After researching several games, it was hard to choose only 5 games that are important to the industry, considering there are so many different ways to play games (consoles, computers, mobiles etc.) so instead, I chose 10.
1. Space Invaders
Since the release of the first ever video game of ping pong, space invaders (1978) proved the next biggest hit in the video game industry. It used the binary opposites theory of good vs evil, which then became the stereotypical theme of most video games, which makes it very important. Because of it's wide success, it lead on to the success of games like Pac-man, and even with it's simple graphics and simple concept, it is still very popular today on a wide range of devices.
2. Snake
Snake was an arcade game developed in the 1970's, and gathered most success when it became the pre-loaded game on nokia phones, which launched the industry of video games for mobile phones. This became popular with the younger age group and encouraged more people with the sales of mobile phones. Due to its popularity it is now widely available in different styles on a range of different devices.
3. Super Mario bros.
The original Mario Bros was created in 1983 for Nintendo, about two Italian plumbers defeating creatures in the sewers of New York, later developed to a quest of Mario fighting to get back his kidnapped girlfriend, Princess Toadstool (in later games, Princess Peach). It is important because it is now one of the most popular games in the world today, and makes the most money for Nintendo. As well as using the concept of good vs evil, it is the major breakthrough in the industry of the hero rescuing someone as their mission, which is now a common theme in a lot of video games. It was also popular for being one of the first story mode themed games, where a 'walk-through' setting is used, rather than just the simple 'mini-game' types like Pac-man and Space Invaders. It is available on mostly just Nintendo devices.
4. Halo
Halo (2001) is a science fiction game created by Bungie and owned by Microsoft studios. It centres around an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens. It is important because it was a major breakthrough with the quality of graphics, and also as well as inspired by other game releases, is part of the start of popular war-type shooting games games such as the Call Of Duty series. Because of its success, it later released other sequels.
5. The Sims
The original Sims (released in 2000) was just for the computer, and gained most of it's success because it allowed the player to take control of the game and do what they want. It allows the player to create their own city of houses and families and get them to do day-to-day things like in the real world. This form of realism made it unique. Due to its success, many more games of Sims have been released - some with certain themes and stories, and has been released on many more devices. This form of player control later inspired the creation of popular games such as Minecraft, Zoo Tycoon and Animal Crossing.
6. Space Race
Space Race (1973) was one of the earliest video games to be made, and is important because some of the most successful games around today are racing games, which all evolved from the first. It involves a space ship racing against other space ships, either multi-player or against CPU. Racing games are easily one of the most competitive games, which keeps a person transfixed with the game and eager to play. Some of the most popular racing games around now are the Forzer series and Mario Kart.
7. The Legend of Zelda
The first of 'The Legend Of Zelda' series was released in 1986 for Nintendo and is one of the most popular Nintendo games alongside Super Mario. Like Super Mario, it involved a hero (Link) defeating several creatures in search of a Princess (Twilight Princess Zelda), and was successful because of the use f the popular theme. It is important because it launched the success of fantasy based games based in ancient times, where more controversial weaponry can be used such as swords and shields, and creatures like dragons and fairies can be used which are familiar to the audience. These type of games are successful today, such as games like Skyrim, World Of Warcraft, the Final Fantasy Series and Runescape. Due to the popularity of this theme, The Legend Of Zelda has released several sequels on many consoles.
8. I, Robot
I, Robot was originally an arcade game that became popular on computers, published in 1983. The object of the game is a 'servant bot' turning red squares to blue going through certain levels to defeat the 'big brother eye'. It was the first game that involved 3-D graphics, just by simple use of shadow to 2-D shapes, which is important because it launched the idea of 3-D to video games, which are now proved most popular today and are considered the best graphics, with even the original 2-D based games releasing 3-D versions of the new games. It's popular theme of robots has also influenced many new popular robot games.
9. Tomb Raider
The first tomb raider was released in 1996, and was one of the most major games to have a female heroin as the protagonist, subverting the female stereotype, which made it unique and controversial, which is important to the game industry as it lead to future games of female heroins against the stereotypical male heroes. The female character had a 'sex appeal' to the males that made the game more popular, and due to its success made several sequels on several consoles, and a film featuring Angelina Jolie, which made 'Lara Croft', the protagonist, a major recognised name, even to those who haven't played the game. This fame and global recognisation of the game in the media and in society brought a higher status to the video game industry.
10. FIFA
FIFA football and FIFA soccer were the first of the FIFA series of football games for EA Sports. It was developed from games in the 1980's, with the actual FIFA series starting in 1993. Many sports games had been developed in the past which FIFA was inspired by, but this is the main one that gained popularity because it has an official license from an official sporting event. Gamers who are familiar with the sport would be more inclined to buy the game. Basing it on a true event caused it to be more popular with how the players can relate to it or create their own outcome - an important breakthrough for the video game industry. It's success lead it to carry on creating FIFA games with improved graphics to make it seem more real, and inspire other games to be created from events such as the Olympics.
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