One of the Signs of Gaming Doom is when Steve Kent begins making Top Ten lists. I’m still not sure how he defines ‘significant games’ by any metric except of the hidden one of “Steve Kent’s Yardstick” which apparently means anything. Much of the list included the usual suspects that revolve around, what I call, the ‘game history mythos’ such as around the 1983 crash. Others don’t make sense. I cannot see how the game, Wing Commander, that changed the industry from designer based to production based (of essentially game companies buying marketshare which wasn’t done before), that destroyed long time company of Origin, and heralded the cinematic revolution (as well as having computer owners buy sound cards for the first time) isn’t significant. Somehow, Mortal Kombat is ‘significant’. Yet, Tetris is not. Grand Theft Auto III is up there for making ‘sandbox genre’ which already existed not only in other games but in GTA’s predecessors. But as Kent said, being first is not significant yet Super Mario Brothers 3 is still not significant. “But the GTA III sales, Malstrom! OMG!!!” Kent comments that GTA III and its sequels sold near a title like Super Mario Brothers 3. But what Kent does not say is that the video game market was MUCH smaller when SMB 3 was released and NES did not have that much of a presence in Europe as PS2 did (or PS2 did globally). The truth why people think GTA III is significant is because it is a ‘mature’, dark game (i.e. hardcore) and sold very well which gave hardcore reason to believe hardcore gaming was going to go mainstream (bahahaha!) which is why analysts and everyone else were saying about HD Twins: “Wait for GTA IV to come out!” And we know how that went.
Some games are overstated. “Myst” sold because people wanted to show off their new computers with CD-Roms. If ‘significant’ means ‘software people buy to show to other people, “My computer kicks ass! Be jealous!”‘, then yes, it is very significant. You can see descendant games from Doom, Super Mario Brothers, and even Space Invaders. But Myst? No.
But I shouldn’t complain. At least Kent didn’t put up “Final Fantasy VII” *shudders*.
Besides, I like my list better. It is the top ‘new market’ games. These are games that, when they were published, had no market (a shocking thing to do! Alas, poor publishers! Remember when you released games based on gut and not on ‘market research’?). I will even describe the ‘new market’ that appeared when the games came out.
Here we go!
1) PONG
What demographics were Nolan Bushnell aiming with PONG? Did he put out polls and focus tests? NO! He just set the machine inside a bar and allowed the market to reveal itself! Bushnell had every reason to not make PONG after Computer Space failed. But Bushnell knew the market was there when every marketing suit said he was crazy.
2) Space Invaders
With this, the disruption of the arcades was complete. Space Invaders ate away much of the rest of the pinball machines and target practicing and also was the killer app for the Atari 2600.
3) Archon
Another software could be used as well as Archon (such as Zork). But Archon was the very first Electronic Arts game, the first boxed computer game I believe, and arrived at the time when everyone needed something to play on their computer. There was no real market selling computer games beforehand.
4) Super Mario Brothers
Super Mario Brothers isn’t ‘significant’ because it ‘brought video games back from the Atari implosion’. That doesn’t say why it was a success. It is also a very American centric view since the Atari crash didn’t affect Japan or, as I can tell, Europe.
Super Mario Brothers created the new market for video games for kids. Before this, video games were either in the arcades (which young kids didn’t really have access), on the computers, (which kids couldn’t afford and had trouble operating), as well as the Atari 2600 (whose games were mostly arcade ports). Games weren’t designed for children in mind. When Yamauchi performed the job interview for Miyamoto, Miyamoto showed off his skill at making things for children by a custom made coat hanger that was shaped like an elephant or something. Yamauchi, delighted with this, and likely having a good judge of people, hired Miyamoto.
Nintendo Power was so shocking back then because it was the biggest magazine and everyone thought that was crazy since kids weren’t interested in reading. But as the New Market for kids spread, it allowed other products such as game magazines for that audience.
5) Tetris
Would Gameboy have been what it was without Tetris? We will never know. But we do know that Tetris sold Gameboys to more than just NES fans. I remember when Tetris got banned from the office when it first appeared on the computers (before the NES and Gameboy versions). It was worse than Solitaire!
The new market for this game was the portable one as well as reaching beyond the traditional child like demographics the Mario games had.
6) Doom
What is interesting for Doom is what it did for Shareware. Now there were TONS of shareware games coming out that all wanted to be as successful as Doom. God, I miss the shareware days. Too bad today’s shareware games are damned as ‘casual games’ since that is what shareware gamers were compared to with their bigger boxed cousins. The new market here was shareware and how a game didn’t need the box to sell. Shareware games were the original ‘viral effect’. And God bless it.
7) Ultima Online
There was no such thing as a MMORPG market. The idea of a subscription to play a video game was unheard of. Ultima Online began this new market and, alas, had to define the legal parameters as well (such as people selling virtual real estate. Could they legally do that?). The legal parameters and model Ultima Online made are still used in World of Warcraft and Lineage and every other MMORPG.
8) Sims
What New Market is this? Why, girls. Girls do play video games. And they were many of them. Who would have thought? The presence of girl gamers on the computer was considered mostly a joke before the Sims.
I remember when Sims came out. My buddies and I were Quake 2 gamers and played LAN Quake 2 CTF. “Yeah, I totally owned you there!” “Man, did you see me with that gun? OH MAN!” I install The Sims and they all curiously watched over my shoulder. Soon, they each had The Sims. And the conversations went from “Which weapon is better at killing? The Railgun or the Rocket Launcher?” to “Which wall paper would maximize my color coordination of my house? Should I go with the pink polka dotted one or the one with the little kittens?” It was in that moment I knew Hardcore Gaming was doomed.
9) Brain Age
Remember when the industry thought that elderly people would *never* get into gaming? Yeah…
10) Wii Sports
Will this New Market ever stop growing? Judging by the empty shelves of Wii, apparently not.
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