204 replies to this topic

[rob_b]

True, it reshaped the foundations of how we play games today. But there is not one single game past, present or future that will ever achieve the legendary status of SMB. Not one. EVER.

[xenxander]

Ok, so I'm older than dirt. I remember losing a few weekends to Doom on my brand spanking new Micron 100 Mhz Pentium f'n ONE pc. That was the game that made me a gamer. That game taught us what it was all about. It was the turning point from text MUDS to real graphic games where the immersion wasn't just a way to show you where you were in the map, but a real part of the game that gave it such an emotional impact.

Not the "best" by a long shot, but Doom was the turning point from game to gaming.

-Jumonji

That was my point. And again, I wish everyone here would not keep saying "this is the best game ever!' because it's their favorite.

that is not what this topic was about. Again, I feel it's "doom", not because I even like doom, which I kind of don't. It's because it was really the large turning point in games. Wolfenstine 3D made the platform, and Doom was the game that used it and made it extremely popular.

[System Shock]

Well, this really is a hard topic to discuss, because I don’t know where to start. Back in the day (and this is how old I am) you’d go to the arcade to play video games; no one had computers at home. Games like Asteroids, Tempest, Space Invaders, Pacman, they started the public’s hunger for video games. Heck, how many video games have a song written specifically about them that reached the Top 10? … I believe Space Invaders was the game that introduced color to video games…

If we are talking strictly PC games, I think Doom’s success can be somewhat attributed to Wolfenstein 3D; the original System Shock, my favorite game of all time, did Doom one better by introducing real strategy and RP into the 1st person shooter: you didn’t just go around shooting things and pressing buttons. It also introduced (IIRC) the concept of using different tools to achieve different goals: for example, you just didn’t get the biggest gun, because it didn’t kill everything; only certain guns/swords could be used to combat certain things, and only one type of armor could be used to protect yourself from certain things.

[rob_b]

You're still not seeing it - are you THAT utterly brainless? When I say nothing can top the success of SMB, I MEAN IT! You want proof? Here’s your proof!

[System Shock]

You're still not seeing it - are you THAT utterly brainless? When I say nothing can top the success of SMB, I MEAN IT! You want proof? Here’s your proof!

... kid, you need to comprehend what's being discussed before you make stupid comments like this one.
This is not a discussion about who sold how many, and most definitely it does not mean that Super Mario Brothers is in any way better than any other game just because it has sold so many games. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has sold more copies than any other album/CD, do you like it the most?

It also had a different market when it first came out: its toughest competition was Tetris. There was really nothing else. There weren't that many computers out there (and the ones out there were really expensive)and less computer games. If someone bought a gameboy, the first thing you reached for was SMB, because it pretty much was the only thing available. And even in the gameboy arena, SMB was trounced by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in gaming experience.

[thekid345]

"The Best Game Ever" is a very "vague"(idk if that is the right word), question. So ill narrow it down to a few topics and then the NO. 1 game.

FPS-Halo
Really was the game that made the XboX a big hit. Without it, no Halo 2 or 3.

RTS-C&C
I cant pick one of the Comand and Conqs, but they are all great.

TBS-Civilation 4
I always loved civ, but 4 really made me love it.

rpg-TES3 Morrowind
Was really the best game i've ever played in my life. It had a great storyline and would take 1000 hours to do EVERYTHING in the game.

Multiplayer game-Half Life 2
I almost said Halo 2, but i have to say HL2.

MMORPG-World Of Warcraft
Im not a huge MMO fan, but Wow is the only one i actively playe once every 10 days.....

BestGAmeEver.....


TES 3 Morrowind!

[rob_b]

You're still not seeing it - are you THAT utterly brainless? When I say nothing can top the success of SMB, I MEAN IT! You want proof? Here’s your proof!

... kid, you need to comprehend what's being discussed before you make stupid comments like this one.
This is not a discussion about who sold how many, and most definitely it does not mean that Super Mario Brothers is in any way better than any other game just because it has sold so many games. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has sold more copies than any other album/CD, do you like it the most?

It also had a different market when it first came out: its toughest competition was Tetris. There was really nothing else. There weren't that many computers out there (and the ones out there were really expensive)and less computer games. If someone bought a gameboy, the first thing you reached for was SMB, because it pretty much was the only thing available. And even in the gameboy arena, SMB was trounced by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in gaming experience.

Don't insult me, and don't call me "kid" - I'm almost as old as you (I'll turn 23 this August). This thread isn't about music (especially MJ ), and it sure as hell isn't about the technological aspects of a game. And FYI, if SMB isn't so great, then why did it sell as much as it did then, hmm? Look at it this way - each and every game has it's own uniqueness that can make it great, but ultimately it's up the the people to decide which ones actually become great.

BTW, you might want to retract what you said about the Game Boy and SMB, because if memory serves me correctly, the first game released on GB relating to Mario was Super Mario Land, NOT SMB as you said. SMB was released on GBC as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

[System Shock]

You're still not seeing it - are you THAT utterly brainless? When I say nothing can top the success of SMB, I MEAN IT! You want proof? Here’s your proof!

... kid, you need to comprehend what's being discussed before you make stupid comments like this one.
This is not a discussion about who sold how many, and most definitely it does not mean that Super Mario Brothers is in any way better than any other game just because it has sold so many games. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has sold more copies than any other album/CD, do you like it the most?

It also had a different market when it first came out: its toughest competition was Tetris. There was really nothing else. There weren't that many computers out there (and the ones out there were really expensive)and less computer games. If someone bought a gameboy, the first thing you reached for was SMB, because it pretty much was the only thing available. And even in the gameboy arena, SMB was trounced by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening in gaming experience.

Don't insult me, and don't call me "kid" - I'm almost as old as you (I'll turn 23 this August). This thread isn't about music (especially MJ ), and it sure as hell isn't about the technological aspects of a game. And FYI, if SMB isn't so great, then why did it sell as much as it did then, hmm? Look at it this way - each and every game has it's own uniqueness that can make it great, but ultimately it's up the the people to decide which ones actually become great.

BTW, you might want to retract what you said about the Game Boy and SMB, because if memory serves me correctly, the first game released on GB relating to Mario was Super Mario Land, NOT SMB as you said. SMB was released on GBC as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

That’s what I’m trying to do, explain to you why SMB sold so many games.
I bring up the Thriller analogy because it is an example of something that sold more copies than anything else, yet it is hardly considered the “best ever”; given the basis of your argument that SMB is the best game ever because it sold more copies than anything else, the analogy is germane.

So let me slow down here and explain you why SMB sold so many copies:

1.- No competition
I did get myself mixed up about something: I wrote GameBoy, but I should’ve written NES console, because that was the platform the original 1985 release of SMB ran on, and SMB came bundled with the system. So, I stand corrected, however, my point is even stronger now, since the numbers on SMB in the Guiness book of records do state “bundled”, i.e., it counts the SMB copies that were sold as part of the bundle in its tally; and its 1985 release puts SMB against even less competition than if it had been released in 1989, when the GameBoy was released.
And there were no PC games that came close to what you got from a console.

2.- No variety
FPS, RPG, RTS, MMORPG, those terms did not exist back then. There were no elaborate story lines behind games. You just had a pixelated character (being a man, animal, car, etc) doing the same things over and over again: jump the barrel, shoot the target, hit the button, dodge the traffic. There weren’t games where you could manipulate your character, or have choices between fighting or stealth, or complicated story lines which may or may not appeal to the masses, etc. so it was easier for one game to appeal to a greater number of people back then than it is now. Today the variety is so great, it is just about impossible for a single game to have that type of mass appeal.


3.- No rating system/adult story lines.
Back then, there were no ratings on games, so games were bought by adults and kids alike for adults and kids alike. Today, games have ratings, and can’t be bought by everybody. When you talk about games like Deus Ex (government conspiracies), or Grand Theft Auto (gang violence, crime), these games have adult story lines/graphics, and parents are not going to plant the kids in front of the wii with them loaded.. So, obviously, that diminishes the demographic and therefore the market potential for certain game genres.

[rob_b]

I would like to retract what I posted earlier - I was feeling rather awful (damn stupid flu), so yes, I see your reasoning now. I just wasn't thinking (as always ), so forgive my insolence. SMB still stands as my favourite game, but I won't try to stuff it down anybody's throat (which I now realize I was blatantly doing). Rest assured, it won't happen again - Scout's Honour

[Triforce1]

My favorites are all of the true Nintendo games. Every single one of the Zelda games (particularly Twilight Princess and Wind Waker) are spectacular, except those on the CD-i . After that, the recent Mario games are pretty spectacular, especially Galaxy and Sunshine. Although, for me, nothing can beat that cut scene in SSMB with both Ganondorf and Bowser on top of the Subspace Gun. ! Yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.