If I've learned anything in the 22+ years of game playing/collecting is that the gaming market is fickle, and picky, yet at the same time incredibly dumb. That is the main motivation for my list tonight, tonight's list is the Top 10 Overrated Successful Games.
I did some serious homework for tonight's list, and I should let you know right from the start that just because I say that I think that "game x" doesn't deserve to have sold as well as it did, doesn't mean that I hated the game. It just means that I can't quite understand why it did so well. Keep in mind that all of these sold over 1 million copies. See you at the end.
Crash Team Racing -- Playstation
1,900,000 Copies
Could someone please explain to me why we as gamers keep buying games that are racing ports of platformer games? I'm being super cereal here people, Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing, and Jak X: Combat Racing are just a few off the top of my head. The game apparently did really well, and from what I've heard is a decent game. It was the last game made by Naughty Dog before they left Universal Interactive for SCEA. What's really amazing is that this game sold better than the Twisted Metal Series.
Warioware: Touched! -- Nintendo DS
2,150,000 Copies
The Warioware series on the GBA was great, however when it switched over to the DS and the gimmicky new controls were added into the mix, we got a bad Warioware game. I kid you not peoples, there is a set of minigames where you can win by just blowing into the microphone, its that easy.
Dino Crisis -- Playstation
2,400,000 Copies
Take part one Jurassic Park dinosaurs add Resident Evil survival horror and two parts bad controls, and you get what I assume would be Dino Crisis. To the game's credit, it's a cool concept but it really does seem like a direct copy of the storyline from the Resident Evil series, the only difference is that you don't get zombies or lickers, just dinosaurs. I can't see why it would sell so many copies, maybe that this type of game was hot in 1999 and any game like it generally sold well...the world will never know.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- NES
4,000,000 Copies
That's right people, good ol'
electric seaweed avoiding game sold that many copies thanks to kids like me. I have 2 copies of it in my media room right now. I wouldn't believe how well this game sold if I hadn't done the reasearch for this top 10, I never had any idea that this many copies of this game were actually made. Anyone from the good ol' days usually agrees that this wasn't that good of a game, it was confusing and hella frustrating.
MYST -- PC
6,000,000 Copies
Maybe I just don't get it, but Myst wasn't that appealing to me when I played it. It must just be me because this game combined with all of the spin-offs and sequels have sold well over 12 million copies. It could be that I wasn't mature enough to enjoy this game (I was playing Mechwarrior 2 A LOT back then), or maybe it was the fact that I gave up on PC games shorly afterwards. Eh, I don't know, please don't hate me for not understanding why this game did so well.
Donkey Kong Country -- SNES
8,000,000 Copies
Donkey Kong, not a terrible game, but definately not as good of a platformer as you'd get with the Mario series. Holy crap though, how do you manage to sell so many copies? The graphics were good, but from what I can remember, the gameplay wasn't all there really, it was prone to have glitchy controls and the stages ranged from banana collecting to barrel cannons...not that great, not 8 million copies great.
Tomb Raider II
8,000,000 Copies
Just like the Myst series, I guess I just don't understand the Tomb Raider Series. Lara Croft was a horrible character model, how could anyone think that that bunch of polygons looked sexy? I guess there are enough of you out there the really enjoyed the first one (which remains one of the only games I ever traded in) enough for them to continue the series. After doing my research on this game, I see it as pretty much just a ripoff of Indiana Jones, but then again, I never played it so I have no frame or reference.
Brain Age -- Nintendo DS
9,660,000 Copies
It's amazing how little press Nintendo needs to put out for their software for it to sell well. For a non-game as this, it sold remarkably well and started the trend of "Brain Training" games that we've seen on many systems since its release. The software isn't bad, hell I use it for Sudoku myself, but almost 10 million copies? Holy shit, it's not that entertaining is it? Well, the masses have spoken and it must be to have sold so many copies and start the trend, good one on you Nintendo.
Super Mario 2
10,000,000 Copies
Did you know that your beloved Super Mario Brothers 2 was originally a different game in Japan that had NOTHING to do with the Super Mario franchise? The beloved Mario game started its life in Japan as
Yume Koujou: Doki Doki Panikku or for you non Nihongo speakers
Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic. Super Mario Brothers 2 in Japan was what we English speakers refer to as Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels. And now you know, and knowing is half the battle. On a more serious note, the game isn't bad, but considering that Miyamoto pulled a Goatse on America makes me laugh.
Nintendogs -- Nintendo DS
15,700,000 Copies
Ok, so a ton of people bought this game, that's a shitload of people playing a dog rearing simulator. I know that the Tamagotchi and Digimon handhelds sold well long before the Nintendogs showed up, but it seems strange that so many people bought this game. Why not take the money and get yourself a real dog, wait I take that back, I'm sure there's a bunch of people that can't have dogs loved this game...it's just shocking that it sold more than many other (and in my opinion better) games.
Frogger's Adventure: Temple of the Frog -- Gameboy Advance
1,700,000 Million Copies
Seriously, a Frogger game (not on the Atari) sold over 1 million copies on a handheld system. If I had a facepalm photo handy I'd put it up here right now. Frogger sold really well on the old Atari, but it irresponsible to sell this many of a game that seems bad just for the title's sake.
I know that I may have potentially stirred the pot with this Top 10, and I hope that I didn't offend any of my regular readers. I know that most of these aren't bad games, but probably overrated, at least that's my opinion. Let me know what you think, do you have a compelling counterpoint as to why a game that made my list shouldn't be here? Please let me know in the comments.
That wraps up another edition of A Weird Kid's Top 10. I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed putting tonight's list together. As always, let me know if you have a particular top 10 that you'd like to see, and I'd be happy to oblige. And for all of you that have submitted ideas, I promise I'll eventually get around to yours. Thanks for reading!!!
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I agree with your 1 and 0 choices but numbers 10-2 are just...FALSE. Myst is unfucking believeable and I can't wait til it comes out on DS.
Dude, Excremento, you know I have mad respect for you, and these are badass lists, but Donkey Kong Country is every bit as good as it is hyped. the DKC series is so fucking badass, it is in no way overhyped.
Oh my fucking GOD! Where the fuck is HALO! You fucking fanboy.
@ Coonskin
Yeah, it was hard for me to write this list, I knew it was going to start some flaming. I played many of the DKC series, but I never made the connection that it was "all that and a bag of chips".
I made this list pretty much from a conversation I had with a friend today about what top selling games really didn't deserve to be as big of a seller as they were. I laughingly joked and made the Madden and Halo jokes, but from my personal experience, I can understand why they sold and continue to sell...this list is mainly for games that I don't understand why they did so well.
@ Rorschach
I really should give CTR a try if I can find it, I was just floored to see how many copies the game actually sold.
Dino Crisis on the other hand, was made by the same guy who did the Resident Evil series so I think they are very derivative of each other...like I said, not bad, I just don't see how come the game sold so many copies.
Most of these aren't bad games... just overrated like Excremento said. Although I think Wario Ware: Touched and Super Mario Bros. 2 are awesome.
I loved DKC. I agree about all of the other ones, although when I was a kid Super Mario 2 was the cat's pyjamas.
@ Eschatos
I don't think Halo is overrated, overplayed maybe but not overrated. Am I a fanboy? Why don't you look at my list of games and then come back and call me that. I abhor the fact that you come here and just flame me.
Halo may not be the best game ever, but the multiplayer speaks for itself. Shit, the sales numbers, the reviews, and the community involved with Halo make it more relevant than most of the games on my list tonight. How many games do you know besides Dungeons & Dragons spinoffs do you know that have had a series of decent novels based after them.
Shoulda had the halo series as #1. I don't know wtf you're talking about though for a majority of them. Dino Crisis is one of the best games I've ever played, so is parasite eve if you remember that. Very similiar games. I wish games like that were still made these days, fuckin amazing.
Myst sold so well because it was a great way to show off your shiny new CD-Rom drive. Other than that I have no idea how it sold so many copies, and I'm even a fan of the series.
@ Mxyzptlk & GrayFox
The main point I was trying to get across with Super Mario 2 was that it would not have sold well at all if it were released in the US as it was originally made, it was the fact that it had the "Mario" name slapped on it that made it such a great seller. The pack in game with most NESs back then was a combination of SMB / Duck Hunt / Gyromite / World Class Track Meet. It was only the success of Super Mario Brothers that spurred the hunger for SMB 2, not a bad game, but originally was not a Mario game...that's all.
CTR is fun... my friends can't get enough playing it back then...
but for the rest of the list (especially no 0, 1, 2, 3) i agree whole hearted ly
@ Xerosnake90
I personally don't think the Halo series is overrated, I enjoyed Halo 1-3. Plus I couldn't possibly put it as number 1, all of the Halo games sales added up barely reach the amount of sales that Nintendogs had. As you can see I went in ascending order based on the amount of sales except for number 0 which is always my attempt to be comical.
Spot on with Tomb Raider. I never understood the draw to that series.
@Excremento
I didn't really mean that, just tryin to be lulzy. I love Halo also.
@ Eschatos
Sorry man, I get a little heated when I'm called a fanboy...
I think, for the very first time, I disagree almost every game on your list. Even Tomb Raider II, which I don't even like enough to own, doesn't really deserve a spot here.
No 3D Sonic games? No Halo? No Mario Party? What gives?
I was sold on Nintnedogs the first time I saw how happy it made people who had before then hated all video games. Same with Brain Age. Those are two incredibly well thought out games, visually appealing, and endlessly enjoyable for those who like that sort of thing. They just don't involve death or exploring, two factors that many consider essential for a game to be "a real game".
A real game is any game that can hold your attention and give you some fun, right?
Of the top of my head I can think of five better FPS's than Halo 3 that have been released in the last two months (The Orange Box counts as 3 games, Bioshock, and Metroid Prime 3). I can think of a million better "party" games than Mario Party 1-8, and a ga-jillian 3D platformers better than any 3D Sonic game.
But I can't think of one Brain Training game better than Brain Age, or one pet sim better than Nintendogs.
Maybe you just don't get those game genres, eh? So placing them at the top of your list is like a guy who only watches action movies saying that Schindler's List is over rated because there aren't enough "asplosions and bullet times"
That would be silly!
But I aint mad at you, brother. Keep doin what your doin.
@ Tron Knotts
Don't get me wrong, I actually own 5/10 games that I put here. I just had no clue that some of the games that I own sold exponentially more copies than games that I think should have done better. I know that ICO is nowhere near as popular of a game, but to see that it sold only 650,000 copies, while games like Warioware: Touched! sell in the multi-millions. Its just not fair that the games that many developers put so much love into don't sell as well as some "cookie cutter" game series out there.
Thank you for the great feedback though, if we were able to leave longer comments, I'd love to discuss more in depth, but, c'est la vie!
ROBLE ROBLE ROBLE! I'm going to yell at you for your opinion and not pay attention to your title that explains the entire thing!
@ Tron Knotts
One criteria that I had for the listing tonight is that it had to be above 1.5 million in sales and the only sonic game that sold that well was Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. As for other party games, I agree with you that Mario Party is pretty much more of the same with every iteration, but unfortunately there isn't much competition. The average sales for the Mario Party Franchise is around ~ 1.72 million for each one that comes out, maybe I should have some honorable mentions?!?
@ Taumpytears
Thanks for that man, made me feel better.
Yeah, I guess if this list were called "The lowest common denominator: Games that pleased a whole lot of people just enough to get them to buy them" then I would have been nodding along with the entire thing.
Games like Ico are awesome, but like a good independent movie movie, they tend to make a very small group of people very happy, and everyone else could care less. Meanwhile Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers make tens of millions in a few months of release. Yet I don't consider those blockbusters to be "over rated", they just please a whole lot of people just enough to get them to go out to the theater. They do what they were intended to do very well, and therefore are not over rated.
You know what would please me? A sequel to this list detailing the top ten most critically over rated games, those that got high scores from the big name reviewers, but in retrospect are actually quite average. I think that sort of list would sit with me better.
Most of the games on that list were pretty good at worst.
Seriously, where were the Hannah Montana games that sold so well last year and other stupid shit like that.
Five of those ten are great games.
@ Tron Knotts - opinions are not facts. Halo 3 is as good as any of the games you mentioned, in my opinion (and i have bioshock and the orange box, for pc). Thats because theyre all so different theres no point comparing them directly, i compare how much they entertain me. In fact, in that sense, i prefer halo 3 (and orange box) to bioshock. But thats just my opinion!
CTR doesnt deserve to be there because it really is a good game. Its not original (essentially mario kart, using the crash bandicoot universe) but it did the arcade kart racing so much better than anything else. Its a pity that someone else got hold of the crash license and screwed it all up.
@ Tron Knotts
Fair enough man, that one will take some time though just like tonight's list. I had to make a huge spreadsheet with the numbers of games sold along with what system, it was a lot of work for such a small thing, but now I can instantly pull up the sheet and see how well games sold.
I also agree with your analogy of independent vs mainstream cinema, but am kind of afraid that people could skew the numbers to support the rhetoric of the divide between mainstream vs casual gamers.
Halo not overrated? Oh boy...
*runs in panting* DONKEY KONG?!?!? WTF?!?! *runs out*
I think you just hit a topic that many people are VERY opinionated about, haha. I don't disagree with your list, but at the same time I have a number of games that I would have replaced yours with *cough HALO cough*. Keep truckin man. I love reading your lists :P
@ Lukic
Yeah, seems I'm that dentist that just went a little too far with the drill during a filling...
It takes some balls to post such a controversial list. I also agree with what you said about Super Mario 2, I was just saying that I liked it when I was like 5.
Also, we need to play Halo again sometime, or TF2 if you have the Orange Box. Remember when me you and Coon and the portugese guy pwned? Good times.
Holy crap, I didn't realize that was you! Yeah that was good fun, but man I am actually Haloed out for a bit. There are just too many good games coming out this month and next that I'm afraid i'll miss it all. Don't worry man, I'll get Orange Box soon enough just so I can play portal.
controversy is controversy.
I looked at the title and thought, "this shit is going to have Halo, no doubt" but you proved me wrong.
I'm going to give you a point for not making a cliche list.
Thanks vexed alex, I'll have to put that with my collection of internets that I've won. You know me, trying to not make a cliche list.
I actually am glad for all of the response that I got, whether it be scathing or supporting, I'm glad that as a group we can have a round-table discussion about the merits of games. Remember guys, it's infinitely important to us, but to the real world, it doesn't mean shit.
Tomb Raider is teh sux, Donkey Kong is teh rulez.
You keep makin lists like these and the people will start reading mine. O.o
@ Excremento:
Yeah I've been Halo'd out for a bit myself. TF2 is amazing though. Orange Box is the greatest thing ever.
im going to have to disagree with your choice of donkey kong, and would like to suggest that you replace it with... halo?
DKC is aces because of the soundtrack. Best underwater theme in any game ever.
I agree with you on all of it. But seriously, what the fuck Myst about? I guess I'll give you a point for making a list other than your regular list. Jamaal says you stole his list. He's bringing charges against you..
Dude, Crash Team Racing was actually quite the game in it's time. Not content with being just another Mario Kart rip off, Naughty Dog put a lot of work into their final goodbye to Crash Bandicoot. It was good, back then. Also, Super Mario Bros. 2 was still a great game. I enjoyed it more than the Lost Levels, that's for sure. DKC just plain kicks ass, all 3 were great. As for the rest of the list, I either agree or haven't played them.
Hopefully you found my response both scathing and supportive.
This list, like all your lists, is a reflection of your genuine opinion, not motivated by a desire to please anybody. I more than respect that, and the amount of work that you put into all your blogs.
Have you applied for a editor's job yet?
DKC was one of my favorite games on the SNES, that game ruled -- "One monkey to rule them all". I can't believe someone couldn't get into that game, but whatever...to each his own. And what glitches are you talking about? I beat that game 3 times and don't remember one glitch anywhere.
In non-ape news, I totally agree with your assessment of Myst. Maybe it just wasn't for me, but I seriously couldn't stand it after about 30 minutes. I liked Mario 2 alot, but it shouldn't have been a Mario game, it doesn't fit the story or character scheme whatsoever. Still a great game though. I think less people would have bought it but the omission of Mario wouldn't have degraded gameplay.
TMNT is a good game.
I'm tired of hearing about the SMB2/Dok Doki panic situation that EVERYONE knows about like it's a big revelation.
Fuck Donkey Kong.