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The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-love-a-good-list-in-the-morning dept.

Ground Glass writes "Most top ten or top 100 lists are pure opinion, and thus a source of great debate as their objectivity is questioned by everyone with a personal favorite. Next Gen has chosen a different route — this is the top 100 games on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube, calculated since the start of the decade by unit sales in America." As you'd expect, GTA, Halo, and Madden are in the top ten ... but did you know Smash Brothers Melee has sold 3.2 million units? Interesting stuff.

13 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. No PC games? by WilliamSChips · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Screw 'em.

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    1. Re:No PC games? by DesireCampbell · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is why I don't do 'awards'. They never explain why one thing is better than another - and they always choose 'winners' that suck.

      And this isn't "The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century" it's "The 100 top-selling console games of the last 5 years".

      Lame - with a capital 'L'.

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    2. Re:No PC games? by richdun · · Score: 2, Informative

      This is why I don't do 'awards'. They never explain why one thing is better than another

      Top is a relative term, and the 21st Century is the last five years...and when in doubt, RTFA.

      Here are some notes on how this list works.
      • Stats, ordering and research: thanks to game publishers, retail analysis sources and NPD data.
      • Games are ranked by units sold; then by revenue generated. This tends to favor games released earlier, rather than later, and games which have spent a long time at a lower price point have also done well, but we wanted to reward longevity and popularity across all audiences, not just hardcore.
      • In the event of a tie, games are then ranked by 'most recently released' and then by Gameranking average review scores. Special thanks to gameranking, just for being an exceptionally well produced resource.
      • Games are ranked according to the highest selling SKU only. Otherwise the list would be full of sports iterations and big brand spin-offs and sequels.
      • Other platform versions of that game, and 21st century precursors or sequels are included under the 'franchise sales' but do not affect overall placing.
      • This list is for the U.S market only.
      • This list only features games released since the introduction of PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. It does not include handheld games or PC games which will be featured in a separate list.
      • Other Franchise Hits qualify if they use the same IP or character in broadly the same genre, and if they managed respectable sales of (roughly speaking) above 200,000 units.
      • Franchise sales includes sales of top selling spin-offs, sequels and predecessors as well as other console versions of the same game.
  2. Popularity = Money? by ExE122 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know its a bit of a pointless argument since these lists are really just for entertainment. But I think there's a subtle detail missing:

    Software piracy!
    ::dramatic music::

    MPAA and the like are quick to quote numbers on how much revenue is lost due to illegal downloads and file sharing. Yet where are these statistics when it comes to determining a game's popularity and longevity? Industries are so quick to point these statistics out only when they cater to their own demands.

    I know all my illegal downloads of "Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom" alone would've easily bumped it up from #67 to #66!

    And yes, I know the stats on lost revenue are stupid since downloading a game illegally doesn't mean you would've paid for it.

    I think the point I'm trying to make is that while they did try to take many factors into account, ultimately they're defining "popularity" as "sales" and I don't think that's entirely accurate.

    ---
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    1. Re:Popularity = Money? by Pusene · · Score: 2, Funny

      The list is already out! Piratebay already has a "Top 100 PC Games" liste.

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  3. Please..... by acvh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "This list's order and content is copyright to Next Generation and must not be reproduced or copied without the permission of the publisher."

    OK, content I can go along with. But trying to claim copyright on the rankings themselves? That's kind of like the NFL claiming copyright on the standings and prohibiting newspapers from publishing them without a license fee.

    Come on kids. You're writing about VIDEO GAMES. Not exactly "War and Peace". Be happy that Slashdot picked up your link, is sending all kinds of people to visit, and get off the IP bandwagon.

    1. Re:Please..... by vodkamattvt · · Score: 4, Informative
      If Im not mistaken .. the MLB has copyrighted their statistics and the NBA has claimed copyright over the actual events in a game and challenged commentators in court.

      Its stupid, yes, but as a business you look for any revenue you can. Better safe than sorry, copyright everthing under the sun, and then sue everyone who looks at you funny. Who knows? If your lawyer is scary enough you might get some free $$$ in a settlement.

      Dont you love the litigious society we live in? Myself, it makes me want to puke.

  4. 11 pages? by linvir · · Score: 4, Informative

    11 pages for one article? It starts at 100, and gives you no option to click through to the top ten. next-gen.biz are pageview whores, and deserve their ad-free printable version link to be published.

  5. Exactly. Apparently, PCs can't run games at all. by WidescreenFreak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I fully agree with you. The PC is no less a gaming "console" for a lot of people than are the "real" consoles. In fact, one could easily argue that the consoles are all trying to become PCs with media play and Internet capabilities. I won't be surprised if you can have an e-mail address specifically for the console of your choice in the near future. (After all, keyboards are supported on some consoles.)

    I would guess that games like Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft would rank very highly in term of dollars produced, and last time I checked -- they're games. PC games deserve full recognition in this category as well. The fact that they're not included makes the article meaningless.

    And does it really make sense to offer a Top 100 of ANYTHING where we're only five years into the 21st centry?

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  6. I don't know about anyone else... by ShadowSonic · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...but I was under the impression that there were still 94 1/2 years left in the 21st century.

    --
    "God is nothing but a public static final variable x." - my roommate
  7. Occasionally working Mirrordot cache by spyrochaete · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mirrordot cache: http://www.mirrordot.com/find-mirror.html?http://n ext-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view &id=3537&Itemid=2

    This link works sometimes but not others. I was going to paste the article but there's about 3 sentences X 100 listings so it's not really feasible.

  8. Re:Exactly. Apparently, PCs can't run games at all by rob1980 · · Score: 2, Funny

    And does it really make sense to offer a Top 100 of ANYTHING where we're only five years into the 21st centry?

    Sure it does... there won't be any new games made after Jack Thompson shuts the video game industry down for good later this year!

  9. Re:Screw the awards people by trdrstv · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Not only ignoring PC Games, (as mentioned, I'm sure Blizzard and Valve sells some units) but ignoring the rest of the world. If they are counting world wide sales, then it changes the rankings significantly.

    Nintendogs Out sold Halo and Pokemon consistantly outsells GTA.