With the massive buzz surrounding the Halo: Reach beta this week, perhaps this news is fitting. Today the leading authority on record breakers, Guinness World Records, announced their list of the all-time Top 50 Videogame Series, as voted on by their readers. After more than 13,000 votes, Halo, Call of Duty, and The Legend of Zelda had fended off all comers to take the top three spots. The list is featured in the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition and gives a grand view of the biggest brands in gaming today, including all titles and spinoffs.
Bungie’s Halo, the game that sold the Microsoft Xbox to millions, stomped all over the competition to achieve first place. Call of Duty, the most successful entertainment launch of all time thanks to Modern Warfare 2, took the number two slot. Third place went to The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo’s largest flagship franchise outside of Mario.
The rest of the best follows: Guitar Hero (#4), Metal Gear (#5), Super Mario Bros. (#6), World of Warcraft (#7), Gears of War (#8), Super Smash Bros. (#9), Grand Theft Auto (#10), Pokémon (# 11), Resident Evil (#12). Fallout (#13), Half-Life (#14), Sonic the Hedgehog (#15), Counter-Strike (#16), Runescape (#17), FIFA (#18), Kingdom Hearts (#19), Final Fantasy (#20), Pac-Man (#21), Madden NFL (#22), The Sims (#23), Tomb Raider (#24), WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW (#25), Rock Band (#26), LittleBigPlanet (#27), Saints Row (#28), The Elder Scrolls (#29), (#30), God of War/GoldenEye 007 (#31), Bioshock (#32), KillZone (#33), Skate (#34), Left 4 Dead (#35), Need for Speed (#36), Chrono Trigger (#37), Gran Turismo (#38), StarCraft (#39), Ratchet & Clank (#40), Pong (#41), Tom Clancy's (# 42), Star Wars: Battlefront (#43), Battlefield (#44), Diablo (#45), Lego Batman (#46), Mario Kart (#47), Burnout (#48), Crash Bandicoot (#49) and Pro Evolution Soccer (#50).
The Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition website hosted a poll between January and August of last year in order to make up the list. “We decided to take a different approach with this list than we did in the previous edition," said Gaz Deaves, Guinness World Records Gaming Editor. "Instead of asking developers, industry insiders and journalists to rank their favorite titles, we approached a different kind of expert: the players themselves! We are confident that this 'top 50' more accurately reflects the tastes of the average gamer and not just the critics."
We may never know how Lego Batman stood toe-to-toe with Diablo and Mario Kart, but players can pick up the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition in bookstores everywhere.
5 Comments
May 6, 2010
Normally I'd balk at this type of list because they are usually based on nothing but popularity(as opposed to quality). But the fact that they threw in the Burnout series(at #48) makes me stand up for an official golf clap.
May 7, 2010
BS. When did this supposed voting take place? I never saw any mention on any game or news site about voting. They must have talked to a bunch of 13 year old nerds living in their basement if they think Halo is the best series.
July 2, 2010
Truly speaking halo is one of my top in my personal 50 most overrated franchises of all time.
atomic alarm clock
July 13, 2010
CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Halo is NOT better than Super Smash Bros.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also, how did Runescape get in here; IT IS A COMPUTOR GAME!!!!!!!!! I have never seen Runescape for a video game console or handheld! This list is #$%&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11 months ago
Halo IS better than super smash bros. sorry, but that is pure truth. Although this list is not quite good. There isn't Might and Magic franchise, so..;)