Wing Commander 2 was a weird grab.

especially when tie fighter did it better and with more nostalgia

I was going to say there were some odd picks (and omissions) on that list, but you two beat me to it.

Call of Duty deserves CoD4's spot, while the second is more popular the first one set a tottaly new standard for FPS's.

All I'd disagree with is the placing of some, most of the games on here made pretty major contributions to the general flow of gaming.

What's with the madden on the list?

I know about the series but why not just put Madden (series) there instead.

I keep looking for the disclaimer: "Attention: No real gamers were consulted during the assembly of this list" Madden 2005? Seriously?

To me,it's like they asked a few people what some popular games were from back in the day and today,then put them in a list.

A lot of theses games are good,but I just feel like those who made the list wouldn't know.

xysays:
I keep looking for the disclaimer: "Attention: No real gamers were consulted during the assembly of this list" Madden 2005? Seriously?

other than it being Entertainment Weekly, why would you assume that non-gamers made this list? examples?

awww no Thief:Deadly Shadows :-(

I'm not sure what the hell this list is supposed to be made of, old "classics" or a mix of old and new? Other than that, i'd disagree with most of the placements of the games but then again i'm just being picky ;)

Ahem...Elite? Space Invaders, Pacman, Pong, Space Wars, Star Wars, Counterstrike, The Sims...

No Diablo? boooo

Golden-Eye and Halo above Half-Life?

Final Fantasy VII over Chrono Trigger?

Gears of War over Starcraft?

Seriously, whoever made this list was clinically retarded.

Joeshie:
Golden-Eye and Halo above Half-Life?

Final Fantasy VII over Chrono Trigger?

Gears of War over Starcraft?

Seriously, whoever made this list was clinically retarded.

Agreed. And whats with calling this a list of greatest classics then add games from this year and many that aren't a year old since release. To me, Classic gaming is 2D graphics starting from the SNES back.

What, no System Shock.

Who the hell wrote this!

This list is displaying some serious console bias. They put something like 5 versions of street fighter on there but no Quake or Unreal Tournament 99? Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout or Planescape: Torment? Feh.

I don't understand what the criterium for "Classic" must have been?
To me a classic game is one that started a trend of games all in the same genre because of the innovations brought forth by said game.

As such a young game can't have a spot in the list unless it was really and extremely influential. And in my opinion that also makes Everquest rank above World of Warcraft because one of them started the genre while the other one merely perfected it. While World of Warcraft did revitilize the gaming industrys appetite for making mmorpg's, which also makes it a classic of sorts it doesn't really seem fit to put it above predecessors that were clearly an inspiration for it imho.

Sales figures shouldn't been much of a factor, but should have hopefully been a result of the classic nature of the game.

Just my 2 cents...

PS: Put half life right after doom will you?

GRAND THEFT AUTO III BELONGS ON THIS LIST, NOT IV. This list is obviously taking historical impact into account... and GTA III is when the series kicked doors down and changed the industry. I don't think that anyone would argue that GTA IV displayed the same level of innovation and amazement that III brought us in its' day.

Also, I think Soul Calibur 2 and Street Fighter 2 Turbo easily outclass their predecessors who made it on the list. Not even arguable, really.

So... are we going for the originators and innovators? Or are we going for the pinnacle of each series? The list isn't sure, and it suffers accordingly.

One more complaint, I don't see anything wrong with having Mario 3, Super Mario World, and Mario 64 all on the list. Same w/ Resident Evil 2 and 4. Tecmo Bowl AND Tecmo Super Bowl (if you aren't American, you won't understand). Metroid is the only series to get 2 entries on the list. If Metroid 2 and Metroid Prime make the list, then Mario 3 and Mario 64 should be there as well.

Argh. This is a GOOD list, but there's still SO much wrong. Why can't everybody share my opinions on everything. Fuck.

PS: Earthbound

Halo over Half-life?! The forums will now implode

If we're talking innovation and the impact it had on future games, they're missing out on a few classics. I mean, I know Starcraft is great and all, but really Dune 2 or Command and Conquer should have been the pick for a "classic" RTS in my opinion for how much they managed to mold the genre. TWO Final Fantasy games? Not necessary. No love for the online FPS? Counter Strike and/or Quake should be up there as they seriously made a significant impact. Wipeout also strikes me as an odd choice considering I've never seen it reffered to as a classic anywhere, ever. I suppose you're always going to get a bit of controversy over these lists, but jeez, it's missing a helluva lot of gaming history there.

Logan Frederick:

The_root_of_all_evil:
Ahem...Elite? Space Invaders, Pacman, Pong, Space Wars, Star Wars, Counterstrike, The Sims...

A lot of the games you listed were prior to 1983, the maximum age for a game. However, Counterstrike and The Sims are good picks.

There's a maximum age for a game now? Grief...

The_root_of_all_evil:

Logan Frederick:
A lot of the games you listed were prior to 1983, the maximum age for a game. However, Counterstrike and The Sims are good picks.

There's a maximum age for a game now? Grief...

Ahem...

Entertainment news outlet Entertainment Weekly has selected its top 50 classic games from the past 25 years.

(Emphasis mine)

It's not that there's a stale-date for games, it's that EW was looking at the last quarter century.

-- Steve

Ah, I thought that was a little harsh. Still, you do have to wonder what the basic criteria for a "classic" "game" was.

Especially with classic (usually denoting ageless) has an age restriction.

Half-Life way too low, Guitar Hero way too high.

Glad Psychonauts is on the list, but I would have put it higher up... love me some Psychonauts.

ehh, I know what games I like, I don't need to have it echoed at me by the internet to feel right with the world so I'm not going to get antsy about this. But it's still not a very good list.

Slycne:
They made a list of popular games, but not all popular games are classic.

A classic is something that stands the test of time. COD4, GTA4, and Gears of War are all great, but are any of you still playing GTA3? With the plethora of amazing games hitting the market all the time. I have a hard time imagining me playing anything that's released now in 10 years. The market is saturated to the point that nothing is revolutionary any more.

.....I still play GTA3.....

Slycne:
They made a list of popular games, but not all popular games are classic.

A classic is something that stands the test of time. COD4, GTA4, and Gears of War are all great, but are any of you still playing GTA3? With the plethora of amazing games hitting the market all the time. I have a hard time imagining me playing anything that's released now in 10 years. The market is saturated to the point that nothing is revolutionary any more.

Actually, I replayed through GTA3 a few months ago.