i didn't see a list currently, but if there is already one, just let me know. this is just a rough draft i figured i'd throw up here and see if it gets any interest. its only 2/3 of the way done right now. throw out any and all suggestions.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998; N64; Nintendo)
2. Super Mario Bros. (1985; NES; Nintendo)
3. Tetris (1986; Various; Alexey Pajitnov)
4. Super Mario 64 (1996; N64; Nintendo)
5. DOOM (1993; DOS; id Software)
6. Final Fantasy VII (1997; PS1; Square)
7. Street Fighter II (1991; Arcade; Capcom)
8. GoldenEye 007 (1997; N64; Rare)
9. Pac-Man (1980; Arcade; Namco)
10. Half-Life 2 (2004; PC; Valve)
11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991; SNES; Nintendo)
12. Metal Gear Solid (1998; PS1; Konami)
13. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988; NES; Nintendo)
14. Grand Theft Auto III (2001; PS2; Rockstar)
15. Space Invaders (1978; Arcade; Taito)
16. Resident Evil 4 (2005; GameCube; Capcom)
17. Final Fantasy VI (1994; SNES: Square)
18. Super Mario World (1990; SNES; Nintendo)
19. Elite (1984; BBC Micro; Acornsoft)
20. The Legend of Zelda (1986; FDS/NES; Nintendo)
21. Sid Meier's Civilization (1991; DOS; Microprose)
22. Super Metroid (1994; SNES; Nintendo)
23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007; PC/PS3/360; Activision)
24. Chrono Trigger (1995; SNES; Square)
25. Pong (1972; Arcade; Atari)
26. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001; Xbox; Bungie)
27. Quake (1996; DOS; id Software)
28. Super Mario Kart (1992; SNES; Nintendo)
29. The Sims (2000; PC; Maxis)
30. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008; PS3/360; Rockstar)
31. Starcraft (1998; PC; Blizzard)
32. SoulCalibur (1998; Arcade/Dreamcast; Namco)
33. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997; PS1; Konami)
34. SimCity (1989; Various; Maxis)
35. Mass Effect 2 (2010; PC/360; BioWare)
36. Ms. Pac-Man (1982; Arcade; Midway)
37. World of Warcraft (2004; PC; Blizzard)
38. Half-Life (1998; PC; Valve)
39. Tomb Raider (1996; Saturn/PS1/PC; Core Design)
40. Pokemon Red and Blue (1996; Gameboy; Game Freak)
41. Portal (2007; PC/360; Valve)
42. Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996; PC; Microprose)
43. Metroid (1986; FDS/NES; Nintendo)
44. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991; Genesis; Sonic Team)
45. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (2000; PS1/N64/Dreamcast/PC; Neversoft)
46. Super Mario Galaxy (2007; Wii; Nintendo)
47. Shadow of the Colossus (2005; PS2; Team Ico)
48. Tecmo Super Bowl (1990; NES; Tecmo)
49. BioShock (2007; 360/PC; 2K Boston)
50. Gran Turismo (1997; PS1; Polyphony Digital)
51. Batman: Arkham City (2011; PS3/360; Rocksteady)
52. NHL '94 (1993; SNES/Genesis; EA Sports)
53. Resident Evil (1996; PS1; Capcom)
54. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008; PS3; Kojima Productions)
55. Metroid Prime (2002; GameCube; Nintendo/Retro Studios)
56. Donkey Kong (1981; Arcade; Nintendo)
57. John Madden Football (1990; Genesis; Park Place Production Team)
58. Mega Man 2 (1988; NES; Capcom)
59. God of War (2005; PS2; SCE Santa Monica Studio)
60. Punch-Out!! (1987; NES; Nintendo)
61. Diablo (1996; PC; Blizzard North)
62. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001; GameCube; HAL Laboratory)
63. Fallout (1997; PC; Interplay)
64. Virtua Fighting (1993; Arcade; Sega)
65. Wolfenstein 3D (1992; DOS; id Software)

Pokemon that low is criminal pavan !!!

RE4 seems high. Halo should probably move up.

Your list is already better than G4's, but these titles caught my eye as too low:

World of Warcraft
Pokemon Red and Blue
Sonic the Hedgehog
Donkey Kong

Also, I'd add both Mortal Kombat and Asteroids to the Top 30.

Speaking of G4's list, their placement of Super Mario 64 was jaw-droppingly ridiculous. I think it was like #41. Blasphemy!

hows that even possible !

the basic criteria is Importance (innovation, influence, impact), Popularity (both initial and lasting), and Acclaim.

Yeah, RE4 and GTAIV are waaaaaay too high. Seeing RE above FFVI, Loz and Chrono Trigger is wrong in every dimension. Plus Mass Effects 2 and Modern Warfare above Pokemon and Metroid.

Aside from that, beautiful, beautiful list

They had "Angry Birds" and "Words with Friends" on the list oo. So much no.

Also I really hated how they had some franchises represented by just one game.

Age of Empires should probably be on here somewhere.

well i'm really glad at the response so far because pretty much all of them (except the RE4 concerns) are things i went against my gut instinct on (WoW, Pokemon, Sonic, Halo) and dropped lower. i think part of it was i saw a lot of sources that didn't put as much stock in Halo as it deserves, there is some anti-Sega bias among a lot of publications it seems, and there is also a lack of attention to handheld games on a lot of the "greatest" lists i saw and used as part of the "acclaim" part of the criteria.


as far as RE4, i've seen it in the top 5-10 on a lot of lists and its generally considered the best game of both its genre and console. but i can drop it if that is the consensus.

People who consider RE4 greater than Twilight Princess or Wind Waker are retarded.

RE4 was highly acclaimed, but I feel that it did not really try anything new or influence the survival horror genre anymore than older Resident Evil games did.

as it relates to editing this list, here are my major weaknesses that i could use help on. i did the research and got the basic understanding, but i still need a ton of help.

weaknesses: online games, RPGs, newer PC games (roughly '98ish-present), handheld games

i figure those are all things that are probably pretty popular here, as they are often more popular with more serious gamers (whereas i'm pretty much a casual gamer, no surprise there). definitely need help with the Japanese RPGs. as for handheld, i'm hitting a brick wall of Pokemon and more Pokemon and that's it. i can't, for the life of me, figure out what the hell else people play on those things. other than redundant ports of NES/SNES games. and with computers, i've got a pretty good grasp on the early DOS games, but from about '97-present, i really haven't paid much attention. Starcraft, Warcraft, Fallout, Diablo, Deus Ex, Quake, Elder Scrolls, etc. all those series/games i could use some major help with.

With regards to Sonic. Should Sonic 2 not be there ahead of Sonic? I always thought Sonic 2 was the most popular and acclaimed.