warrior) was it. Being in charge of a slew of travelers come warriors and the epic landscapes and adventures therein was just amazing. The music was stellar, and the menu screens… well, it’s all nostalgia now. Either way, FF has produced a ton of sequels and spin-offs for every level of player. My personal favorite? FF-III all the way!
8. Mortal Kombat
There was something special to be said about a video game for a system rival to the Super Nintendo called the Sega Genesis wherein you could actually wrench out a player’s spine or burn his skull to a bloody crisp, and Mortal Kombat was it. I actually bought the system just for this game so my friends and I could see all the arcade-style blood and gore… only to find out that a year later Nintendo would finally do the same thing. Oh well, the Genesis came in handy for other games as well. Anyway, MK produced hit after hit, two pretty cool films, and a theme song that still hasn’t left my subconscious. My personal favorite? I am a sucker for the original as it still holds a warm place in my heart.
7. Mega Man
Beginning its reign for the Nintendo system back in the original NES’ hey-day, Mega Man and his arch-nemesis Dr. Wily burst onto the scene with a cool new addition: with each defeated level you took on the boss’ power! Mega Man went from pellet-launching blue boy, to fire, saw blades, leaves, spikes, or any number of other items firing killer! The objects he could procure just kept getting more obscure and each came in handy in destroying some other foe. Awesome! My personal favorite? Mega Man 3 was really tough at the time and took me forever to get through.
6. Grand Theft Auto
Though the original two installments of this much maligned series were nothing more than cars smashing into one another, it was the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 that changed the very face of video gaming as we know it. If you haven’t been privy to this masterpiece, you must try it for yourselves and feel just how much fun it is to destroy everything in sight. Even hookers. Since then, the series has gotten better and better. My personal favorite? GTA 3 did it for me for HOURS!
5. Sonic The Hedgehog
Sega’s answer to Nintendo’s little, mustachioed plumber was a blue-spiked critter who could attain super-fast speeds and bust through scenery on his way to collecting whirling rings. Though not necessarily a knock-off of Nintendo’s poster child, Sonic was very similar but continued to differ in future installments. His reign continues today but, since Sega no longer makes a system, he can be found on the Playstation. My personal favorite? Sonic three was cool with the introduction of Miles Prower the fox, and Knuckles the echidna.
4. Halo
Very few other games have had the power of Halo when it comes to the masses lining up for its release. Though only on its third installment, Halo has no plans of slowing down in any foreseeable future and everyone knows that Master Chief will return for part 4 as soon as the masterminds get it made. My personal favorite? I’m sad to admit I have never played….
3. Resident Evil
Such a scary and other-worldly game, one would think, would never find its niche in a world controlled by first-person shooters and RPG’s, but those people would have been dead wrong. Resident Evil introduced us to the Umbrella Corporation and its horde of the undead as you, as Claire and Alice, take on the monsters in darkened locations and eerie surroundings. Not so much loud and obnoxious as other games similar, Resident Evil has relied on hidden horrors and surprising terror to give it ‘life’. Oh, and let’s not forget the movie trilogy that really is quite good. My personal favorite? I like R.E. 2 since it was the first one I played and beat.
2. The Legend Of Zelda
One of the most prolific and fantastic franchises ever to grace every Nintendo Entertainment system, Link stars as the perpetual hero in the constantly consistent Zelda series of video games. Beginning its reign of constancy with the original Legend of Zelda, Link has had to shrink to miniature size, travel the seas on a wind-blown dragon boat, and do battle through time as a wolf. The series continues to fascinate and intrigue newer and older gamers alike providing games for the large screen and the hand-held systems. My personal favorite? Zelda and the Ocarina of Time made me weep with joy! This is also a game that is so popular with Listverse readers that its exclusion would cause a near mutiny!
1. Mario
From his humble beginnings as the wary climber leaping over monkey-tossed barrels in Donkey Kong, Mario has gone on to host an enormous series of amazing games. Ranging from the outstanding original, Super Mario Brothers for the Nintendo, to the sequel featuring him and his cohorts in dreamland, to the third installment where you could become a raccoon, to his exploits as a guy made out of paper, to the newest: Mario Galaxy, this prolific plumber has done it all. In fact, members of his entourage have gotten their own titles including Luigi as a ghost collector, Yoshi exploring his island, and even Wario and his unusual games. Mario is the number one son of the Nintendo Entertainment System and his reign looks to be going nowhere soon.
Contributor: StewWriter
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1. jlatore - November 16th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Zelda? No Zelda at all?
Also, that movie starring The Rock was “Doom,” not “Halo.”
2. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 7:24 am
WTF? Umm Rock in a Halo movie? NO! try doom. and yes any TOP 10 list that doesn’t include Zelda is worthess IMHO.
3. dangorironhide - November 16th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Sonic, Halo, Mario, Final Fantasy, GTA. All awesome. But seriously, GTA ahead of Final Fantasy? I think you need to rethink the order a bit mate, the final fantasy series as a whole is incredible, and definitley deserves to be at least in the top 3.
4. Phil - November 16th, 2007 at 7:30 am
i’d say grand theft auto should be ahead of sonic, seeing as how sonic only had 4 real big hit games. nice list nonetheless.
5. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Thanks for the correction guys - I have updated the list.
6. Clues - November 16th, 2007 at 7:45 am
WoW?
7. Atom - November 16th, 2007 at 7:46 am
This has got to be the first gaming list I have seen without Zelda.
8. JOE ROSSON - November 16th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Still no zelda!!!
9. dangorironhide - November 16th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Hmm, I’ve just noticed a reccuring theme of ‘this is only some of them’, or ‘this is 10, but not in any order’ in StewWriter’s lists haha
10. Ginger Lee - November 16th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Blizzard has done a lot to impact the video game world with Warcraft & Diablo
11. john doan - November 16th, 2007 at 7:59 am
diablo, warcraft, starcraft, zelda WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!
12. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 8:00 am
WoW is great I am super addicted but I don’t think it belongs on this list.
13. dangorironhide - November 16th, 2007 at 8:00 am
john doan: diablo, warcraft and starcraft are not franchises. There might be a case for warcraft, but definitely not the other two.
14. anesb - November 16th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Awww… I hate to be negative here, but I think Half-Life should be on here. Not only is it a very awesome game, but it has had one the most popular mods ever, Counter-Strike (and all of it’s versions).
From Wikipedia:
“Counter-Strike is the most widely played online first-person shooter in the world. In 2002 there were over 30,000 populated Counter-Strike servers on the Internet (second place was Unreal Tournament with about 9,800). In 2004, GameSpy statistics showed over 85,000 players simultaneously playing Counter-Strike at any point in time, and in 2006, Steam regularly shows over 200,000 players for Counter-Strike (this includes Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike). According to statistics gathered by Valve’s content-delivery platform, Steam, these players collectively contribute to over 6.17789 billion minutes of playing time each month, as of February 5, 2007, solidifying its position as the most popular online first-person shooter of all time.”
15. DiscHuker - November 16th, 2007 at 8:08 am
i feel compelled stew. despite this already being said…no zelda?!?!?!? just the three on the original NES are a better series than sonic, and that doesn’t even take into effect all of the great chapters on other systems. this seems like such an obvious choice.
did you do this on purpose to get us all up in arms? if so, i might blow the magic whistle and me and my buddy link will show up at your house to talk about it.:)
16. dangorironhide - November 16th, 2007 at 8:11 am
anesb: Half Life is not a franchise.
17. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Oh boy - another controversy
18. Derek - November 16th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I’m surprised the whole id Games empire wasn’t included…Doom and Quake. Led the pack way back when…spawned TONS of knock-off’s (still doing so) using Carmack’s rendering engines.
19. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Jamie: this is not a controversy, its fact Zelda is one o the greatest franchises of all time, and anyone who knows a lick about gaming knows this.
20. evan - November 16th, 2007 at 8:22 am
i guess for games like half-life, Civilization, warcraft….is what exactly is stew using to determine if its a franchise or not?
like the other list, no Civilization????
21. anesb - November 16th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Hrmmm… interesting you say so, Dangorironhide. Because the VP of EA thinks differently.
“We consider Half-Life and Counter-Strike to be two of the best game franchises of all time,” said Tom Frisina, Vice President and General Manager, EA Partners. “We could not be more excited to have the opportunity to help deliver these outstanding games to players around the globe.”
From itvibe.com
22. yaurt - November 16th, 2007 at 8:25 am
StewWriter is awesome! he got the guts to do a “top 10 video games”
i though about it, but i was afraid as hell! how can you please 10.000 pleople who like 100 diferent videogames ? You can’t! I bow to you StewWriter
23. roscoefrye - November 16th, 2007 at 8:27 am
First no Zelda, really. Second sports games is not a franchise. Madden or Tiger Woods or Blitz is a franchise.
24. Dylan - November 16th, 2007 at 8:28 am
I know this is a small thing, but Tails first appeared in the second Sonic game, not the third…yeah, I’m pathetic for knowing that.
25. DarkJesus - November 16th, 2007 at 8:32 am
No zelda? That’s just silly.
26. akKris - November 16th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Really, no Zelda?
27. g c - November 16th, 2007 at 9:15 am
No half-life, no zelda?
28. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Juggz: I know nothing about gaming whatsoever - I can’t pass judgement
29. tjgrs - November 16th, 2007 at 9:27 am
the only thing i have to say is sports games should be higher on the list…madden games sell like crazy, baseball games (including the triple plays form back in the late 90’s) sell like crazy. 2K sports, EA sports, EA Big, 989 Sports, Acclaim, and Midway all companies that made amazing games on multiple levels that continually get better and push the development of game engineering. Madden itself is it’s own franchise, being one of the top selling ones ever. easily the op sports franchise…also, tony hawk games are another HUGE seller…but otherwise, great job on the list
30. Black Lutefisk - November 16th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Sorry to not see any of the old PC RPGs like Ultima, Wizardry, or Might & Magic. Or any MMORPGs. Otherwise, good list.
Can we have some kind of list that manages to include Colecovision’s Smurf Adventure? That would make me happy.
31. chershey - November 16th, 2007 at 9:48 am
No WoW?
/me cries on your shoulder.
32. StewWriter - November 16th, 2007 at 10:21 am
OH MY GOD! I HONESTLY completely forgot Zelda and I should be punished repeatedly with solid metal objects about the face and neck. I had NO intention of creating a controversy and I am absolutely the most ignorant human being on the planet. I LOVE that franchise and have played many of the numerous games. I will now appeal to Jamie (ha) to add it as number 2 (will that suffice?) and I’ll do a bit of a synopsis. FORGIVE ME!
33. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Mario dug the trench and laid the rubble, but Zelda paved the path of the gaming industry today. Mario does deserve #1 spot without a doubt, Zelda should have bee #2 and FF should have been #3. Halo and Resident Evil should not be on the list Halo is trying real hard to make a cache on the gamers and has it calling but still not a top game franchises. Resident Evil? Halo is closer to being on this list than RE. Half-Life should have been on here as it has expanded out of its box and into a new one with Counter-Strike. Sports games should have been #4 just because there are a million to chose from and they come out with another 200+/- every year to make you want to upgrade from your pathetic wimpy last years game. Ultima…you forgot Ultima. They have as many if not more releases than FF though not of the same quality. That and they went online and still run as the longest mmorpg running (not including mmuds). 10 years and running with a strong population. Not as big as WoW or SWG…but still.
anywho…i think I have rambled off enough…lol… my list would have been
1. Mario
2. Zelda
3. Final Fantasy
4. Sports Games
5. Half-Life
6. Metroid
7. Castlevania
8. Ultima
9. Mega-Man
10. Mortal Combat
11. Doom
12. GTA
13. Myst
14. Pac-Man
15. Sonic
34. StewWriter - November 16th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Ravyn: Looks good, and as I said, I have remedied my terrible error of leaving Zelda out. Should be corrected soon…
35. Kevin - November 16th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Pacman??? Has there been a good original game since atari? get rid of it.
Has Anyone said Metal Gear Solid. The PS1 game was epic and the PS2 games were also awesome.
Oh yea and Zelda
36. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 10:54 am
ok - so what the heck is zelda?? She sounds very popular.
37. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Jamie: I ought to smack you for that. I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or honest.
38. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Ravyn: haha - and I am not going to tell you which it is
39. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Well that is fine. If you are being sarcastic that is cool. If you are being honest though, I guess I will just not tell you the answer to that one.
40. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Ravyn: okay - I wasn’t - what is it?
41. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Jamie: Still unsure if you are being sarcastic. I think now either you are trying to make fun of me for not knowing you were really being sarcastic in the first place or you genuinely don’t know.
Do I over-analyze?
42. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Ravyn: Halo does belong on this list. All the records halo 2 and 3 broke, i mean c’mon halo 2 had the highest grossing sales in one day in video game history only to be broken by halo 3 on its release. it is definatelty one of the biggest game franchises ever.
Jamie: look up The legend of zelda on wiki, plenty of info there
43. Charly - November 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I think that the “Sports” franchise is very generic, thats more like a type of game (like FPS, RTS, action/adventure) not a franchise. Thats a wasted spot, that could have been replaced by some other true franchises, like Metal Gear, Age of Empires, Warcraft… emmm Zelda… I don’t think that pacman is a franchise either, yes it has some games but its all about the same thing, if that was the case then Tetris could have appeared on this list (Tetrisphere somebody???)…
44. Faolin - November 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Wait? jfrater, did you ask ‘what the heck is Zelda’?! Sarcastic or not, here comes a response! Allow me to school you…
The Legend of Zelda series is the beginning, the end, the one who is many. Wait. Maybe not quite… heh.
Ready for my incredibly horrible summary of the series?
Zelda is a princess, and for some reason has a series of games bearing her name. Always made me confused… considering in every game it’s some green-clad guy named Link who’s saving the world. Essentially, there’s this triforce doohicky that was left behind in the land of Hyrule that can give it’s bearers ultimate power. Obviously, there’s gonna be a bad guy who wants said power, but first has to gain all three pieces of the Triforce. So you have Zelda, the princess of Hyrule and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom; Link, the hero, and bearer of the Triforce of Courage; Ganondorf (or Ganon), the villain, bearer of the Triforce of Power. This stays pretty much uniform throughout all the games in the franchise. If you want more specifics, Google/Wiki it. You’ll find tons of info on all the different games!
Either way, it’s an awesome franchise, and it should have definitely made the list. After all, I think BBC did a ‘most awesome video game ever’ (or something like that) list a while back… and ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ was listed as number one! Everything else was pretty good… except the Star Wars video game ‘franchise’. I agree that as a movie franchise it would qualify for the top 12… but games? Eh… I don’t think so. But that’s just my two cents.
(I normally never comment on boards… I prefer being a lurker. But this… it broke my LoZ lovin’ heart…
)
45. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Juggz: was that you in that video on your site or was that a found vid?
Just because you are one of the many who have fallen for the Halo trance (yes I play Halo and still have 1 and 2) doesn’t mean it is a top game franchise. Sorry hun but that is it. Yes it has 3 games out, yes it has millions of people that are eatting out of the companies hands. But seriously….. bah… like talking to a brick wall.
46. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Faolin: thanks
you will be pleased to know that Zelda is coming in the update to the list shortly.
47. Faolin - November 16th, 2007 at 11:37 am
jfrater: WAH HOOO! *personally thinks that Zelda should be at the top of the list, but may be a bit biased… :P* Yeah… it’s definitely deserving of a top 12 spot. It’s a shame that (now I’m assuming) you were never exposed to the game. If you ever have time, I highly recommend playing at least one of the Zelda games. They are quite awesome!
48. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Ravyn: no it wasnt mein the video, i wish i was that creative
falling pray to Halo trance does not negate its popularity, while it may not be one of your favorite games it is indeed one of the biggest game franchises of all time.
This has inspired me to come up with a much more informed top 10 frachises list. ill post it on my blog over the weekend then you can come criticise me Ravyn
49. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Jamie: assuming that you haven’t played and really don’t know what Zelda is. Definatly try one out for size. I would recommend the first one provided you have a NES system. It is truely a great series and is very deserving of a top spot.
50. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:47 am
Juggz: I will see to it.
BTW: I never said Halo wasn’t one of my favs.
51. Kelsi - November 16th, 2007 at 11:53 am
I would have to say that I agree with Ravyn’s list…the lack of Zelda is troubling indeed, as many have already pointed out. But nonetheless, brave attempt, and not an entirely bad one. I think we just have a lot of geek users… 0=)
52. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Kelsi: Um geek users….you think? I don’t know. Oki yeah I would have to say I agree on that
53. fiddlestix - November 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Any top video game list that has no mention of Zelda…sigh…I have to respectfully disagree. There’s no way that Mortal Kombat, Mega Man, or Sonic are in the same league as Zelda.
54. Callam - November 16th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Dont think eny1 has said Crash bandicoot,number 1 was a great game back in the day,
WoW is missing too
55. Worrymon - November 16th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I’d like to add my opinion on this list (love the site, but never had a reason to say anything).
I think neglecting the SimCity franchise (est. 1989) is neglecting a huge portion of gaming history. It spawned a whole genre of games and is still being updated.
56. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Worrymon: I thought about the Sims while making the list I made in the comments but forgot to put it in and remembered it after I couldn’t edit it anymore…lol…completly agree wit the sims.
57. jfrater - November 16th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
right - zelda is in! Crisis averted
58. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
WOOT! Near Mutiny for the win!
ehem…i mean very nice
59. StewWriter - November 16th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I have outrun the masses, quit a feat for a fat guy, and come out surprisingly unscathed and, hopefully, vindicated. Zelda and Doom are aboard. Please, relinquish yon pitchforks. Oh, and have a nice day.
60. steve - November 16th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
looks like i didnt get here soon enough for all the controversy over this list, but, i think it’s good, there are some missning, notably:
Half Life and Sim City
As for Halo, there are no plans for Bungie to make Halo 4, Bungie has said many times that the Halo story is a trilogy, and it is over and done with with the 3rd one. Anyone who’s beaten it knows it is.
Now that Bungie and MS are no longer together, and MS can do what they want with Halo, i see them getting someone else to make Halo 4, and it sucking hard core.
61. Borg - November 16th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Sim City is an excellent addition, Worrymon. I would put it up there at four, right after Mario, FF, and Zelda. After that Madden, GTA, Star Wars, and Donkey Kong. Beyond that, I’m not sure.
Cool list, Stewwriter. You’re a brave man for putting up a video game list and then admitting you’ve never even played Halo!
62. Juggz - November 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Steve: Allow my geekness to shine once again, but Bungie has never stated an end to the halo universe, justt the current story arc. There will most definately be a Halo 4 and they are doing Halo Wars(RTS) as we speak, scheduled for a Holiday 08 release.
Money Makers never stop being made and since halo is MS biggest money maker we can expect numerous more games in the series. Look at mortal Kombat it stopped being a decent game at 2 but we still have sequals pouring out.
Every game on this list will continue to spew sequals, thats why they are the top franchises in the industry.
Oh and Stever anyone who has beat Halo 3 in legendary and saw the extended ending after the credits knows thy are already setting it up for halo 4
I know im an ass today….SORRY EVERYONE
63. Arkz_Archduke_of_Geeks - November 16th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
…..zeldas number two…. and yeah rock was in doom, and there isn’t going to be a halo 4.. and well if there is its not gonna have chief bungie planned it to be a trilogy.. hmm personally i think a series needs more then 3 games to qualify for a franchise… that means.. say halo has to wait till halo wars comes out
64. Jack11 - November 16th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Faolin: I’m gonna disagree with you on you’re opinion of the Star Wars franchise. Now I haven’t played every Star Wars game, and some of them do truly suck. Some, however, I think are completely awesome. Example: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Possibly my favorite RPG to date. Well maybe not, too many good ones out there. (An example of a horrible star wars game would be Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike. It was extremely disappointing.)
Maybe we can get an Honorable Mention for The Elder Scrolls?
65. Du - November 16th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
im quite shocked that pokemon didnt make the list xD
its not my fav game of all time but it did take me through many months of bordom
66. 20Fan20 - November 16th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I love the music and videogame lists!!!
I agree that sports is not a franchise. Under that rule Tetris and all it’s spawns of puzzle games should be there.
These lists are tough to write because it is difficult to judge games of the past against games of today.
Look Space Quest, Knights Quest and Police Quest all had long runs of multiple titles. These were popular in relation to other games of the time.
If you are curious they required multiple (up to 6) 5.25 inch floppies to run on your computer. This allowed much long RPG stlye of gaming than consoles at the time.
They were quite fun but OMG they were freaking hard.
67. Arkz_Archduke_of_Geeks - November 16th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
..well if talking about rpgs.. i do have to mention what in my mind is one of the greatest rpgs ever… fallout and its sequel i literally cried when i found out my computer was too good for fallout
68. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
omg I can’t believe I forgot about the Police Quest series. Many hours wasted on those games. wow
69. SubliminalDeath666 - November 16th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I knew Mario would be number 1 but Halo number 4!!?!?!? C’mon dude! Halo is THE best FPS (First-Person Shooter) in the world!!!
70. SubliminalDeath666 - November 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Jamie: Hold up!! You’ve never played Halo!?!?!?! What century do you live in man? Honestly God, you better be in touch with your inner gamer man! But seriously, try the game out, it is BADASS!!!
71. goshdarnitt - November 16th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
this one would have probably been better if broken down into catagories. i mean most people on the internet play video games and quite a few of those are exceedingly passionate about it. perhaps one list with franchises spawned on early computers, arcade machines, atari, and nes; then one with relatively younger franchises… just maybe.
p.s. i love the list anyway. glad you fixed the lack of zelda heh heh.
Arkz_Archduke_of_Geeks-aaaahhh! fallout!!! bethesda is making # three! just saying the word ‘fallout’ gives me a nosebleed!… aaaahhh!
72. brendan - November 16th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Ravyn: Play a Resident Evil game. Go Ahead. Alright wasn’t that fun? Yeah I know it does deserve to be on the list.
73. aplspud - November 16th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
King’s Quest? Loved the original with the crazy dragon. Hey he should go on that other list!
Myst?
74. ben - November 16th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Im glad SOMEONE mentioned that they dont plan to make a Halo with the same story line. Bungie did state it, although its true taht they hinted it could be reanimated with a slightly different one. When i drove that warthog (puma?) onto that frigate at the end of Halo 3 i think i shed a tear inside my heart. A tear of joy, relief and sadness i would possibly never again control MC
75. Ravyn - November 16th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
brendan: I have played Resident Evil, RE2, REZero, and RE4. I like the games but still don’t believe that it belongs on the list.
76. Chris - November 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Alice is not a character in the video games for Resident Evil. Not quite sure how you can compile a list of the “best of something” when you seem to know practically nothing about the series you are claiming to be the best.
77. bobletto - November 17th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Metal Gear Solid???
Civilization???
Pro Evo Soccer???
Tekken???
Zelda deserves No.1 spot
how did RE get to no.3? (although RE1 and 4 were awesome)
78. Arkz_Archduke_of_Geeks - November 17th, 2007 at 11:05 am
oh i completely forgot about the metal gear. civ, and tekken.. oh i love all of them, and truth i have longer hours on civ then zelda
79. Ravyn - November 17th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Arkz: I have alot of hours into civ also. I put civ4 and warlords on this puter a month ago. My gosh the game has changed so much over the past years.
80. CVN71-TR - November 17th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Not a bad list but I do see an omission as far as FPS. The Tom Clancy franchises have been around for quite a long time and while not all of them have been good most have, especially the Rainbow Six series and the original Ghost Recon. Just my two cents.
81. bob - November 17th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I’m appalled that there is a lack of the Sim games, which if anything should be in the top five, as there are hundreds of sim titles. Maxis started a revolution with SicCity, which has bounded into a forefront of the gaming industry with a sim for almost everything.
I am also deeply concerned that you did not mention the Age of Empires & Command and Conquer franchises, which made way for a new genre of videogaming.
Both of these types should most definitely be in the top 10.
I also have to agree that ’sports’ is not a franchise, although I agree that they are some of the most popular games. However, this is a top franchise list…sports shouldn’t be here.
Notation of the Stronghold series would have been good…maybe not a top 10 or whatever, but it has integrated the sim games with the strategy games like age of empires. The two original ones are by far the best though!
82. Crimanon - November 18th, 2007 at 5:50 am
81 comments and no one even recognises Streetfighter.
Street Fighter
Street Fighter II
Super Street Fighter II
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Street Fighter Alpha
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX 2
Street Fighter EX 2 Plus
Street Fighter EX Plus
Street Fighter II Rainbow Edition
Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter III: New Generation
Street Fighter III: Second Impact
Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha
Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper
You count them I personally hate Fighters. Give me a FPS ANY day. Armored Core Rocks, Kirby is my god!
83. Fruckert - November 18th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
i remember reading on a wikipedia article that there is over 100 megaman games total
84. Kitsune - November 20th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Umm… Resident Evil? For the person who mentioned it, how dare you say it shouldn’t be on the list? That game revolutionized survival horror!
85. Trippyhippy - November 20th, 2007 at 2:17 am
At least you have #1 and #2 right
86. chief - November 20th, 2007 at 7:42 am
“roll playing”? lol
87. Mel - November 20th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Mother series? NoA better start releasing Mother 3 before brawl comes out!!
88. mistere - November 20th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Good list but yeah I agree with others that Half-Life series definitely needs to be on here. Sales wise it’s actually sold almost as much as the Halo franchise (no I’m not a lying fanboy, look up the numbers and no I’m not debating which is better, I actually like both omg I know) and Half-Life influenced FPS’s arguably as much as Doom did. And yes it’s a franchise, there are technically 3 games for it now (Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life episodes = HL3), not to mention Counter-Strike and Team Fortress among others.
89. No.Cigaro - November 20th, 2007 at 9:46 am
TOMB RAIDER??
90. joe mama - November 20th, 2007 at 9:53 am
What?! Zelda is only number 2?!?!?!!? BLASPHEMY!!
91. Angel Mass - November 20th, 2007 at 10:47 am
WHAT! Final Fantasy games, in the 9 spot ????
92. Dude - November 21st, 2007 at 1:15 am
Ever heard of “King’s Quest”?
Must have been before your time.
93. Wil - November 21st, 2007 at 2:08 am
aw come on what about Leisure Suit Larry Man? hahah
94. jfrater - November 21st, 2007 at 2:28 am
I loved leisure suit larry!
95. Mashurface - November 21st, 2007 at 5:01 am
No Rayman at all??? I know its kinda samey, but its still a freaking tough game and a laugh at the same time! Wake up people!!!
96. Ravyn - November 21st, 2007 at 7:38 am
Leisure Suit Larry was an awesome series
97. jfrater - November 21st, 2007 at 7:57 am
Mashurface: I didn’t write this lists so I can’t make a judgement on the game you are talking about - to be honest, I have never heard of it.
Ravyn: LSL was the very first game I ever played in color - talk about exciting!
98. iain - November 21st, 2007 at 9:55 am
out of all, half life 2 is the best game ever made
99. marto - November 22nd, 2007 at 3:15 am
Myst? The first ever game on CD rom and the biggest selling game of all time. Even bigger if you include Riven Exile Revelations and End of Ages (aka Myst II, III, IV and V) It was only recently knocked off the top sellers spot by
The Sims which is also not on your list.
So your list lacks the 2 biggest grossing titles of all time both of which have spawned thousands of similar games.
Perhaps this is not a good time to mention
Unreal or The Tomb Raider series.
100. Arkz_Archduke_of_Geeks - November 22nd, 2007 at 3:24 am
oh man myst was fun… and glad you mentioned unreal.. i perfer it over halo any day
101. Lickums - November 22nd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Crash Bandicoot?
102. Nemo - November 22nd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
If we took the time to go though every game franchised that’s both popular enough to sequal and legitimatly well known, I have a feeling that this list would have to be at very least 50 titles long.. some of them might not have lasted long due to mistakes and competition, but after 30 some years I’m sure we could come up with a ranking of a few more than 15 titles.. *sigh* what a disappointment.. although most of my favorite titles Did make the ranks! lol
103. Ravyn - November 22nd, 2007 at 4:20 pm
man now you make me want to load up a nice round of whoop-ass un UT. BTW: Unreal Tournement 3 was released on Nov 20th. I been playing it LAN since Halloween and I love it.
104. SnowKid32 - November 28th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
What the fuck? Why isn’t Half-Life on there?
105. jimmy - December 4th, 2007 at 9:38 am
No Metal Gear Solid!?????
106. piggydestroyer - December 7th, 2007 at 6:36 am
they forgot so many games. what about devil may cry? there is no way that list is right. there is also dynasty warriors which ill admit is a great game and if enough people buy it to make the series go for so long, it should be up there, or soul caliber should be there too n tekken.
107. Du - December 7th, 2007 at 7:25 am
ahh!! what about pong?!?!?! and tetris???
the most addicting games ever!!!!
glad sonic made the list though =3 although not the newer versions of sonic (or rather, sonic X)
i loved sonic seasons xD
108. OK - December 10th, 2007 at 2:48 am
1. Mario
2. Legend of Zelda
3. Final Fantasy
4. Metal Gear
5. Castlevania
6. Street Fighter
7. GTA
8. Mega Man
9. Half Life
10. Metroid
109. miss_ali1984 - December 18th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I feel that Halo is severely overrated. Not that it should not be on the list just because of that. The same goes for Mortal Kombat. Street Fighter should get on the list. Immediately. Although I love video games, I really don’t get what constitutes a franchise. But I like Soul Calibur also, if that means anything. Hmph.
110. Slammerworm - December 26th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
How about ‘Silent Hill’? Five games, a movie (yeah, another game-movie; typically it wasn’t so hot), graphic novels. Creepier than Resident Evil, too. It gets into your head…
111. jfried620 - December 29th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
What the hell happened to the Final Fantasy series and Zelda!!??
112. cnorman - December 29th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Their there arent they?
113. Maxx_the_Slash - January 6th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Sorry to nitpick, but Alice only exists in the non-canon (unofficial) storyline created for the movies. Alice was never in a Resident Evil game, and only ever partnered with Claire Redfield in the third movie. Also, Claire isn’t in every Resident Evil game. Most people would include in their description of the franchise Jill and Chris, the original characters in the franchise.
114. luckyaz - January 17th, 2008 at 1:57 am
the greatest game ever is the madden series. if you dont believe me, look at the sales compared to others. list closed.
115. Pete - January 17th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Two glaring ommisions: Medal of Honour and Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
The wife just reminded me about Crash Bandicoot
116. fishing4monkeys - January 17th, 2008 at 5:40 am
No Sims mention? And why is Halo #4 and GTA #6? GTA is played by more people, sold better and was alot more original, it basically jump-started sandbox games! Halo is just another FPS…
117. fishing4monkeys - January 17th, 2008 at 5:41 am
@pete:
Maybe THPS is not on the list because it really went downhill latly?
118. Pete - January 17th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
fishing4monkeys: Thats a good call about THPS. I havent played Downhill Jam But it does look like crap. THPS 4 is the best one I think, altho #3 is a close seceond. Love that soundtrack
119. Nira - January 31st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
lol pokemon is still pretty good.
120. Steven “The Man With The Plan” - February 11th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Sports games are pretty broad you should have narrowed it down to Madden or 2k games
121. Dave - February 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Dont even need to put sports, the Madden franchise has been the most successfull sports game for more than a decade.
122. Ghidoran - March 1st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Why is pokemon on the list? It’s the second biggest franchise(after Mario). Check wikipedia. Also, sports games should be removed, probably pacman as well. Age of Empies and/or Starcrat and/or Warcraft should be added. Also, no fighting games are there other than Mortal Kombat, so you should add, I dunno, Street Fighter, and The Sims is pretty good.
123. Bubbapanther - April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 am
First of hello. and please don’t take this the wrong way…
With the way you have set up your list and have so many errors in the “why” statements, i really think you are not a gamer. as no self respecting gamer would put “Zelda and the Ocarina of Time” to quote you exactly. Since its widely considered the first console game to GET 3D adventuring right (PC is debatable) the name should come easily: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. now that thats off my chest….
most of the list I personally find adequate given the current state of video games and its 25+ year old industry. the main problem with the list is that it feels like hearsay and conjecture from your (note I feel this way because the post give me this vibe) short and small time with video games. In fact, I would probably not have seen this list if I wasn’t directed to it through a link. I see flaws within your list. Now with most replies I’ve seen here, they mostly are shouts of “WHY NOT THIS GAME???? IT ROCKS AND ________ SUCKS!!!!” with no reasoning or backing, they are implying that you know what they are talking about when they say something like that. I’ll try to avoid that.
My first dissension is your number 15 is Doom. It seems that you mistook Top for Most Influential. Doom was the first real FPS in Gaming history. everyone knows that(I would hope) and it did lay down much of the ground work for FPS games in general. (i.e. the BFG aka the super secret gun, the strongest gun in the game. getting it is like the holy grail. it is also seen in Goldeneye 007 for the N4 where the Golden Gun, a one hit KO pistol, is of the same nature.) now to get back to square one, Doom in and of itself is not in the Top fifteen. there have only been three games in the series. and many of the aspects of the first two games (cpu ai for example)have been out done by many mundane or nigh to forgettable games (killzone, quake The World is Not Enough 007) Doom 3, the most current iteration of the franchise, received a high score, but is often criticized for its overall poor game play for great graphics style (basically, not a game so much as an interactive Cg movie) this game doe not deserve this position.
next, only one sports game is more franchise due to the fact it has a history and popularity is nigh to unbeatable each year. Don’t loop things together like that unless your doing a Top Genre list. makes it sound less like you know what you are talking about. All that aside, I think sports games are pathetic personally, because nothing compares with the actual thing. the only game in this Genre that deserves attention is Madden. Madden defines what it means to produce a franchise game more than any other sports game because of many factors. One, the game never loses its core game play yet can still produce a new version year after year. Two, it’s the longest consecutive sports game series (at least from 95.) Three is that it rallies the hype-train (marketing strategy to rally buyers through mass advertising and merchandise. Halo and Pokemon are other note-worthy examples of this marketing ploy) effectively. combine all of these things and you get the success that is Madden. It’s probably the real reason EA games is still around.
Star Wars as a franchise is solid, you can’t really argue against it as a gaming giant. what you can argue is its claim to your Top 15 spot. Star Wars as a video game franchise relies too heavily on the existence of the movie franchise that the games wouldn’t exist otherwise. there are enough hit to garner a top 100 (KOTOR, Rouge Squadron, ETC) but there are too many misses (Bounty Hunter, Galactic Battlegrounds) for it to be in the Top 15. Star Wars fits into the negative area of gaming that exist only to rake in money. game made off of non-related media, such as movies and tv, fit into this area and are the WORST GAMES EVER (#2 ET for the Atari, #1 is Superman64) Star Wars is barely isn’t grouped in that cesspool. But i do agree that Lego Star Wars was fun. short, but fun.
I cannot believe you put MK up. not only that, you lack clear evidence to back up its position. too much opinion. ever since the fist Mortal Kombat, the series went down hill faster than sonic after Adventure 2 battle. there are plenty of higher rated Fighters out there (STREET FIGHTER, NIGHTSTAKERS, TEKKEN EVEN) that MK is overlooked in general gaming. it fits the influential list like Doom does more than a Top15 list. also: movies based off games as a general rule, reak. you have WAY too much opinion in this part.
GTA is a great game, and may define a genre (sandbox-esque) but to make a list means the franchise as a whole must be worthy. if you state that the first two games weren’t great, that’s about little less than half the series (1, 2, 3/Liberty city stories, Vice city+stories, San Andreas.) 4 has to be phenomenal in game play and entertainment to put it here. I think its in the Top 15, just not the Top 10…
I liked #2 the best personally.
Sonic the Hedgehog at #5? wow, what are you smoking? Up until Adventure 2 battle, the series was a contender for a top action game. when the series hit heroes on though, the only game franchise to hit a nose dive faster than this one was Bubsy. (3D KILLED Bubsy. in one game!) the Blue Blur has some of the best games, but Heroes, Next Gen Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow are widely considered bad. Just plain rotten. Sonic hit one hell of a hough patch. and although he is my favorite game character, he doesn’t belong at #5. not anymore.
Halo is a touchy subject. Its a decent game, in fact, many cite it as the best FPS, the fact is it’s sorta the best, I’ll explain. Halo got what many other games tried to do right. Duel wielding(Goldeneye 007, Perfect dark) vehicles (Perfect dark, any WW2 shooter) and so many other things my mind would explode if I tried to name them. But Halo in and of itself is generic to a fault. “shooting at aliens on another planet? OMG I’ve never seen a game like this (DOOM) before!” What Credit should be given out for Halo’s success is to its Marketing Team. Pokemon is the only Franchise that tops Halo in the Hype-train strategy. I’m pretty sure Game Fuel(mountain dew Halo endorsement), Heroclix figures(action figure game along the lines of DnD and chess, if they had a love child) books, and various rumors spawning even from the day Halo 2 was released(there is gonna be a trilogy!) make up the bulk of the second most successful hype up in video game history. Halo does many things right, but in all doesn’t exceed or stand out if you take away the hype Microsoft created. Finally, Halo is over as far as Bungie is concerned, and that means any other installments will be for milking the series for cash.
Now, the rest of the list seems fair, but a few games that need to be considered are:
Pokemon
the best team based RPG in existence, well into its 10th anniversary and still going strong. gave us the largest Product marketing hype up ever (still hasn’t slowed down) and introduced many game play mechanics for video games in general (downloadable exclusives such a Mew, and many other Pokemon, Rock paper scissors combat for team building, Modern setting) that many similar games(Digimon FF tactics) still don’t achieve a better game play score in comparison. the cartoon and card game are still around too.
Warcraft
arguably the best Tactical game ever, with four different factions at its peak (3, Rein of Chaos) with so many character units for each, it is truly a thinking players game, as strategies on playing it vary so greatly, its still a blast to play. and lets not forget the MMORPG Monster that is World of Warcraft that has “over 6 million players worldwide”
Truly a Franchise of Franchises.
Now, they way i see it, you have a good list with some minor errors that hinge on your own opinions. if you supplement factual references or, state that this list is your OPINION in the first place, then please, post that. otherwise, i offer this list of Franchises I find to be the Top 15
15: Street Fighter
14: Castlevania
13: GTA
12: Sonic
11: Madden
10: Final Fantasy
9: Mega Man
8: Metroid
7: Halo
6: Pokemon
5: Resident Evil
4: Metal Gear
3: Warcraft
2: The Legend of Zelda
1: Super Mario
124. Alok - May 7th, 2008 at 7:03 am
Is the list based on sales of games because then you should add Pokemon. I’d include streetfighter too.
125. Brad - May 8th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Final Fantasy should be #1. I am upset now. Thanks for ruining my day
126. Crimanon - May 8th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Does anyone know if GTA4 has hit Number one, of all time, yet?
127. jestr - May 8th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Call of Duty, Command and Conquer, and Madden belong somewhere on this list.
Crimanon: No idea checkout ign.com
128. Stefani - May 8th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Crimanon: Yeah i think it got like a 99% rating or something beating Zelda.
129. Taija - May 12th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I don’t think Halo deserves a place in this list. Sure, it’s great (although I wouldn’t go as far as calling it the best FPS out there), but it’s a way too young franchise to be in the top 15.
Pokemon, on the other hand, should have been there - it’s the second best-selling franchise in the world, just after Mario, and has had a huge cultural impact.
I also think that Final Fantasy should have been higher on the list.
130. jaime to die for - May 14th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
personally cmon metroid should have been down in the top three that game makes you focus and solve puzzles while still having it being action packed!!! yay nice one with the resident evil though it was fantastic
131. winter32842 - May 18th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Why isn’t Pokemon on the list?
Pokemon is second best selling francise ever after Mario. Out of top 25 best selling video game ever, Pokemon titles make up seven of them and Pokemon red/blue/green is best selling video game ever.
132. breach - June 3rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Uh, what about Half-Life? FAIL
133. AravynKenobi - June 5th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I’d have to say Tomb Raider belongs on the list. And the Sims games, whether it be SimCity or The Sims. But it’s definitely gotta be hard to make an abbreviated list of something like this.
134. J-Fi - June 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
15. Sonic the Hedgehog
14. Doom
13. Grand Theft Auto
12. Halo
11. Half-Life
10. Call of Duty Infinity Ward)
9. Warcraft
8. Madden
7. Resident Evil
6. Street Fighter
5. Castlevania
4. Metal Gear
3. The Legend of Zelda
2. Final Fantasy
1. Mario
135. Quiana - June 27th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Love mortal kombat and sonic. Sega Rules!!!
136. Ellen - July 9th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Zelda is definately my favourite franchise. it’s completely awesome and pretty much every game is good!
137. kaya - July 17th, 2008 at 11:13 am
WTF no Metal Gear? It should’ve made it into the list!
138. Person666 - July 27th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
IMHO Halo is just your run of the mill shooter with beefed up graphics that make everyone go gaga for it. The gameplay is repetitive, go here, kill (insert current target name here flip), press/flip/use (generic switch for advancing in level), repeat ad nauseum. The multiplayer is inventive, but not impressively so. The guns are pretty standard, especially in the second installment, though the third fixed this a little. If you say that it is good because so many people like it, that’s like saying somiking’s good because so many people are addicted to it. Overall, however, Halo should not be on this list.