IGN has made a list of what they consider to be the biggest franchises ever. See anything you like?

25) Virtua Fighter
24) Half-Life
23) Donkey Kong
22) Tetris
21) Command & Conquer
20) Mega Man
19) Sonic
18) Chrono Series
17) Pokemon
16) Tom Clancy Series
15) Madden
14) Dungeons & Dragons
13) Grand Theft Auto
12) Street Fighter
11) Star Wars
10) Civilization
 9) The Sims
  Metroid
 7) Resident Evil
 6) Warcraft
 5) Metal Gear Solid
 4) Castlevania
 3) Final Fantasy
 2) Legend of Zelda
 1) Mario

It's funny how they included Virtua Fighter and left out Mortal Kombat, the franchise that was the highest selling fighting game for over a decade, and stills get very decent sells.
Also how the fuck do they put Madden, and left out the FIFA series, madden sells only in America whilst FIFA sells on the ENTIRE FREAKING WORLD.

Also the title reads: "The only thing more surprising than the games that made the list are those that did not."

They're saying it!!
You should stop by Gamespot instead of IGN Jong.

Yanno, if they'd actually based that list on sales and real popularity instead of the editors' fanboyism, that'd be a lot different list.

The Sims should not be that low.  Nor should Warcraft.  Diablo isn't even on the list.  Mario hasn't been relevant since the Super Nintendo days, and then he was free.  

As UmaSama points out, they don't even seem to consider the rest of the world.  Dragon Quest isn't on it, but Final Fantasy is, a sure sign of American bias.

Quote from: JongWK18) Chrono Series

It has long been my personal belief that ChronoTrigger represents the apex of the RPG genre, but what the Hell? The only other games in the 'series' was ChronoCross and those Satellaview things.

While I am the biggest Virtua Fighter fanboy in this area (I haven't even found anyone else around here who's heard of the game, though I made my friend Kev into a big-time fan), I gotta agree that Mortal Kombat should be in there somewhere.  But I pretty much agree with most of what's on the list, if not the order in which they're ranked.

Quote from: Ancient HistoryIt has long been my personal belief that ChronoTrigger represents the apex of the RPG genre, but what the Hell? The only other games in the 'series' was ChronoCross and those Satellaview things.

From IGN:

"While many out there may not quite consider this an actual franchise per se, the Chrono games made our list based purely on the indisputable quality of the original SNES game. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of 2D RPG gaming, Chrono Trigger was widely beloved due to its quirky characters, deep gameplay, and engrossing storyline. Despite having only two RPG games released (along with racing and music spin-offs), this franchise still has the power to lure in gamers everywhere. Back in 2001, Square registered a trademark for "Chrono Break," and rabid Chrono fans worldwide went into a tizzy. In spite of this furor over a possible sequel, plans for the game were eventually scrapped leaving despondent Chrono Trigger fans with nothing to look forward to in their lives."

Quote from: UmaSamaIt's funny how they included Virtua Fighter and left out Mortal Kombat, the franchise that was the highest selling fighting game for over a decade, and stills get very decent sells.

See, while MK kicked ass in the '90s (and still kicks from time to time), the fighting genre is defined by a) Street Fighter clones and b) 3d combat. Virtua Fighter was a pioneer and I think it deserves a spot.

QuoteAlso how the fuck do they put Madden, and left out the FIFA series, madden sells only in America whilst FIFA sells on the ENTIRE FREAKING WORLD.

The crime is not putting in Madden, but leaving out FIFA.

Quote from: J ArcaneThe Sims should not be that low. Nor should Warcraft. Diablo isn't even on the list. Mario hasn't been relevant since the Super Nintendo days, and then he was free.

Irrelevant? Uh, I think I'll disagree here.

Quote from: JongWKIrrelevant? Uh, I think I'll disagree here.

Actually it's a Nintendo strategy, they only release new Mario games when they're releasing new consoles, wich has been the company trademark since the beginning, remember wich was the first title for the NES? you guessed right MARIO; remembet wich was the first title for the SNES? right again SUPER MARIO WORLD; and N64? of course MARIO 64; but with the launching of the GC they released Luigi's Mansion, it's not MARIO but it's as close as you can get.
This is one of the reasons why the MARIO sells remained good through the years, despise the fact that the last few MARIO titles weren't something special.

QuoteIrrelevant? Uh, I think I'll disagree here.

The last time a Mario game was really a "must-have" title was Mario 3.  Super Mario World was a pack-in, so people got that one whether they wanted it or not, and SMW2: Yoshi's Island didn't actually sell all that well because it came very late in the line, and the oddity of the game and it's concept put off gamers.

By the time the N64 came out Nintendo itself had slipped into last place in the console world, and unlike previous generations, I've yet to see any indication that having the Mario games for the later consoles was anything like the must it was for the NES.

Holy crap!  Do you guys even play video games?  I don't even know where to begin with the mis-contruencies on this thread...

*Just as Super Mario Bros. became the blueprint for the 2D-platformer, Mario 64 was the blueprint for 3D platformers.

*Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are the only American Chrono games, but in Japan a NES "interactive book" was relased called Radical Dreamers, which is the bridge between Trigger and Cross.

*Codenamed "128 Marios", Super Mario Galaxy has been in development since the early days of the Gamecube, but held back to make sure it met company standards, just as Mario Sunshine was not made a launch game for Gamecube.

*FIFA has the sales, but Winning Eleven has the fanbase and reviews.

The list is infidel in its lack of Contra.  Contra, Super C, Alien Wars and Hard Corps come together in 2D apotheosis.

If the Chrono series can get in on one masterful SNES game, one overblown PSX game and an interactive novel purchased by five love-pillow humping hikikomori, Contra should too.

Quote from: J ArcaneThe last time a Mario game was really a "must-have" title was Mario 3.  Super Mario World was a pack-in, so people got that one whether they wanted it or not, and SMW2: Yoshi's Island didn't actually sell all that well because it came very late in the line, and the oddity of the game and it's concept put off gamers.

By the time the N64 came out Nintendo itself had slipped into last place in the console world, and unlike previous generations, I've yet to see any indication that having the Mario games for the later consoles was anything like the must it was for the NES.

Say that to the 2 million copies sold of New Super Mario Bros. for the DS.

Not that I'm a fan of IGN, anyway, but let's go over these, because I'm bored.

25) Virtua Fighter (OK, but right on the line)
24) Half-Life (OK, but hesitant--about half of Half-Life's thunder comes from Counterstrike, which, although accepted by Valve with open arms, is in reality just a hack of the original game)
23) Donkey Kong (OK)
22) Tetris (OK)
21) Command & Conquer (OK)
20) Mega Man (OK)
19) Sonic (OK)
18) Chrono Series (Chrono Trigger is my number 2 favorite game of all time, but one good game does not a franchise make)
17) Pokemon (OK)
16) Tom Clancy Series (OK, but considering there's several franchise's in the Tom Clancy world, I'd have rather they split them up than give them a group rating)
15) Madden (OK)
14) Dungeons & Dragons (Huh?  Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Icewind Dale are good and all, but they kind of appeal to a niche market, and all other D&D titles were drek)
13) Grand Theft Auto (OK)
12) Street Fighter (OK)
11) Star Wars (Considering only about 20% of the Star Wars games are playable, this should be lower, if on here at all)
10) Civilization (OK, but maybe a tad lower)
 9) The Sims (Acceptable if it includes SimCity, SimEarth, et al, otherwise too high)
  Metroid (OK, but should be higher)
 7) Resident Evil (OK)
 6) Warcraft (Way lower--WoW may dominate MMO's, but the RTS's, while good, definitely face superiors)
 5) Metal Gear Solid (Glad they added the "Solid" in there)
 4) Castlevania (OK, but should have been lower--it's biggest successes come from ripping off the Metroid formula)
 3) Final Fantasy (OK, but should have come up a bit lower)
 2) Legend of Zelda (OK)
 1) Mario (OK)

So what series were overlooked?  Mortal Kombat and Contra are both good choices.  Though thier failures outnumber thier successes, they still have a feverent fan-base, and that should be a heavy factor towards deciding a great franchise.

Others overlooked include Silent Hill, Katamari Damanacy, Advance Wars, Halo, Ratchet & Clank, Jak, Dance Dance Revolution, and because the foreign audience should be included in this, Sieken Denetsu, Mother, and Winning Eleven.

Quote9) The Sims (Acceptable if it includes SimCity, SimEarth, et al, otherwise too high)

This, among many, many examples only serves to prove you have no fucking room to criticize anyone regarding claims of what gamers actually play.  

The Sims, it's sequel, it's various expansions, it's spinoffs, comprise the single biggest franchise in gaming.  They sell more than WoW, more than Final Fantasy, more than anything.

The fact that you suggested this should actually be lower just goes to show you're even more out of touch than IGN was with the original list.

But what exactly has The Sims done with all those expansions?  Same ol', same ol'.

I actually believe that all the expansions hurt The Sims.  I snapped up The Sims when it first came out, and soon started wolfing down the expansion packs, but it just became overbearing.  Suddenly, I trying to micromanage a family, a home, a neighboorhood, a downtown area, a vacation resort, a garden, a petting zoo, a dojo, a space station, a Cthullu shrine, etc.

After the original inception, it had no direction--it was just milking the cash cow as fast as possible.  In and of itself, no Sims is not a legendary franchise--it's a good game they kept adding onto until it got so clogged they had to start again from scratch *cough*Sims2*cough.

Now, SimCity on the other hand, has been rolling for just shy of two decades, re-invents itself in each iteneration, and still sells like hot cakes.

As for being "out of touch", via Wiki:

Quote from: WikipediaTop Selling Franchises[/U]
# Mario (193 million)
# Pokémon (155 million)
# Final Fantasy (68 million)
# Madden NFL (51 million, plus 5 million for Madden NFL 07, approximately 56 million)
# The Sims (54 million)
# Grand Theft Auto (50 million)[
# The Legend of Zelda (47 million, plus 1.5 million for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess alone approximately 48.5 million)
# Donkey Kong (48 million)
# Sonic the Hedgehog (44 million)
# Gran Turismo (44 million)