Lists found on: Top 7 Nintendo’s Mistakes, Industry Screw-ups, 10 ways to create competition that’ll eventually become better than you, Consoles that never were

Why is this on so many lists?
Truth is stranger than fiction, and Nintendo’s monumental flub-up is no different. The tale of how Nintendo created its own worst enemy is one of the most documented and cautionary stories in the videogame industry. Essentially, Nintendo had a deal with Sony for a CD-based add-on. Nintendo got spooked when it realized Sony would retain all rights to the CD games, and backed out.

Next, Nintendo punked Sony secretly and announced a deal - that eventually went nowhere - with Phillips at a press conference. Phillips created some awful Nintendo games (Link: The Faces of Evil!) and Sony created the PlayStation, which dominated sales and in turn led to the PlayStation 2 - the best-selling console ever.

Basically, one company bitch-slap led to another, while gamers went “DAMMMMMMMMNNNNN.” Even if Nintendo is leading sales in this generation with the Wii, Sony has muscled their way into the gaming market and changed the way we all play games through branding and publisher deals.

Remedy
Maybe Microsoft will snub Panasonic and we’ll get the 4DO.

Lists found on: Best Game Ever, Why You Don’t Need to Play Anything Else, 3D Done Right

Why is this on so many lists?
Apparently, The Ocarina of Time is like totally the best game ever. And anyone else who says otherwise is an idiot. In fact, if The Ocarina of Time doesn’t show up as either number 1 or 2 on any Best Game list, then the people who wrote it are complete tools.

At this point, writers are bound by fan-law to include Ocarina of Time all the time. And for good reason, Ocarina - like Mario 64 before it - is a masterful 3D adventure with solid gameplay. What’s difficult in writing these lists is that because these games came before the sequels we play today, we’re almost bound to nostalgia and have to more or less neglect follow-ups like Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess that have since refined gameplay.

And when you’re writing for people between the ages of 10 and 30, there’re multiple generations of gamers to appeal to. Someone will always be disappointed. Yes, it’s an awesome game. But so is Chrono Trigger and you don’t read about that game all the damn time... oh, wait.

Remedy
We stop writing lists - but that ain’t happening.

Lists found on: Games that made you weepy, Gaming’s greatest martyrs, Mediocre Game Babes

Why is she on so many lists?
Did you cry? Did you cry? Did you cry? Did you cry?

Final Fantasy VII was a breakthrough achievement for the PlayStation with its breathtaking cutscenes and engaging story. FFVII also holds the distinction as being one of the first RPGs that American gamers played through. Not only that, but the sucker punch that comes at the end of the first disc has been engraved in gamers’ minds for 11 years: SPOILER - Aerith is impaled by magical sociopath, Sephiroth.

Now, it’s unwritten law that her death must be continuously written as the pinnacle of emotion in gaming. Losing party members to death was nothing new in RPGs by 1997, yet many gamers latched on to this game specifically - partly because of hype and partly because it genuinely blew gamers away. Even if we stop writing about her, we can’t take away that emotion or memory from anyone. But we can leave you with some insight as pointed out by Associate Editor Chris Antista:

“Despite getting killed in her very first game appearance, Aerith has appeared in three more Final Fantasy titles, a feature-length film, two Japanese party games and three Kingdom Hearts. So, how exactly was her death meaningful again?”

Remedy
Lop her head off in the eventual PS3 remake. That’ll give you something to cry about.

Hear more about this article in TalkRadar.

Aug 1, 2008