Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Essential articles

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WikiProject Video games: Essential articles

The purpose of this page is to list the most essential topics related to video games. The list could be used to select candidates for Wikipedia 1.0, or perhaps even to create a Video games WikiReader. It should also allow us to identify areas that need work. Feel free to fill in the table by rating the quality and importance of articles. If you disagree with a grade, or an important topic is missing, be bold and change it. If you do change the rating of an article, please also change the rating on the {{vgproj}} template found on the article's discussion page.

There is also a log of all video game articles which have been rated at Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Video game articles by quality.

Contents:
1 Technology 2 History 3 Game contents 4 Industry and development 5 Games 6 Legend

Technology

General

Consoles

[edit] Consoles

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Atari 2600	Top		Start	Refs, obviously. A fairly good history, specs are fine, but little else.
ColecoVision	High		Start	Significantly smaller than surrounding articles. Refs.
Dreamcast	High		B	Refs.
Game & Watch	High	Introduced cross-style D-Pad. Launched Gumpei Yokoi's career.	Start
Game Boy	Top	Nintendo's most successful console	Start	Needs to be expanded.
Game Boy Advance	Top	Part of the Game Boy line	Start	Lead, refs. Jumps directly into the hardware, not much else.
Game Boy line	Top	The dominant handheld console since '89.	B	Covers nearly all Nintendo handhelds, briefly.
Intellivision	High		B	No refs, could stand to be reorganized (History, features, peripherals, specs?). Image:Intellivision.jpg should be replaceable.
Magnavox Odyssey	Top	The first video game console.	Start
Nintendo 64	High		B	Inline references and coherency: list of "notable" games? Technical specs right in the middle?
Nintendo DS	Top	Cultural phenomenon.	GA
Nintendo Entertainment System	Top		FA
Nintendo GameCube	High		B	References. Not outstanding by any means. Promo images might be replace with free photos.
PlayStation	Top	Most important console of its era, first popular console with CD media.	B	Needs references. Lots of references.
PlayStation 2	Top		B	Jumps into "history" with little context. Convert links to references, but needs more refs anyway. Not bad but not excellent.
PlayStation 3	High		FA
PlayStation Portable	High		GA	See FAC page.
Sega Master System	High	SMS and NES were the two most important consoles of their era; head-to-head combattants.	B	Needs refs and free images.
Sega Mega Drive	Top		GA
Sega Saturn	High		B	Refs, especially for comparisons to PSX versions. No pic of the standard controller.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System	Top		FA
Vectrex	High		Start
Wii	Top	Current-gen console. Cutting-edge motion sensing technology.	FA
Xbox	High		B	Standardize refs. Seems like there's a tone issue, although it's only slightly more prominent here than in other articles here. Needs more pictures.
Xbox 360	High		GA

History

History

Industry and development

Industry and development

People

Defunct companies

Active companies

Game contents

Genres

[edit] Genres

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Action game	Top	The largest and most important genre, tying together many video game concepts.	Start
Action-adventure game	High		Start
Adventure game	Top	One of the oldest genres. A foundation to many other games.	B	Lack of references.
Computer role-playing game	High	Needs to be merged with console RPG entry. Genres are not defined by platform in any other entry. There is a distinction between computer and console style RPGs, but there is also a great deal of cross pollination of ideas.	B	Long and listy. Needs refs if it's going to have a criticism section.
Construction and management simulation	High		Start
Console role-playing game	High		B
Fighting game	High		B	Beat 'em up should be merged with this or be noted more prominently.
First-person shooter	High		Start	Lots of detail, but too much "game guide" stuff, and no refs.
Life simulation game	High		Start
Massively multiplayer online game	High		Start
Platform game	High	Dominated gaming in the 8 and 16 bit era more than any genre has before or since.	GA
Role-playing game (video games)	Top	Far more important than the separate console versus computer RPG articles.	Start	Merging the console/computer RPG articles would be a good start. Reserve the differences for the Cultural differences in role-playing video games article.
Shoot 'em up	High		B	Was re-written and organizade, well written, no refs, images need sources and FUR.
Shooter game	High		B	A decent disambig-style page. No history or references.
Simulation game	High		Stub	Problematic entry; lack of focus and unclear definition (simulation/simulator).
Sports game	High		Start	Types section needs expansion, a history section is missing. Extreme sports games lacks mention.
Strategy video game	Top		Start	Needs expansion. No history
Vehicle simulation game	Top	The root article for flight sims, tank combat games, and racing games. Very important.	Start
Video game genres	Top		B	A discussion of genres might be required, but is also perhaps the most problematic topic since there is no real consensus on genres. Page reflect lack of consensus and references to existing research. Needs heavy rework, an extensive and objective discussion (rather than just a listing of a plentitude of genre-esque bullets) and references.

Characters

Games

Series

Arcade games

[edit] Arcade games

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Asteroids (arcade game)	High		Start	Not much is given about the legacy and impact of the game.
Battlezone	High	The first first-person shooter and the first major 3D game.	B
Berzerk	High		Start
Breakout	High		B
Centipede (arcade game)	High	Regarded as the first arcade game created by a woman. Also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female player base.	Start
Defender (arcade game)	High		B
Donkey Kong (video game)	Top	Made Nintendo a major player. Shigeru Miyamoto's first game. Mario and Donkey Kong's debut.	FA
Double Dragon (arcade game)	High	Considered the first successful game of its type.	Start
Dragon's Lair	High	The first successful game using an optical disc medium. The father of the twitch interactive-movie genre.	B
Frogger	High		Start	No references.
Galaxian	High		Start	Add sources and footnotes.
Gauntlet (arcade game)	High	Introduced four-player cooperative/competitive style. Pioneered novel pay-per-play system in which money bought character health.	B
Gradius	High		Start
Joust (video game)	High		Start
Mario Bros.	High		Start
Missile Command	High		Start
Mortal Kombat (video game)	High	Pushed the limits of violence in games. Critical flashpoint for national violence debate. Directly led to creation of ESRB ratings.	B
NBA Jam	High		Start
Night Driver	High		Start
Pac-Man	Top	One of the most popular arcade games ever. First original gaming mascot. Established maze-chase genre. Gaming's first licensing success.	B	Comprehensive, but needs copyedit; other issues as well. 13+ items on to-do list. Failed a GA nomination in June 2006. There are many references, but still plenty of unreferenced assertions.
Pole Position (arcade game)	High		Stub
Pong	Top	First successful computer-based arcade game. Popularized home gaming.	B	Needs some slight re-org.
Robotron: 2084	High	Introduced dual-joystick control method. Spawned many imitators.	Start	No references.
Sega Rally Championship	High		Stub
Space Invaders	Top	First Japanese-developed hit game. Established traditional shooter genre.	Start	Needs references formalized and in its own section.
Star Wars (1983 video game)	High	Made Star Wars a gaming mainstay. Inspired countless cockpit-perspective action shooters.	B	No references.
Street Fighter II	Top	Launched the one-on-one fighting genre into the mainstream. Revitalized the American arcade. Landmark home version.	Start	Doesn't adequately address the game's historical importance or the impact of the game on popular culture. More references would help.
Tempest (arcade game)	High		Start
Track & Field (arcade game)	High	Introduced the button tapping gameplay.	Start
Virtua Fighter	High	The first 3D fighter game. Introduced the ring out. Established AM2 as one of Sega's premier developers.	Stub

Computer games

Console games

[edit] Console games

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Adventure (Atari 2600)	High	First console RPG/adventure. First major PC-to-console adaptation.	B	No references.
Brain Age	High	Inspired a new demographic of gamers, one of the DS' most successful games.	B
Castlevania (video game)	High	Voted "one of the best video games ever" on several lists. Started the Castlevania franchise.	Start	Still needs some work (and refs).
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	Mid	Set the Metroid-esque tone of later 2D games of the series.	B	See GA review
Contra (video game)	Mid	The NES version popularized the use of cheat codes.	Start
Crash Bandicoot	Mid	Sony's attempt at a mascot, iconic PlayStation game.	B	Needs more information.
Dragon Warrior	High	Launched the most popular RPG series in Japan, set standards for console RPGs.	Stub
Duck Hunt	High	One of the first and most popular light gun games.	GA
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)	High	Considered the main cause of the North American video game crash of 1983. First of countless genuinely wretched licensed games.	A
Final Fantasy (video game)	High	Saved Square from ruin, launched a major RPG series.	GA
Final Fantasy VII	Top	Popularized console role-playing games in the west (especially in the PAL regions). First game to effectively integrate FMV video throughout the presentation. Set new records for production budget on a single game, contributing to today's rising costs of development.	B	See featured article review for concerns.
GoldenEye 007	Top	The first pioneering console FPS. Introduced a number of new gameplay elements to the genre. Helped popularize the stealth genre. Still is benchmark for movie-film conversion, still regarded as best.	GA
Golden Sun	Mid	Often cited as one of the best-rated RPGs in existence. It was the recipient of Nintendo Power's GBA Game of the Year award, as well as being listed on IGN's List of Best Games of All Time.	FA
Gran Turismo (video game)	High	Popularized simulation based racing games. Raised the bar for licensed content in racing games. Popularized tuning and customization in the racing genre.	Stub	Needs expansion.
Grand Theft Auto III	Top	Resuscitated debate over violence in gaming. Popularized sandbox gameplay and Grand Theft Auto series. Cemented "thug" themes as the new trend in gaming. Made Rockstar a publishing giant.	B	Article size is about 50kb. Most but not all information lack references. Possible need to include more information.
Grand Theft Auto IV	High	Most expensive game ever produced of $100 million. Broke several sales records.	B	Article size is about 65kb (used to be 85kb). Some parts might get too long and need to be split. Some disputes.
Guitar Hero (video game)	High	Popularized rhythm games.	FA
Halo: Combat Evolved	Top	The most influential console FPS of all time. Crucial component of Xbox's uneven start. Bellwether of revitalized western dominance in game design.	FA
Halo 2	High	The most popular online console game of its time. Popularized FPS multiplayer with a mainstream audience.	FA
Halo 3	Top	Broke entertainment records for highest first-day entertainment release; ended the Halo trilogy; blamed for low box office sales during the launch; massive marketing campaign and media coverage.	FA
Herzog Zwei	Mid	Defined real-time strategy genre. Created a console-friendly format for PC-style gameplay.	Start
The Legend of Zelda	Top	Started the Zelda franchise, pioneer of the adventure genre.	GA
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	Top	Set the standard for 3D action-adventure games, often cited as the best video game of all time.	FA
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	High	One of the few pioneer games experimenting on motion-sensor gaming, as well as the recipient of four Game of the Year awards. It is the best-rated game of 2006.	A	Requires a small amount of plot de-fluffing.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker	High	The popular cel-shaded (cartoon) graphics used in Windwaker was the recipient of heavy criticism among release, but has since been the basis for multiple Zelda games later on.	FA
Mega Man (video game)	High	Start of a long-running and influential game series.	B	Mostly lists, but OK.
Metal Gear Solid	High	Popularized the stealth genre.	GA	See featured article review for concerns.
Metroid	High	Notable for its non-linear gameplay, moody atmosphere and introducing a female protagonist.	Start	Has plenty of info. Not enough gameplay info though.
Metroid Prime	High	Successfully transitioned Metroid gameplay to 3D, much critical acclaim.	FA
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!	Mid	Milestone in sports games.	Start	Doesn't really cover the game's massive popularity in North America.
Nintendogs	Mid	Introduced millions of non-gamers to video games, million seller, increased the % of female DS owners, considered to be the DS' first mega-hit.	Start
Pac-Man (Atari 2600)	Mid	First high profile port of one of the most popular games at the time that fell far short of expectations.	Start
PaRappa the Rapper	Mid	Created the rhythm game genre. Used CD format in a way vital to gameplay. Important in establishing PlayStation brand identity.	B
Pokémon Red and Blue	High	Started a multi-billion dollar franchise. Introduced link-enabled trading for handheld games. Invented multi-cart sales gimmick.	B	Needs more references. Also, reads slightly like an editorial. Strongly consider merge with Pokémon Green.
Pitfall!	High	Ultimate demonstration of third-party developers' potential. First major run-and-jump adventure. Blueprint for modern action/adventure genre.	Start	No references.
Resident Evil (video game)	High	Popularized survival horror genre.	B	Some sections need cleanup (specially concerning the ports); references
Resident Evil 4	Mid	Innovative action game. Received with extremely positive reviews and good sales.	B
Shenmue	Mid	Huge franchise for Sega, although generally considered a failure.	B
Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)	High	Demonstrated the power of strong marketing. Established true speed in games.	B	Could use more references, especially for the versions and hacks sections.
Star Fox (SNES)	Mid	First use of the Super FX chip, start of a high profile game series.	B	Seems to cover everything, though not enough references.
Super Mario 64	Top	Pioneer in 3D platformers, drove N64 sales.	FA
Super Mario Bros.	Top	Established the basic rules of platform games. Became cornerstone of Nintendo's software empire and heralded the industry's shift in focus from arcade to home.	GA
Super Mario Bros. 3	High	Highest selling stand-alone game, often cited as the best 2D platformer of all time.	B	Needs references.
Super Mario Kart	High	Created the kart racing genre. Popularized concept of mascot spin-off games. Helped maintain Mario's position as most popular gaming mascot ever.	Start	Not enough references.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	Mid	Frequently appears in many game organization's "one of the best games ever" lists.	GA
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	High	The fastest-selling Wii game, as well as one of the console's best-sellers.	GA	Requires better prose and minor copyediting and trimming down of the gameplay section.
Super Smash Bros. Melee	High	The best-selling GameCube game, a social phenomenon.	FA
Tekken	Mid	Started an influential and best-selling fighting game series. Iconic PlayStation game.	Start
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	High	Popularized the extreme sports genre. Jumped the gap between games and mainstream popular culture.	Start
Wii Sports	High	Best-selling video game of the seventh generation at 21 million (including bundled copies).	FA
Wipeout (video game)	Mid	Important in establishing PlayStation brand identity.	Start

Legend

Legend

**Need:** A measure of a subject's importance, regardless of its quality
Top {{top-importance}}	Subject is a must-have for a print encyclopedia.
High {{high-importance}}	Subject is exceptionally important.
Mid {{mid-importance}}	Subject contributes a depth of knowledge.
Low {{low-importance}}	Subject fills in important details.
No {{no-importance}}	Importance disputed; may be removed if inclusion is not justified.

Video game articles		Importance
Video game articles		Top	High	Mid	Low	None	Total
Quality
	FA	10	15	31	33		89
	FL			2	11		13
	A		2	5	7		14
	GA	12	26	39	120		197
	B	42	96	241	467		846
	Start	41	214	782	5625	475	7137
	Stub		40	214	4423	8155	12832
	List		5	8	50	6	69
	Assessed	105	398	1322	10736	8636	21197
	Unassessed					1	1
	Total	105	398	1322	10736	8637	21198

**Article progress grading scheme** **[ v • d • e ]**
Label	Criterion	Reader's experience	Editor's experience	Example
FA {{FA-Class}}	Reserved exclusively for articles that have received "Featured article" status, and meet the current criteria for featured articles.	Definitive. Outstanding, thorough article; a great source for encyclopedic information.	No further additions are necessary unless new published information has come to light, but further improvements to the text are often possible.	Tourette Syndrome (as of July 2007)
FL {{FL-Class}}	Reserved exclusively for articles that have received "Featured lists" status, and meet the current criteria for featured lists.	Definitive. Outstanding, thorough list; a great source for encyclopedic information.	No further additions are necessary unless new published information has come to light, but further improvements to the text are often possible.	FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives (as of January 2008)
A {{A-Class}}	Provides a well-written, reasonably clear and complete description of the topic, as described in How to write a great article. It should be of a length suitable for the subject, with a well-written introduction and an appropriate series of headings to break up the content. It should have sufficient external literature references, preferably from reliable, third-party published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy (peer-reviewed where appropriate). Should be well illustrated, with no copyright problems. At the stage where it could at least be considered for featured article status, corresponds to the "Wikipedia 1.0" standard.	Very useful to readers. A fairly complete treatment of the subject. A non-expert in the subject matter would typically find nothing wanting. May miss a few relevant points.	Minor edits and adjustments would improve the article, particularly if brought to bear by a subject-matter expert. In particular, issues of breadth, completeness, and balance may need work. Peer-review would be helpful at this stage.	Durian (as of March 2007)
GA {{GA-Class}}	The article has passed through the Good article nomination process and been granted GA status, meeting the good article standards. This should be used for articles that still need some work to reach featured article standards, but that are otherwise acceptable. Good articles that may succeed in FAC should be considered A-Class articles, but having completed the Good article designation process is not a requirement for A-Class.	Useful to nearly all readers. A good treatment of the subject. No obvious problems, gaps, or excessive information. Adequate for most purposes, but other encyclopedias could do a better job.	Some editing will clearly be helpful, but not necessary for a good reader experience. If the article is not already fully wikified, now is the time.	International Space Station (as of February 2007)
B {{B-Class}}	Commonly the highest article grade that is assigned outside a more formal review process. Has several of the elements described in "start", usually a majority of the material needed for a comprehensive article. Nonetheless, it has some gaps or missing elements or references, needs editing for language usage or clarity, balance of content, or contains other policy problems such as copyright, Neutral Point Of View (NPOV) or No Original Research (NOR). With NPOV a well written B-class may correspond to the "Wikipedia 0.5" or "usable" standard. Articles that are close to GA status but don't meet the Good article criteria should be B- or Start-class articles.	Useful to many, but not all, readers. A casual reader flipping through articles would feel that they generally understood the topic, but a serious student or researcher trying to use the material would have trouble doing so, or would risk error in derivative work.	Considerable editing is still needed, including filling in some important gaps or correcting significant policy errors. Articles for which cleanup is needed will typically have this designation to start with.	Jammu and Kashmir (as of October 2007) has a lot of helpful material but needs more prose content and references.
Start {{Start-Class}}	The article has a meaningful amount of good content, but it is still weak in many areas, and may lack a key element. For example an article on Africa might cover the geography well, but be weak on history and culture. Has at least one serious element of gathered materials, including any one of the following: a particularly useful picture or graphic multiple links that help explain or illustrate the topic a subheading that fully treats an element of the topic multiple subheadings that indicate material that could be added to complete the article	Useful to some, provides a moderate amount of information, but many readers will need to find additional sources of information. The article clearly needs to be expanded.	Substantial/major editing is needed, most material for a complete article needs to be added. This article still needs to be completed, so an article cleanup tag is inappropriate at this stage.	Real analysis (as of November 2006)
Stub {{Stub-Class}}	The article is either a very short article or a rough collection of information that will need much work to bring it to A-Class level. It is usually very short, but can be of any length if the material is irrelevant or incomprehensible.	Possibly useful to someone who has no idea what the term meant. May be useless to a reader only passingly familiar with the term. At best a brief, informed dictionary definition.	Any editing or additional material can be helpful.	Coffee table book (as of July 2005)

Categories: WikiProject Video games | Wikipedia editorial validation

Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Essential articles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] General

[edit] Consoles

[edit] History

[edit] Industry and development

[edit] People

[edit] Defunct companies

[edit] Active companies

[edit] Genres

[edit] Characters

[edit] Series

[edit] Arcade games

[edit] Computer games

[edit] Console games

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