Games that changed the industry #5 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Do you remember opening your shiny new Playstation 2? All the perks of the original Sony console but with something that seemed much more refined and futuristic about it – plus you could watch DVD’s, and let’s face it, that did change the world.

            

Enough about a once new console. I’m more interested in the best selling game of that console, arguably the best in its prestigious and long running franchise, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

            

This gives real impetus to the ‘Game that changed the Industry’ tag line of the column. A truly massive game for its time both in terms of sales and in game space. Though there had been other open world games before this point, none had really brought all of the key aspects together coherently in the way GTA: San Andreas did. 

This was the first truly open game to make a big impact on our consoles.

            

One of the best things about the free roaming in San Andreas though was its ability to keep you interested. There was a main plot along with numerous side ‘quests’ for when running around causing complete havoc lost its appeal. The refreshing openness to maintain a balance of crazy and down right ridiculous really made this stand out in what was turning into the very serious business of video games.

            

Beyond the gameplay aspects, which undoubtedly give the game a place in this column, there is another important reason here that could be taken by any of several big games in the period. For the first time in thirty-five years it wasn’t Nintendo that was making the best games. There were other serious options out there and people were beginning to think that actually these new options might actually be better.

            

Selling 27 millions copies, this was the best selling game of 2004 and on the PS2, making it the 10^th best selling console game of all time with several very successful follow ups. Not all that surprising really, is it?

Games that changed the industry #4 Pokemon Red/Blue

After Super Mario Bros. made an appearance in the last article in this series I think you’d forgive me if the following game was not as impressive.

But because I wanted to be the very best (I hope you appreciate that)why I have picked the beginning of another of Nintendo’s star franchises: Pokémon. Like Mario, every knows what Pokémon is (even if that only means Pikachu), but more than Mario, Pokémon Red and Blue spawned a plethora of other media including cartoons and Magna, in what can only be described as a cultural phenomenon.

            

That aside, you might ask why are these games so popular? Well, when released in 1996, the two original games followed the basic formula of catching Pokémon, (it’s my real test), training them (that’s my cause) and collecting gym badges before challenging the Elite Four to become the Pokémon champion.

Choose anyone of Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur as
your first Pokémon 

It sounds familiar because if you’ve bought any of the other main sequence Pokémon games since then, you will have had largely the same experience. Pokémon as entities tend to be too cute to brush off or so macho that you really did want to prove to the world that you could catch them. Pokémon Red and Blue are not significant because of impressive graphics or great storylines, but because they gave gamers the chance to live an experience that they would want to relive again and again.

Beyond that however, they offered a simple storyline that could be understood by young children while giving the option to make things more complicated for those who wanted to replay the game over and over.

There were plenty of games that could have gone after Mario in this series, but Pokémon Red and Blue are here because they are two of the few games that have made such a long lasting impact alongside their Italian plumbing friend.

Games that changed the industry #3 Super Mario Bros

Most gamers have a character that defines gaming for them. Think Master Chief, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic, Pikachu and so on. Of all such characters though one stands above all other almost undisputedly and he is of course the worlds favourite plumber: Mario.

Mario first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong in 1981, but that’s not the game that is synonymous with his character. That would be Super Mario Bros.

Since it’s release in 1985 on the NES, Super Mario Bros. sold over 40 million units making it the best selling game ever until the release of Wii Sports in 2006.

The game was more complicated than previous Mario entries with more features and levels. The player would control Mario in his attempt to reach Princess Peach from the evil Bowser saving Toads on the way. The player had to pass obstacles and enemies while collecting coins by jumping up and hitting boxes in the air.

Since its release in almost thirty years ago it has spawned several re-releases on new Nintendo consoles with various other games being released in the franchise. Despite this, no follow up since Super Mario Bros. has come close to being as successful or as recognisable.

Most early games on this list are really considered to be forerunners to something bigger and better in the future, the way through to modern games if you like. Here though we have an exception, Super Mario Bros. not only defined one of the most successful franchises ever, but also cemented the Platform genre as one that will exist forever.

Mario’s first major outing then is still as playable today as it was 29 years ago. And on that note I’d say have a Google search, find a flash version of the old original- or better yet drag out someone’s old NES and play it like it was meant to be played. Go on, you know you want to.

Blog update

Hi All,

Apologies for the lack of posts on the blog in the last couple of months. I'm working on a new feature that can run exclusively through my blog that hopefully I should be able to start within the next week or two but in the meant time please have a look at my column that I write for Exeposé Games and Technology. Below you can find the articles I've written so far plus the one I'll be writing next! I will also be going back to progressively posting the articles I write for the column here as well without the edit.

Pong (1972)- Arcade
Ball (1980)- Nintendo Game & Watch
Super Mario Bros. (1985)- Nintendo Entertainment System
Pokemon Red/Blue (1996)- Game Boy Colour
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)- PS2/Xbox/PC (originally)
Halo 2 (2004) - Xbox

Upcoming: Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion- Xbox 360/PS3/PC

Games that changed the industry #2 Ball

Ball. Yes, that’s the game, Ball. No, I’m not talking about playing with a dog (though the person that thought that one up should have something written about them as well). I mean a video game, and to top that, one that opened the door for one of the biggest games manufactures today.

It’s important to point out before anything else that the gameplay in Ball isn’t the most exciting, revolutionary or otherwise unique that you might have come across up to this point. To sum it up briefly, you played as Mr Game & Watch, juggling balls aiming not to drop them by using your characters’ two arms. As I say, not what anyone would consider mind-blowing. However, the impact and legacy is something that could not be ignored.

Released in 1980, Ball was significant for so many reasons. Perhaps the most important is that Ball was the first successful game to be released by Nintendo. Nintendo had forayed into the early gaming industry before 1980, creating games as early as 1974, but to little success. Shipping somewhere around a quarter of a million units, Ball sent Nintendo into the big time allowing for more games to be produced on the platform.

source:wikipedia

What a platform it turned out to be, Ball was the first title in Nintendo’s revolutionary hand held, Game & Watch series. Each game came in its own, self contained unit so at the time it was possible to pick up several mini hand held gaming devices for every game you bought.

Even though Ball wasn’t the most exciting invention seen by early gamers, the pathway it laid down has seen it come to critical acclaim in recent years, with Nintendo remaking the game in its original form in 2010.

So, I’m not going to recommend searching for an emulator for this one, but next time you pick up your 3DS or decide that Wii Fit needs to come out of the box, spare a thought for where it started and thank Mr Game & Watch.

Games that changed the Industry: Pong

The first in a series of articles I'm writing: games that changed the industry:

Finding a place to start in this column was difficult. There are plenty of games out there that should get onto an industry-defining list, but finding where to start left me feeling a certain weight of responsibility. All things must have a beginning, and so it was with games, yet I’m going to skip a couple of games and bring us to the magnificent year that was 1972.

In 1972, the Olympics were held in Munich and Ben Affleck was born but more importantly, the game that would lead to the industry we knew today was released.

Pong was essentially table tennis in an arcade box. Created by Allan Alcorn with a wooden cabinet and a black and white TV, the aim, simply, was to move your paddles vertically to stop your computerized opponent scoring and in return score against them. How did you win you might ask? Score 11.

This though was not the first game ever created, in fact a quick Google search will tell you that a patent was filed for a ‘Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device’ in 1947. In fact it wasn’t the first game even appear in an arcade box for mass production (have a search for Computer Space from the previous year, go on, you want to).

What it was though was a game that lots of people wanted to play. It was exciting with the bonus of also being accessible to the masses and in 1974 a home version of the game was released as a standalone console, with 2500 units on order before release. Atari went onto sell 35000 copies of the game, with many thousands of imitations also sold.

Perhaps most significantly, Pong set the marker for games through the rest of the 1970’s. Though simplistic, it held it still holds it’s appeal now, remaining popular online and through smartphones. Being a game changer doesn’t necessarily mean being timeless, but in Pong’s case it certainly is.

Xbox One Digital TV Tuner Review

One of the problems we’ve seen with the Xbox One since its launch late last year is the release of products and features that haven’t really been wanted or appreciated by the community. The obvious example of course is Kinect, which since June when it became a standalone peripheral has practically disappeared from new big budget games.

The latest hardware release for Microsoft’s console is a digital TV tuner, allowing European users to stream, pause and catch up with free-to-view channels directly through your Xbox One. In the words of Microsoft, ‘our fans in Europe have been asking for this functionality’. However, at £25 a go, a direct line through the Xbox may to seem to many another option that can just be given a miss as TV is so accessible without the console.

Of course the TV tuner does have its benefits: free HD channels that aren’t accessible through all TV boxes suddenly become available, as do the aforementioned catch up and live pause functions. Snap functionality is also included so playing and watching suddenly becomes a lot easier for those that were originally reluctant to connect their digital boxes to their Xbox One.

Undoubtedly then a digital tuner is a useful device. It means that the Xbox One can begin taking another step towards being the single box in your living room. However, the problem Microsoft once again face is convincing their audience that they all want TV through their console. Though nowhere near as significant as Kinect, a failure here would further cement critics’ points that gamers want a console to play games on and more often than not, that’s enough.

The lower price tag and obvious as well as ongoing function should encourage Xbox One owners to buy into the idea of Microsoft’s latest hardware release, even if its attraction wont be as widespread as gaming itself.