Stolen Pixels #156: 2009

[Jandau]

-"My goal wasn't to pick out the "best" game of each year, but to pick out a historically significant title"

-MW2 is biggest game launch of all time, and still ridiculously popular online.

I know the goal wasn't to pick the best game, but rather the significant ones, that's why I found MW2 a perplexing choice. As I said, the game is in no way significant. As for its launch, it wasn't THAT big. "Significantly large" is World of Warcraft compared to all the MMOs before it (and after it), bringing the MMO genre into the mainstream spotlight. MW2 was bigger than most games at launch, but not by several orders of magnitude.

I was just a bit suprised at the choice for 2009. I'd have went for, say, Demon's Souls or something like that...

 

[Dirty Apple]

Oh, I had so much fun playing Donkey Kong during my childhood... and I'll never know how I managed to beat it in the end, I only wish I was still tat good at it... or could even find it...
Makes you realise how much has happened when you see that timeline...

As in the old arcade game?

You do realise that you can't "Beat it"?

The old cabinet style arcade games can be beat. Watch the documentary The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters. The doc itself takes some liberties with its subjects, but it shows what the end of "King Kong" looks like.

 

[Darkstar370]

I know the goal wasn't to pick the best game, but rather the significant ones, that's why I found MW2 a perplexing choice. As I said, the game is in no way significant. As for its launch, it wasn't THAT big. "Significantly large" is World of Warcraft compared to all the MMOs before it (and after it), bringing the MMO genre into the mainstream spotlight. MW2 was bigger than most games at launch, but not by several orders of magnitude.

I was just a bit suprised at the choice for 2009. I'd have went for, say, Demon's Souls or something like that...

From Wikipedia:

According to preliminary sales figures from Activision, Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.7 million units in both the United States and the UK in the first 24 hours of its release. The total revenue from first day sales in the U.S. and the UK was $310 million, making Modern Warfare 2 the biggest entertainment launch in history, surpassing (in revenue) its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto IV,[76][77] as well as items from other media types.[78][79] After five days of sales, the game had earned revenue figures of $550 million worldwide.[80] Activision also claims that Modern Warfare 2 had 8 million players online within the first five days, constituting the largest 'army' of players in the world.[81]

 

[Souplex]

Actually Tennis for two was the first game ever. It was made in 58.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_for_two

 

[Jandau]

From Wikipedia:

According to preliminary sales figures from Activision, Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.7 million units in both the United States and the UK in the first 24 hours of its release. The total revenue from first day sales in the U.S. and the UK was $310 million, making Modern Warfare 2 the biggest entertainment launch in history, surpassing (in revenue) its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto IV,[76][77] as well as items from other media types.[78][79] After five days of sales, the game had earned revenue figures of $550 million worldwide.[80] Activision also claims that Modern Warfare 2 had 8 million players online within the first five days, constituting the largest 'army' of players in the world.[81]

Well, I'm proud of you for being able to look things up on Wikipedia, but I don't see what your point is...

 

[Covarr]

Every game on the list from 1991 on is a PC game, and quite a few of them are RTS. Huh.

Do you honestly believe that Duke Nukem 3D is more historically significant than Super Mario 64? What about Final Fantasy VII, which basically popularized JRPGs in the west like no game before it?

P.S. Thanks

 

[Shamus Young]

From Wikipedia:

According to preliminary sales figures from Activision, Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.7 million units in both the United States and the UK in the first 24 hours of its release. The total revenue from first day sales in the U.S. and the UK was $310 million, making Modern Warfare 2 the biggest entertainment launch in history, surpassing (in revenue) its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto IV,[76][77] as well as items from other media types.[78][79] After five days of sales, the game had earned revenue figures of $550 million worldwide.[80] Activision also claims that Modern Warfare 2 had 8 million players online within the first five days, constituting the largest 'army' of players in the world.[81]

Well, I'm proud of you for being able to look things up on Wikipedia, but I don't see what your point is...

You're saying you can't see how the biggest-selling piece of entertainment in history is historically significant?

Okay then.

 

[0p3rati0n]

It's hard to imagine (to my stand point) on how far we've come in Gameplay, Graphics, audio, etc. HURRAY for technology!

 

[theSovietConnection]

You're saying you can't see how the biggest-selling piece of entertainment in history is historically significant?

Okay then.

If I may, I think he's saying that there are better choices you could take from this year that would better reflect the positive aspect of the gaming industry. MewTwo is indeed historically significant, but it is also a bit of a stain on the multicolored quilt that is the video games industry for many gamers.

 

[Jandau]

You're saying you can't see how the biggest-selling piece of entertainment in history is historically significant?

Okay then.

Sigh... Thankfully, someone else got what I was trying to say:

If I may, I think he's saying that there are better choices you could take from this year that would better reflect the positive aspect of the gaming industry. MewTwo is indeed historically significant, but it is also a bit of a stain on the multicolored quilt that is the video games industry for many gamers.

The game cashed in. While that's nice, I still don't consider it a significant game, or at least not as significant as some other titles this year...

 

[Godeke]

I think deciding the historical impact of 2009 in 2009 is impossible. Or 2008 or even a few years earlier for that matter. Picking the big splash makes sense to me considering that the suggested alternative was a game I had to look up (not a bash against the game, just saying that gaining consensus now on anything *but* economic factors is impossible).

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee @ Dig Dug.

 

[Shamus Young]

The game cashed in. While that's nice, I still don't consider it a significant game, or at least not as significant as some other titles this year...

And I think treating it as an invalid choice is completely unreasonable. You didn't just imply that there were better choices, you acted like it was completely unreasonable to include a game which...

Brace for all caps mode:

OUTSOLD EVERY OTHER VIDEOGAME, BOOK, MUSIC, AND MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE.

End all caps mode.

Second-guessing the list is part of the conversation here, and by all means offer your own suggestions. There were lots of great titles this year and it will be interesting to see which ones are still being played five years from now. But the position that MW2 shouldn't be considered is simply untenable.

 

[John Funk]

The game cashed in. While that's nice, I still don't consider it a significant game, or at least not as significant as some other titles this year...

And I think treating it as an invalid choice is completely unreasonable. You didn't just imply that there were better choices, you acted like it was completely unreasonable to include a game which...

Brace for all caps mode:

OUTSOLD EVERY OTHER VIDEOGAME, BOOK, MUSIC, AND MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE.

End all caps mode.

Second-guessing the list is part of the conversation here, and by all means offer your own suggestions. There were lots of great titles this year and it will be interesting to see which ones are still being played five years from now. But the position that MW2 shouldn't be considered is simply untenable.

Bitter PC gamers, of course.

 

[Irridium]

Man, seeing that Quake 3 picture takes me back...

And I'm suprised you dind't have Tetris on there.

The reason being is that its basically the most recognizable game in the world next to Mario. And you can buy it pretty much anywhere today, you can even search on google and find it as a free-to-play flash game.

But you can't get 'em all I guess.

Although I think Goldeneye for the N64 should have been on there. It basically started console the whole Console FPS generation.

Even compared to todays games, its still freaking amazing.

And even after all these years, whenever someone chooses to play as Oddjob, I still want to punch them in the face with the same passion as I did in 1997.

Ah, the good old days.

 

[Jandau]

The game cashed in. While that's nice, I still don't consider it a significant game, or at least not as significant as some other titles this year...

And I think treating it as an invalid choice is completely unreasonable. You didn't just imply that there were better choices, you acted like it was completely unreasonable to include a game which...

Brace for all caps mode:

OUTSOLD EVERY OTHER VIDEOGAME, BOOK, MUSIC, AND MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE.

End all caps mode.

Second-guessing the list is part of the conversation here, and by all means offer your own suggestions. There were lots of great titles this year and it will be interesting to see which ones are still being played five years from now. But the position that MW2 shouldn't be considered is simply untenable.

Oh, consider it all you want. I just stated that I wouldn't pick it and that I was suprised that you did. Also, I stated that I don't think that making money makes it a significant contributor to gaming . It does make it a significant contributor to Activision's endless vault of gold, but to gaming as a medium it (in my opinion) didn't contribute anything, and arguably set a few things back. It's like saying that Transformers 2 was a significant movie because it did well on the box office...

Also, I did suggest an alternative - Demon's Souls. A great game that tries new concepts in the realm of online gaming and multiplayer. Cooperative and competitive play meshing seamlessly in a challenging game that breathes fresh air into the Action RPG genre, being both widely critically acclaimed and loved by the players, without any stigma of controversy regarding its content or developmet.

But if monetary success is the criteria you want to go with, then sure, slightly spiffied up version of Modern Warfare 1 fueled by an ungodly marketing campaign and hype, adding another yet another specimen into the already overpopulated FPS genre is a perfectly fine choice...

 

[paketep]

Pong is superior to MW2

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

The game cashed in. While that's nice, I still don't consider it a significant game, or at least not as significant as some other titles this year...

And I think treating it as an invalid choice is completely unreasonable. You didn't just imply that there were better choices, you acted like it was completely unreasonable to include a game which...

Brace for all caps mode:

OUTSOLD EVERY OTHER VIDEOGAME, BOOK, MUSIC, AND MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE.

End all caps mode.

Second-guessing the list is part of the conversation here, and by all means offer your own suggestions. There were lots of great titles this year and it will be interesting to see which ones are still being played five years from now. But the position that MW2 shouldn't be considered is simply untenable.

Bitter PC gamers, of course.

I'm going to take that joke seriously for a second because...well Andy Chalk had an article about the fact that now we can actually get a message across to the developers. For better or worse really. L4D2 boycott and the MW2 backlash is a little more significant than I thought.

 

[Zenode]

Oh, I had so much fun playing Donkey Kong during my childhood... and I'll never know how I managed to beat it in the end, I only wish I was still tat good at it... or could even find it...
Makes you realise how much has happened when you see that timeline...

As in the old arcade game?

You do realise that you can't "Beat it"?

The old cabinet style arcade games can be beat. Watch the documentary The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters. The doc itself takes some liberties with its subjects, but it shows what the end of "King Kong" looks like.

I have watched that documentary, and yes i realise what the "end" of it looks like, it just ends with a random wipe or as is better known the killscreen.

"Beating it" for a game for me means you have to finish the end level, and since this isn't possible in Donkey Kong then there is no way to finish it. I understand where you are coming from though