What are the most culturally significant games?

this is a question not asking what your favorite games are or what are objectively the best games on any given year.

What are games that shook up worlds and got non-gamers to jump aboard the bandwagon to see what the fuss is about? What are games that birthed new generations of gamers?

While I'm sure none of us here care about a game like Wii Sports, there's no denying it was once a cultural phenomenon.

So what are other games of cultural significance and why?

Fortnite the thread

GTA 5

Definitely a strong contender. Minecraft is a major one too.

The original Halo and CoD4 are major ones too.

Probably PacMan. When it went global - its impact was everywhere and consumers couldn’t get enough. It spawned books, a cartoon, underoos, board game, cereal, pasta, popsicle, coffee mug, T-shirt, bedspread, etc etc - you name it. If you could put the PacMan logo on it, it was sold. All of this before the infamous Atari 2600 port. I don’t think anything gaming related has had as big of a cultural phenomenon as PacMan.

streetfighter 2 in the arcades and on the snes. if the impact it had on my class in school at the time is anything to go by, and i think we all can agree it is, it was a cultural phenomenon. redefined the fighting genre. probably singlehandedly won that gen for nintendo. spawned umpteen sequels, movies etc. one of the goat

That is true. Any video game IP that people tattoo to their bodies is culturally significant, and with that we must include Zelda and Mario too, because those are some of the most commonly tatted IP's.

Pac Man has also found his way in movies over the years. Off the top of my head, I know you can find him in Wreck-it Ralph, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and that one Adam Sandler movie.

Mario Kart is a biggy. I mean, what other video game IP is getting a major ride built at Universal Studios parks around the world?

I'd probably say Pokemon.

The Sims.

EA got housewives and moms to play games. Little girls that don't care about impressing boys willingly played this game. HOUSEWIVES AND MOMS!

Not the biggest fan of the series, but there it is.

Culturally Significant:

• Pong
• Space Invaders
• Pac-Man
• Tetris
• Mario
• Zelda
• Pokemon
• Starcraft
• World of Warcraft
• Street Fighter
• Mortal Kombat
• GTA
• Wii Sports
• The Sims
• Fortnite
• Halo
• COD
• Sonic
• Skyrim

Maybe?:

• FFVII
• Doom
• Quake
• Metal Gear

You could also include sports games but I'm not sure of that qualifies.

It is interesting that the Super Smash Bros. series contains characters from the most culturally-influencial games (Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter II, etc.).

CoD, particularly 4.

GTA 3

Things that are recognized instantly by the mainstream and seeped their way into becoming pop culture mainstays?

Mario

Fortnite

Pac-Man

Pokemon

Tetris

Grand Theft Auto

Street Fighter

Mortal Kombat

Top 25 highest-grossing media franchises that originated from video games:

1. Pokemon - $90 billion
2. Mario - $38 billion
3. Call of Duty - $20 billion
4. Pac-Man - $15 billion
5. Wii series - $14.8 billion
6. Space Invaders - $13.9 billion
7. Dungeon Fighter Online - $13.4 billion
8. Dragon Quest - $12.9 billion
9. Street Fighter - $12.2 billion
10. Final Fantasy - $12.2 billion
11. CrossFire - $12 billion
12. Warcraft - $11.7 billion
13. FIFA - $11.5 billion
14. League of Legends - $10.1 billion
15. Grand Theft Auto - $10 billion
16. Lineage - $9.7 billion
17. Angry Birds - $9.3 billion
18. Monster Strike - $8.7 billion
19. Puzzle & Dragons - $7.8 billion
20. Sonic the Hedgehog - $7.7 billion
21. Candy Crush - $7.5 billion
22. Minecraft - $7.2 billion
23. Donkey Kong - $6.9 billion
24. Westward Journey - $6.52 billion
25. Halo - $6.5 billion

Some of those made a lot of money, but I would bet money you couldn't find too many normies who know about shit like Cross Fire or Lineage.

A good chunk of that list I don't think is as relevant as Fortnite. Especially today.

Some of those franchises are largely unknown in the West, but huge in Asia. And since Asia has a larger population than the rest of the world combined, it makes sense the list would include some very Asia-centric franchises like CrossFire and Lineage over ones more known in the West.

Speaking of Fortnite, that's actually not very popular in Asia, where PUBG is far more popular. Most gamers in Asia couldn't care less about Fortnite, but it's PUBG which is a household name in numerous Asian countries (e.g. China and India, which have huge populations).