Games that Changed the World of Gaming
This is ordered by year of release. Comments/suggestions are welcomed, but doesn't guarantee an addition.
A game does not necessarily need to be good to change the world of gaming; it just has to be influential, which can either be negative or positive.
A game does not necessarily need to be good to change the world of gaming; it just has to be influential, which can either be negative or positive.
140 Games
The first international smash hit for China’s video game industry, ranking in over $2 billion, mostly from oversea sales. Creating a fast and booming market for international gacha mobile games.
An insanely successful hit in Japan that influenced a significant amount of Japanese arcade games (Bubble Bobble creator Fukio Mitsuji references it as influencing his career).
Credited for being one of the first games in Japan to have a final boss, pre-rendered graphics, and an enticing storyline.
Credited for being one of the first games in Japan to have a final boss, pre-rendered graphics, and an enticing storyline.
First 3D fighting-game.
The game that started the craze and golden age of mobile gaming.
Took Dragon Quest's RPG elements and used them to create a real-world environment. While past games have played with the RPG genre and breaking reality (Megami Tensei came out 2 years prior), it was one of the first to be a parody of the genre. Continues to influence an uncountable amount of parody RPGs, especially in the indie community, to this day.
Considered the third most popular RPG series in all of Japan, after Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Went a completely different route than other RPGs at the time by having the world take place in the modern day and age, though the story almost always focuses on how the norm gets messed with by demons.
Also influential in its unheard demon negotiation move-set, directly influencing successful games like Pokemon in the future.
Also influential in its unheard demon negotiation move-set, directly influencing successful games like Pokemon in the future.
Started the trend of military FPS games that took over the 2000s gaming market. Written by Steven Spielberg as he wanted to create a both educational and entertaining WWII game after directing Saving Private Ryan and watching his son play Goldeneye 007. Shut down the taboo of “turning real historical events into a game” by arguing it as “preserving and honoring history”, helping create the boom of the genre.
In addition to Yume Nikki, started the indie gaming craze of the 2000s, as well as resurging the Metroidvania genre and vitalizing the 2D platforming genre as a viable indie format.
Demonstrated the scope of what one person could create.
Demonstrated the scope of what one person could create.
Laid down the foundation for future games involving discovering secrets and hidden items. Direct influence on Legend of Zelda and Ys, as two examples.
Introduced a recharging health mechanic and was one of the first games with an open world environment for Japanese players.
The precursor to the Soulslike genre. Groundbreaking for being fully 3D and first-person, which was unheard of among role-playing games at the time.
The grandfather of immersive sims and player-powered gameplay. The beginning for first-person sci-fi story heavy action-adventures. Continues to heavily affect storytelling in games many years later, with games such as Deus Ex and BioShock stating System Shock as their main influence.
First mascot in gaming and the most monetarily successful arcade game of all time. The start of “Pac-Man Fever” and the gameplay trope of needing to collect all of an item (balls, gems, rings, etc) in order to move to the next level.
Popularized sidescroll platformers. Miyamoto stated it was a very large influence for him when designing Super Mario Bros, though later denies it.
First dating sim. In Japan, Tokimeki High School is looked back at fondly as the grandmother of dating games, a very popular genre in Japanese gaming. What dating games would use as a sort-of template for many years.
Started the trend of attaching physical items to interact/change something within the game. Popular examples include Nintendo’s Amiibos, and Disney’s Disney Infinity.
Helped define the visual novel genre, while also being the start to a lot of things we now are used to seeing in story heavy gaming. Examples include: nonlinear gameplay in addition to nonlinear storytelling (allows multiple ways to complete an objective), branching dialogue options, simple player-friendly action and dialogue text boxes/menus, and a fun twist ending! A very story heavy video game which we see went on to influence more games than I can count, including Horii’s own future works, like Dragon Quest. There’s more I can add to Portopia’s accomplishments, but I’ll leave that for a future review.
One of the first definitive commercial computer RPGs, but more importantly, the first open-world computer game that you were able to actually see and interact with. Might be the first game to include a visible outdoor/indoor change in setting as you moved, as well as having the ability to have conversations with NPCs... will need to triple check.
The first commercial game where you helped others to a common goal, rather than attacking or avoiding them. What we now more commonly refer to as “escort missions”.
A box-pushing puzzle game that was so successful it's first time around that we're still seeing the exact same puzzle put into games 40+ years later (Big Brain Academy, Baba is You, etc.) It's one of the first games to get researchers fascinated in how complex the game gets later on and how it requires human skill past the capacity that machines can stumble to figure out. Some of the most complex levels can take hours or even days to complete! Read more here.
The first commercially produced arcade video game rendered entirely with real-time, flat-shaded, 3D polygon graphics. 3D games before this would use vector lines, instead.
The first game to allow players to take control of the creative aspect and make their own levels to play/share with others. A modern comparison would be Super Mario Maker (2015).
What I imagine is the first "restaurant-simulator" kind of game. If not, it's definitely the first commercially successful one. Serve your customers before they get angry and storm out!
Introduced the concept of button-mashing translating into speed. The faster you bash the buttons, the faster your character goes! Became a staple in a lot of competitive mini-games, especially sport ones.
One of Namco's first independent releases, and what a home-run! Full color display (pretty unheard of in the 1970s), unique enemy movement, and is one of the first arcade cabinets to feature a theme tune! Went on to influence later works by them such as Pac-Man and Galaga.
The first fighting game to break away from the realism of competitive fighting (karate tournaments, etc) and focus on the crazy and impossible that action films often showed, a result of the game being directly inspired by Bruce Lee’s work. Yie Air also introduced the health bar system in place of the point system taken directly from karate. An important system that fighting games have followed ever since.
The fighting game that started it all. The first to reach international success. Originally made in Japan, but became the most monetarily successful arcade cabinet in the US in 1985, and the best selling home computer game in both the US and UK until 1989.
Being a game that focused on the sport of karate resulted in Karate Champ establishing and popularizing the genre of one-on-one fighting games. It is the first game to allow two players to fight against each other, learn special move-sets, and have a “best out of three” format. It can be seen as a direct influence to series such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Virtua Fighter.
Being a game that focused on the sport of karate resulted in Karate Champ establishing and popularizing the genre of one-on-one fighting games. It is the first game to allow two players to fight against each other, learn special move-sets, and have a “best out of three” format. It can be seen as a direct influence to series such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Virtua Fighter.
Not only was Out Run an incredible success, both in Japan and the West, but it started the model that I would argue a majority of arcade racing games have focused on including ever since. Examples include: real driving skills that translate to performing better in the game (horsepower, torque, gears, etc), AI difficulty spikes in sudden movements like drifting, and best of all, an in-game radio that the player can control like a radio in a real car… 10 years later, we’ll see the original Grand Theft Auto popularize that concept even more. Out Run also helped Sega gain massive success in the arcade world, where they continued to be a top competitor until very recently.
The start to a popular series in Japan that helped establish the beat ‘em up genre. While Kung-Fu Master/Spartan X is unarguably the first “beat ‘em up”, Kunio-kun is the first to give the player the ability to belt scroll, aka move both vertically and horizontally, which is a staple of the genre now. It also introduced a combo attack system. Kunio-kun ended up being the base for Double Dragon, a beat ‘em up game that reached international fame.
A game which laid the groundwork for survival horror. Known in the West as the main inspiration behind Resident Evil, with certain elements such as use of Quick Time Events, inventory management, and specialized health restoration items taken directly from Sweet Home. This info is obviously also well known in the East too, but with the additional reputation of Sweet Home (the game) being better known and liked than the film it was based on.
A precursor to the MOBA genre, and one of the earlier examples of Real Time Strategy gaming. While not the first, Herzog Zwei is often considered the first to perfect the formula. Creators of Warcraft, Dune II, Command & Conquer, and Statcraft all source Herzog Zwei as major influences to their work.
Incredibly successful game that popularized skateboarding as a mainstream sport game category. While not a genre that’s very popular today, it was impossible to escape its grasp in the 2000’s, influencing uncountable series clones and even butting its way into games trying to cash in on the current popular gimmick (Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure comes to mind).
One of the first Mecha battle games. The first to offer the player a chance to pilot a Mecha from the view of the pilot, something which quickly became a staple of the genre.
One of the most successful arcade cabinets throughout the entirety of the 80's, and is considered a big push to keeping space shooters a popular genre throughout, as well.
Not the first game to scroll the player sideways, but absolutely the one that cemented it into the shooter genre, even hatching its own sub-genre of solely horizontal scrolling shooters.
Often called the “Grandfather of 3D Shooters”, Wolfenstein 3D is the game that integrated first-person shooters into the mainstream video game market. It also established certain rules we’ve come to accept with the genre, such as high speed action and quick tactical thinking.
A free web browser game that put the player in the first-person, and required them to try and figure out how to escape a room only with what’s provided to them. Crimson Room made this genre of game EXPLODE within flash gaming, and eventually lead to the creation and popularity of real-life “Escape Rooms”.
Similar to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Flappy Bird is often credited for being the straw that broke the camel’s with mobile gaming, as many clones after the game’s removal from the app store made common the prospect of app games being free in exchange for constant ads on screen.
WIP
The original pong! The original idea of a ball flying across a screen - also the first game on the first home console, where it was eventually ported to the Magnavox Odyssey.
23 Comments
Hi friend! Just finished the current list (still need to add notes for many but eh another day lol) - will definitely look into Xevious!
funny that all ocarina’s achievements were done before by mario 64
Resident Evil or Resident Evil 4
Hi friends - didn’t expect this to get so much attention. I’m still very much in the middle of working on this and adding games and all that. I put games i thought would fit and would rearrange and possibly take out later (hence the three elder scrolls - left them there to decide later which one to add, I go on Backloggd every now and then hence the WIP being left for a bit).
Mario 64 was one I was going to add after I wrote out notes I was happy about to explain why I added it. The very lovely passive aggressive comment I got about Ocarina of Time I do not understand as Mario 64 did NOT have a day-night cycle on the 3D graphics and was not open world in the way Zelda was, instead keeping you contained to the painting or castle you are currently in. But I know Mario 64 has a very… passionate.. fanbase so I will tread lightly with that, though I do find it influential.
Thank you for your comments - I work until 11pm EST and will continue adding notes and arranging things then. Thank you.
Mario 64 was one I was going to add after I wrote out notes I was happy about to explain why I added it. The very lovely passive aggressive comment I got about Ocarina of Time I do not understand as Mario 64 did NOT have a day-night cycle on the 3D graphics and was not open world in the way Zelda was, instead keeping you contained to the painting or castle you are currently in. But I know Mario 64 has a very… passionate.. fanbase so I will tread lightly with that, though I do find it influential.
Thank you for your comments - I work until 11pm EST and will continue adding notes and arranging things then. Thank you.
Small update of with descriptions added and a few more games added. Still massive WIP.
Super Mario 64, Halo, Devil May Cry, and Cave Story all seem to belong.
This is quite an ambitious list, let me give some suggestions:
- Ultima Online
This basically laid down the template for the RPG genre even before Dragon Warrior did it.
- Colossal Cave Adventure
First text-based adventure game.
- King's Quest
Popularized the adventure game genre.
- Half-Life
Basically laid out the blueprint for modern single player FPS games.
- Warcraft 3
It lead to both WoW and DOTA, the latter of which was the birth of the MOBA genre
- Fortnite
Whether we like it or not, Fortnite's monetization model has basically become the standard for every single live service game, not to mention it's one of the biggest factors in companies becoming more willing to let their properties crossover into other games.
- Ultima Online
This basically laid down the template for the RPG genre even before Dragon Warrior did it.
- Colossal Cave Adventure
First text-based adventure game.
- King's Quest
Popularized the adventure game genre.
- Half-Life
Basically laid out the blueprint for modern single player FPS games.
- Warcraft 3
It lead to both WoW and DOTA, the latter of which was the birth of the MOBA genre
- Fortnite
Whether we like it or not, Fortnite's monetization model has basically become the standard for every single live service game, not to mention it's one of the biggest factors in companies becoming more willing to let their properties crossover into other games.
8/16/23 updated - still WIP
List is officially off WIP! But I am still researching and looking at different thing to add, as there really is no limit to how many games influence the industry! I feel my list is very US-focused currently, so I'm looking into very influential Japanese and European games! Hope you enjoy - see you all around 👋
What about BioShock?
I know Catacombs 3-D and Doom are already included, but I believe Wolfenstein 3D is just as important, I consider it the first FPS that feels like the FPS genre we know today, and of course there would be no Doom without it. Also a little tid-bit for Medal of honor, it was influenced by Goldeneye as Speilberg saw his children playing Goldeneye and used ideas from it. I would also add GTAV to this list, an infinitely influential title. Team Fortress 2 should also be considered, it is THE hero shooter, as it popularized the genre and is still going strong after 16 years, Left for Dead was also a groundbreaking title in that horde shooter genre, idk what you'd call it, but I'm unsure if there was anything like it at the time. Assassin's Creed also laid out the blueprint that countless open world games have followed for the past 3 game generations. IDK that much about The Witcher 3 but I would also consider it, I believe it has influenced a lot of western open world games. Hotline Miami was also a big one, a small game made by 2 guys that exploded into the mainstream and catapulted Devolver Digital to success, Hotline Miami has influenced countless Indie and AA titles with its ultra-violence and aesthetics. I think that's all I can think of lol.
I feel like Tony Hawk 2 is worth a shot out for being the staple of skate games moving forward, even if the genre is dead nowadays.
Gonna chime in with suggestions for Devil May Cry, Batman Arkham Asylum and Final Fight.
11/12/23: Portopia Serial Murder Case, Ultima, Choplifter, Soko-Ban, I Robot, Lode Runner, Tapper, Track & Field, and Galaxian added with notes. Fixed a few past note details as well.
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Forget about Tales. Add Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu. One of the first action-RPGs, introduced the sword button that would be used in Zelda I, and Zelda II is pretty much a clone of it. As in, without it, we would have no Link
Some suggestions:
Ico - One of the first games to show the potential of the medium as an art form to many people around the world, and also raised the standard for artistic value in video games. Influenced many other directors, such as Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls), Neil Druckmann (Uncharted 3, The Last of Us), Eiji Aonuma (Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild), Yoko Taro (Nier), Josef Fares (Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons), and Guillermo del Toro (Movie director, Death Stranding).
Ace Attorney - Popularized the Japanese Adventure Game genre in the West, and murder mystery/detective games in the whole world. You could also argue that it has created its own subgenre, which Capcom calls "Courtroom Drama". (Please, note that Ace Attorney isn't a visual novel. Visual novels are a subgenre of JADV. Ace Attorney would be considered a Command Select ADV, like Portopia and Snatcher, not a visual novel).
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Helped to create and popularize the Metroidvania genre.
Ico - One of the first games to show the potential of the medium as an art form to many people around the world, and also raised the standard for artistic value in video games. Influenced many other directors, such as Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls), Neil Druckmann (Uncharted 3, The Last of Us), Eiji Aonuma (Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild), Yoko Taro (Nier), Josef Fares (Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons), and Guillermo del Toro (Movie director, Death Stranding).
Ace Attorney - Popularized the Japanese Adventure Game genre in the West, and murder mystery/detective games in the whole world. You could also argue that it has created its own subgenre, which Capcom calls "Courtroom Drama". (Please, note that Ace Attorney isn't a visual novel. Visual novels are a subgenre of JADV. Ace Attorney would be considered a Command Select ADV, like Portopia and Snatcher, not a visual novel).
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Helped to create and popularize the Metroidvania genre.
Not to mention MOTHER was quite possibly the first game to have a sympathetic villain.
4/9/24 Updated multiple descriptions while on a 5 hour bus trip - didn’t add any more games yet, but might do that on the bus ride back!
4/11/24 ALRIGHT - after yet another 5 hour bus ride, I feel very satisfied with what the games I have added and the descriptions I have changed, and how the list is overall! I have added the following games: Tony Hawk Pro Skater, MechWarrior, Galaga, Defender, Wolfenstein 3D, and Flappy Bird. There’s absolutely no question that I will change, add, delete, or whatever from this list some more in the future, especially after playing more games myself, but for now I’m very happy with this list in its entirety! If I did not add your game, it’s most likely because I found the game less so influential and more so just a really, really good game, couldn’t find enough information online without me playing it myself yet, or the game is famous for having a very impactful twist/story and I don’t want to spoil myself before playing (so with the latter two, I might add your suggestion later when I play it!). Please continue suggesting and throwing things my way - I’m more than happy to take a look at them! Thanks again 👋
Table Tennis inspired Pong, not just Tennis. Same cart, different ruleset
@Alena_03 thanks! I think I might replace Tennis with Table Tennis because it seems closer to Atari's pong cabinet, while Tennis relies on the cover sheet to know where the net is. Thanks again!
Funbil
1 year ago