Board 8 > Best year in gaming confusion

(+) Yeah! (+)

Are people just picking the year that has the one game they like the most? Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others. For example 1994 winning over 2004 is mind boggling to me. 2004 introduced some of the most game changing elements that we still use today and defined last decade.

Steam
World of Warcraft (MMO explosion)
Source Engine
Nintendo DS Launch

Halo 2
Half Life 2
Counter Strike Source
GTA: San Andreas

Years from the 90's and early to mid 2000's are the strongest.
Also people here don't care for PC games. And you posted 3 things from PC for 2004.
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Are people just picking the year that has the one game they like the most? Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others. For example 1994 winning over 2004 is mind boggling to me.

i'm a big fan of 2004 but you're discrediting Final Fantasy 3/6 and Super Metroid, two of the biggest games on this site. Super Metroid especially if you're trying to look from an objective point of view is one of the most influential games of all time, and these games definitely mean a lot more to GameFAQs users who have traditionally favoured consoles, RPGs and Nintendo games.
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PC pre steam is worthless in these contests (and honestly by the internet community in general). Otherwise 1999 would be considered an amazing year in gaming by gfaqs (which most say its a weak as hell year...idiots)

System Shock 2
Age of Empires 2
Planescape: Torment
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Unreal Tournament
Quake 3 Arena
Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun
EverQuest
Sid Meiers Alpha Centauri
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Steiner posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Are people just picking the year that has the one game they like the most? Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others. For example 1994 winning over 2004 is mind boggling to me.

i'm a big fan of 2004 but you're discrediting Final Fantasy 3/6 and Super Metroid, two of the biggest games on this site. Super Metroid especially if you're trying to look from an objective point of view is one of the most influential games of all time, and these games definitely mean a lot more to GameFAQs users who have traditionally favoured consoles, RPGs and Nintendo games.

Super Metroid is one of my 5 bet games of all time. I understand that people absolutely love it. I know it defined a genera but it's a small genera in compared to shooters which tend to be the highest selling titles still today. It's very surprising to me people are that oblivious to the importance half-life 2 and steam and even Halo 2 had for shooters last decade. Then there is World of Warcraft. Metroid might be one of the five best games ever but it has never even come close to being on WoWs level when impacting culture. I'll never forget the WoW South Park episode for example. Wow defined a genera and you still see today people trying to chase that on a AAA level.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Super Metroid is one of my 5 bet games of all time. I understand that people absolutely love it. I know it defined a genera but it's a small genera in compared to shooters which tend to be the highest selling titles still today. It's very surprising to me people are that oblivious to the importance half-life 2 and steam and even Halo 2 had for shooters last decade. Then there is World of Warcraft. Metroid might be one of the five best games ever but it has never even come close to being on WoWs level when impacting culture. I'll never forget the WoW South Park episode for example. Wow defined a genera and you still see today people trying to chase that on a AAA level.

These are all the thoughts many of us had back in the games contests years ago - but a history of these contests has taught us GameFAQs voters do not revere PC gaming at anywhere near the level of console gaming - especially the SNES era.
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and for more recent evidence that this is not a regular video game website -
https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6574-best-of-2016-game-of-the-year

do you think there's another website on the internet without affiliation with either Game Freak or Square where Pokemon or FFXV beat Overwatch/Doom?
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i would guess most voters don't care about influence and new platforms very much and just vote on the body of games they like the most. that could boil down to one game or three or five

also not that anyone else voted on these but '94 had some great pc offerings (e.g. original x-com, master of magic). DOS son
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others.

More votes

Jesse_Custer posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others.

More votes

Deep insight.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Are people just picking the year that has the one game they like the most? Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others. For example 1994 winning over 2004 is mind boggling to me. 2004 introduced some of the most game changing elements that we still use today and defined last decade.

Steam
World of Warcraft (MMO explosion)
Source Engine
Nintendo DS Launch

Halo 2
Half Life 2
Counter Strike Source
GTA: San Andreas

Final Fantasy VI (considered by many in the industry, at all levels, to be the best FF game ever)
Super Metroid (considered by most to be the best Metroid game ever)
X-Com: UFO Defense (a genre starting classic)
Warcraft (the only reason WoW even exists)
Descent (if you weren't old enough to play it at the time you wouldn't understand, but incredibly groundbreaking)
Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles (the best of Sonic by a far margin)
Shining Force II (one of the best tactical RPGs ever and probably the reasons FFT exists)
Donkey Kong Country (a massive evolution in platform gaming)
Mega Man X (another classic)

You are discounting some of the most influential games ever made, most of which still hold up today, even when compared with modern equivalents.

-MS

mikestrauss posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Are people just picking the year that has the one game they like the most? Objectively speaking I don't see how some of these years are winning over others. For example 1994 winning over 2004 is mind boggling to me. 2004 introduced some of the most game changing elements that we still use today and defined last decade.

Steam
World of Warcraft (MMO explosion)
Source Engine
Nintendo DS Launch

Halo 2
Half Life 2
Counter Strike Source
GTA: San Andreas

Final Fantasy VI (considered by many in the industry, at all levels, to be the best FF game ever)
Super Metroid (considered by most to be the best Metroid game ever)
X-Com: UFO Defense (a genre starting classic)
Warcraft (the only reason WoW even exists)
Descent (if you weren't old enough to play it at the time you wouldn't understand, but incredibly groundbreaking)
Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles (the best of Sonic by a far margin)
Shining Force II (one of the best tactical RPGs ever and probably the reasons FFT exists)
Donkey Kong Country (a massive evolution in platform gaming)
Mega Man X (another classic)

You are discounting some of the most influential games ever made, most of which still hold up today, even when compared with modern equivalents.

-MS

Sonic 3 the best sonic ever.........Lost credibility here. I'll take Sonic 2 till the day I die over any sonic game.

Also saying the only reason WoW exsists is because of Warcraft is hilarious. EQ has a more significant impact on the success of wow than warcraft. Most people played WoW because of the game not because of the IP. I never enjoyed Warcraft and was skeptical of WoW because of it being tied to that IP when it launched. WoW stands on it's own. People have chased Wow not because of the IP but because of the genera it defined.

Also X-Com is great, but when you say a genera starting classic what genera is this and what other games has spawned from it? X-Com and X-com 2?

I played Decent, it was great, but again that style of game didn't old up much. Ship combat games peaked in the rogue squadron series and fewer and fewer titles like them are made to this day.

I agree that 2D platforming games and tactical RPGs were probably at it's highest in 1994. I just don't see that in today's modern games. 3rd person action games and shooters, and multiplayer are what dominate the space today and 2004 was the years that galvanized that. Digital sales and mobility is also what continues to be at the forefront of games in 2017 and we saw two of the biggest pieces of technology that year impacting those areas get released. Platforming and tactical RPGs are more of a throwback genera than an industry standard IMO.

It's all part of The Plan™
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Also saying the only reason WoW exsists is because of Warcraft is hilarious. EQ has a more significant impact on the success of wow than warcraft. Most people played WoW because of the game not because of the IP. I never enjoyed Warcraft and was skeptical of WoW because of it being tied to that IP when it launched. WoW stands on it's own. People have chased Wow not because of the IP but because of the genera it defined.

No, its pretty fuckin fair to say WoW exists because of Warcraft.
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Metal_DK posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Also saying the only reason WoW exsists is because of Warcraft is hilarious. EQ has a more significant impact on the success of wow than warcraft. Most people played WoW because of the game not because of the IP. I never enjoyed Warcraft and was skeptical of WoW because of it being tied to that IP when it launched. WoW stands on it's own. People have chased Wow not because of the IP but because of the genera it defined.

No, its pretty fuckin fair to say WoW exists because of Warcraft.

I guess you probably think Dune 2 is probably equally influential on WoW then.

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.
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Metal_DK posted...

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.

Thats the point you are trying to make..........I agree it's fucking stupid.

Metal_DK posted...

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.

Lets look at your logic

You completely dismiss or trivialize the success of World of Warcraft and everything about the game solely to the creation of Warcraft, as you say "the only reason it exists". If that is true than you can't say that a game like Sonic 3 or Final Fantasy 6 iare the best in the series which make them very important which are nothing more than iteration of an existing IP and format. Either one has to be more important than the other. I personally think the birth of the IP is less important than the peak implementation of it. This is why I consider GTA III and Metal Gear Solid to be more important games in their series than the original titles.

why does every new person asking questions about the contest just get treated like they're a dumb troll

i mean there are plenty of actual dumb trolls here and most of them aren't even new contest posters
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Metal_DK posted...

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.

Lets look at your logic

well there's your problem
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2006 was a great year for gaming confusion. The PS3 E3 announcement left people plenty confused.
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Steiner posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Super Metroid is one of my 5 bet games of all time. I understand that people absolutely love it. I know it defined a genera but it's a small genera in compared to shooters which tend to be the highest selling titles still today. It's very surprising to me people are that oblivious to the importance half-life 2 and steam and even Halo 2 had for shooters last decade. Then there is World of Warcraft. Metroid might be one of the five best games ever but it has never even come close to being on WoWs level when impacting culture. I'll never forget the WoW South Park episode for example. Wow defined a genera and you still see today people trying to chase that on a AAA level.

These are all the thoughts many of us had back in the games contests years ago - but a history of these contests has taught us GameFAQs voters do not revere PC gaming at anywhere near the level of console gaming - especially the SNES era.

Something interesting just dawned on me while reading this. I have been a member of Gamefaqs for a long time. Now days I tend to think that most people on the board are much much younger than me based on their logic and immaturity. However seeing that people favor SNES titles over all others means the average age is probably much higher and I fall into the average. I have a hard time believing 13-25 year olds hold SNES games in this high of a regard.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Metal_DK posted...

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.

Thats the point you are trying to make..........I agree it's fucking stupid.

So you agree that WoW was influenced by EQ then!

And yes Warcraft had WAY more influence on WoW then EQ (or Ultima or Asheron's Call, etc) did. Otherwise WoW wouldn't have exploded. MMOs were all niche before WoW. Add the Blizzard factor, the Warcraft IP, and WoW explodes. Warcraft caused WoW to be absurdly popular
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Something interesting just dawned on me while reading this. I have been a member of Gamefaqs for a long time. Now days I tend to think that most people on the board are much much younger than me based on their logic and immaturity. However seeing that people favor SNES titles over all others means the average age is probably much higher and I fall into the average. I have a hard time believing 13-25 year olds hold SNES games in this high of a regard.

The average age of gfaqs users has been increasing. This is not new info. Younger people are not on gfaqs, they are using youtube, reddit, wikis, facebook. Gfaqs is an aging population.
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Metal_DK posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Metal_DK posted...

no, but its influential on Warcraft.

I mean this "point" by you is fucking stupid because really Pong is influential on Persona 5, Breath of the Wild, etc.

Thats the point you are trying to make..........I agree it's fucking stupid.

So you agree that WoW was influenced by EQ then!

And yes Warcraft had WAY more influence on WoW then EQ (or Ultima or Asheron's Call, etc) did. Otherwise WoW wouldn't have exploded. MMOs were all niche before WoW. Add the Blizzard factor, the Warcraft IP, and WoW explodes. Warcraft caused WoW to be absurdly popular

For me personally this wasn't it at all. I was fascinated by the idea of an online RPG but never got into one before WoW. In fact most of my buddies and guild members didn't even play wow. I think Warcraft had as about as much impact on the success of WoW as the original GTA did for the success of GTA 3 or 5. They are two completely different games. If IP alone was what made it successful then you would have seen Star Wars Galaxies, Final Fantasy 11 have raging success on the same level. I think all of those IP's were significantly bigger than Warcraft when they launched their MMO's before Blizzard launched WoW. World of Warcraft took that concept and made it accessible and approachable.

wildstrike1516 posted...

For me personally this wasn't it at all. I was fascinated by the idea of an online RPG but never got into one before WoW before that. In fact most of my buddies and guild members didn't even play wow. I think Warcraft had as about as much impact on the success of WoW as the original GTA did for the success of GTA 3 or 5. They are two completely different games. If IP alone was what made it successful then you would have seen Star Wars Galaxies, Final Fantasy 11 have raging success on the same level. I think all of those IP's were significantly bigger than Warcraft when they launched their MMO's before Blizzard launched WoW. World of Warcraft took that concept and made it accessible and approachable.

http://www.powerwordgold.net/2013/07/world-of-warcraft-subscribers-2005-2013.html
http://www.firstannapolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Fig_-1_-Technology-Innovation-Adoption-Lifecycle_12Dec20_v1.jpg

Thats pretty obviously false. WoW pretty much saw a timeline of

beta/2004/2005 - Warcraft 3 fans, some word of mouth (innovators/early adopters)
Mid 2006 to early 2007 - Mr. T Commercials, "Leroy Jenkins", South Park episode, first expansion (The Chasm)
2007 to 2008 - TBC/WotLK (early majority)

etc
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Metal_DK posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

For me personally this wasn't it at all. I was fascinated by the idea of an online RPG but never got into one before WoW before that. In fact most of my buddies and guild members didn't even play wow. I think Warcraft had as about as much impact on the success of WoW as the original GTA did for the success of GTA 3 or 5. They are two completely different games. If IP alone was what made it successful then you would have seen Star Wars Galaxies, Final Fantasy 11 have raging success on the same level. I think all of those IP's were significantly bigger than Warcraft when they launched their MMO's before Blizzard launched WoW. World of Warcraft took that concept and made it accessible and approachable.

http://www.powerwordgold.net/2013/07/world-of-warcraft-subscribers-2005-2013.html
http://www.firstannapolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Fig_-1_-Technology-Innovation-Adoption-Lifecycle_12Dec20_v1.jpg

Thats pretty obviously false. WoW pretty much saw a timeline of

beta/2004/2005 - Warcraft 3 fans, some word of mouth (innovators/early adopters)
Mid 2006 to early 2007 - Mr. T Commercials, "Leroy Jenkins", South Park episode, first expansion (The Chasm)
2007 to 2008 - TBC/WotLK (early majority)

etc

What is pretty obviously false?

WoW first got big because:

Warcraft 3/TFT came out in 2002/2003
First game to see large amounts of people playing the open beta
No other major Blizzard IP since Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction in 2001

All of Blizzard fans migrated to WoW, and they were the majority of fans. Sometime around 2006/2007 was when WoW user base became mostly people who had never played a Blizzard game before (See graphs)
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Metal_DK posted...

WoW first got big because:

Warcraft 3/TFT came out in 2002/2003
First game to see large amounts of people playing the open beta
No other major Blizzard IP since Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction in 2001

All of Blizzard fans migrated to WoW, and they were the majority of fans. Sometime around 2006/2007 was when WoW user base became mostly people who had never played a Blizzard game before (See graphs)

Your graphs only prove my point.

In 2002 Warcraft 3 had sold 4.4 million copies. http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/07/22/warcraft-iii-shatters-sales-records

That number only went up more significantly by November 2004. So to say all blizzard fans jumped on it at release isn't true. Wow had an initial launch of 1.5 million and only grew because it was an incredible game. I played 4 MMOs in 2004 and Wow was the one that stuck with me (FFXI, EQ2, City of Heroes, WoW) People were excited about Blizzard making a MMO more than Warcraft being an MMO. Again Star Wars and Final Fantasy were significantly more popular franchises then and struggled to sell MMOs.

I think i've made my point. If you want to believe the only reason blizzard made an MMORPG and revolutionized the entire genre is because they created Warcraft ten years earlier than okay. I think the reason that games exists is because they saw the early models and realized they could make a much better version.

Those graphs dont prove your point at all.

Warcraft 3 saw a massive migration to WoW when it came out. WoW for about a year or so was played almost entirely by Blizzard fans. As somebody who played a shit ton of Warcraft 3 custom maps, I can definitely tell you that after WoW came out, the amount of custom maps being played became only "DOTA -AREM BANLIST!" skyrocketed. Blizzard fans moved to WoW.

Im not saying they made an MMO because they created Warcraft. Im saying WoW owe's its existence TO warcraft. Which is obvious.
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What does the "chasm" represent?
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the breakthrough moment where something skyrockets in popularity and becomes part of mainstream culture
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Metal_DK posted...

Those graphs dont prove your point at all.

Warcraft 3 saw a massive migration to WoW when it came out. WoW for about a year or so was played almost entirely by Blizzard fans. As somebody who played a shit ton of Warcraft 3 custom maps, I can definitely tell you that after WoW came out, the amount of custom maps being played became only "DOTA -AREM BANLIST!" skyrocketed. Blizzard fans moved to WoW.

Im not saying they made an MMO because they created Warcraft. Im saying WoW owe's its existence TO warcraft. Which is obvious.

Since you are factoring in personal experience I never played War3 and my group of buddies weren't big War3 fans at all and we all jumped on WoW because the BETA made a strong impression. You can't just assume all early growth was because warcraft fans purchased that for a new game and migrated over. WoW owe's it's existence to EQ, AC and Prior MMO of establishing the genera.

So yeah WoW owes it's existence to Warcraft just as much as Dota 2 owes it's existence to War3 for its.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Since you are factoring in personal experience I never played War3 and my group of buddies weren't big War3 fans at all and we all jumped on WoW because the BETA made a strong impression. You can't just assume all early growth was because warcraft fans purchased that for a new game and migrated over. WoW owe's it's existence to EQ, AC and Prior MMO of establishing the genera.

So yeah WoW owes it's existence to Warcraft just as much as Dota 2 owes it's existence to War3 for its.

Dota 2 does owe its existence to War 3...technically all of MOBAs owe it to War 3. Well if you really want to get technical, they owe their existence to Starcraft because Dota 1 originated from the SC/Brood War map Aeon of Strife.

And yes, Warcraft 3 saw massive drops in battle.net players within a few months after WoW. The first few months to even year of WoW were mostly Blizzard fans only, and some others that maybe wanted something new from FF11 (who probably also played SC/Diablo at some point too...). Hell there are so many people on the internet that neglect all of PC gaming before Steam's rise around 2007/2008....
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wildstrike1516 posted...

Something interesting just dawned on me while reading this. I have been a member of Gamefaqs for a long time. Now days I tend to think that most people on the board are much much younger than me based on their logic and immaturity. However seeing that people favor SNES titles over all others means the average age is probably much higher and I fall into the average. I have a hard time believing 13-25 year olds hold SNES games in this high of a regard.

https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6509-how-old-are-you
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super metroid, final fantasy VI, Tie Fighter, Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct, Sonic & Knuckles, Warcraft, Sim City 2000 - All examples of why 1994 was a better year for gaming.

Not to mention - Blizzard was formed in 1994.

Blizzard was formed in 1991, but Warcraft 1 came out in 1994 which btw is the primary reason why WoW exists
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Metal_DK posted...

Blizzard was formed in 1991, but Warcraft 1 came out in 1994 which btw is the primary reason why WoW exists

So now WoW exsist because Blizzard was formed. Got it.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Metal_DK posted...

Blizzard was formed in 1991, but Warcraft 1 came out in 1994 which btw is the primary reason why WoW exists

So now WoW exsist because Blizzard was formed. Got it.

...yes, the game exists because a company made it

Do you read what you're posting?

Its pretty safe to say WoW exists because of Blizzard forming. Pretty sure on that!
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Regaro posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Metal_DK posted...

Blizzard was formed in 1991, but Warcraft 1 came out in 1994 which btw is the primary reason why WoW exists

So now WoW exsist because Blizzard was formed. Got it.

...yes, the game exists because a company made it

Do you read what you're posting?

Obviously you don't get the humor in my post.

wildstrike1516 posted...

Obviously you don't get the humor in my post.

There's no humor in abject idiocy

Regaro posted...

wildstrike1516 posted...

Obviously you don't get the humor in my post.

There's no humor in abject idiocy

Wow you are dense.

Only about a third of this site has played WoW: https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6440-are-you-currently-playing-world-of-warcraft

A significant amount of those who used to play it but no longer do probably don't have positive feelings about the game either. And among non-players WoW is generally despised. Nobody's going to care about its massive influence if they don't like the game in the first place.

Counter-Strike: https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/2476-have-you-ever-played-counter-strike

Only 30% of the site ever really got into it. The poll was run a decade ago though, it'd likely do significantly worse now.

Halo 2? Popularized online multiplayer on consoles. Except it did so on a console most of gamefaqs didn't own, PC games had been doing online FPS multiplayer for a decade by that point, it was in a genre gamefaqs isn't big on, and it got abandoned once Halo 3 came out regardless.

San Andreas was massively popular but it wasn't a game changer for the industry and so doesn't really belong on your list. GTA III was the innovator.

Half-Life II probably has okay strength on this site at this point. Only so much it can do as an FPS, though.

Source engine? Nobody cares.

And while the DS and Steam may have launched in 2004 but they were kind of awful back then.
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AxemRedRanger posted...

Only about a third of this site has played WoW: https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6440-are-you-currently-playing-world-of-warcraft

A significant amount of those who used to play it but no longer do probably don't have positive feelings about the game either. And among non-players WoW is generally despised. Nobody's going to care about its massive influence if they don't like the game in the first place.

Counter-Strike: https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/2476-have-you-ever-played-counter-strike

Only 30% of the site ever really got into it. The poll was run a decade ago though, it'd likely do significantly worse now.

Halo 2? Popularized online multiplayer on consoles. Except it did so on a console most of gamefaqs didn't own, PC games had been doing online FPS multiplayer for a decade by that point, it was in a genre gamefaqs isn't big on, and it got abandoned once Halo 3 came out regardless.

San Andreas was massively popular but it wasn't a game changer for the industry and so doesn't really belong on your list. GTA III was the innovator.

Half-Life II probably has okay strength on this site at this point. Only so much it can do as an FPS, though.

Source engine? Nobody cares.

And while the DS and Steam may have launched in 2004 but they were kind of awful back then.

Seeing this data makes more sense. I bet more people have played Ogre Battle 64 here than CS.

Oh, there was also a poll on Half-Life II ownership back in 2014.

https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/5695-10-years-later-got-half-life-2

And Ogre Battle 64, probably not. Maybe Xenogears though!
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HeroicGammaRay posted...

i would guess most voters don't care about influence and new platforms very much and just vote on the body of games they like the most. that could boil down to one game or three or five

also not that anyone else voted on these but '94 had some great pc offerings (e.g. original x-com, master of magic). DOS son
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damn, when i looked it up here it said Master of Magic was 95. i guess 95 is no longer my favorite year <_<
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Cybat posted...

2006 was a great year for gaming confusion. The PS3 E3 announcement left people plenty confused.

I honestly think the Xbox One ore Will U announcements trump the PS3 easily.
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