The Top 50 Console Games Of All Time

The good folks at Guinness World Records have compiled the Top 50 Console Games of All Time, a universally definitive list that will surely not be subject to any kind of debate or second-guessing whatsoever.

Contributors to the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition reviewed hundreds of videogames across various console formats to assemble the list based on both “their initial impact and lasting legacy.” “We knew this would be a complex task so we invited a crack team of industry experts to form a judging panel,” said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief at Guinness World Records. “The result is a ‘Top 50’ list of games ranked both on their importance and on how fun they are to play.”

Number three on the list is Grand Theft Auto (presumably Grand Theft Auto IV, although the list doesn’t actually specify), which “has received near-perfect scores in virtually every review and… been recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling video game ever.” In second place in Tetris, “the world’s most ported videogame” which is now available on at least 59 different platforms and earns high marks for its “simplicity and devilish addictiveness.”

At the top of the mountain is Super Mario Kart, a record-setting Nintendo title featuring the world’s most famous videogame character. “As the best-selling racing game on the N64 (more than 9 million units sold), Super Mario Kart is also the best-selling racer on the SNES (8 million units), the Gamecube (nearly 7 million units) and the DS (10 million units),” the Guinness folks said.

The balance of the list is as follows:

• 4. Super Mario World
• 5. Zelda Ocarina of Time
• 6. Halo
• 7. Resident Evil IV
• 8. Final Fantasy XII
• 9. Street Fighter II
• 10. GoldenEye
• 11. Super Mario 64
• 12. Tomb Raider
• 13. Metal Gear Solid
• 14. Call of Duty 4
• 15. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• 16. GTA San Andreas
• 17. Super Mario Bros
• 18. Zelda: A Link to the Past
• 19. Gran Turismo
• 20. Final Fantasy VII
• 21. Pro Evolution Soccer 4
• 22. The Orange Box
• 23. Lego Star Wars Complete Saga
• 24. Tekken 2
• 25. Wii Sports
• 26. Pokemon Red/Blue
• 27. Guitar Hero
• 28. Project Gotham Racing 4
• 29. Super Mario Galaxy
• 30. Resident Evil
• 31. Ico
• 32. Chrono Trigger
• 33. Gunstar Heroes
• 34. Soul Calibur
• 35. Advance Wars
• 36. Ridge Racer
• 37. Super Metroid
• 38. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• 39. GTA Vice City
• 40. BioShock
• 41. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• 42. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
• 43. God of War
• 44. Sega Rally Championship
• 45. Starfox 64
• 46. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• 47. WarioWare Inc
• 48. Saturn Bomberman
• 49. Crash Bandicoot
• 50. Outrun 2

The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer’s Edition was released on February 4 and quickly shot to the top of the non-fiction book charts in the U.K. The book covers a diverse range of topics including “World’s Largest Virtual Army,” “Most Controls on a Videogame,” “Longest Rock Band Drum Marathon” and more.

And now that this list has been immutably etched into the granite of historical and cultural fact, let the arguments begin!