Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Essential articles

This page lists the most essential topics related to video games. It could be used to select candidates for Wikipedia 1.0, or perhaps even to create a Video games Wikipedia Book. It allows us to identify areas in need of work, so that we may become a more authoritative resource for video game history. Feel free to fill in the table by rating the quality and importance of articles. If you disagree with a grade, or believe that an important topic is missing, be bold and change it. If you change the rating of an article, please also change the rating on the {{WikiProject Video games}} template found on the article's discussion page. The status of the external links on these pages are updated by Checklinks weekly here.

General

General articles
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Amusement arcade	Top		B
Arcade game	Top		C	Short sections, needs refs.
Game controller	Top		C	Needs refs in one section, possible cleanup elsewhere.
Gaming computer	High		C
Handheld electronic game	High		C
Handheld game console	Top		C	Good summaries of all handhelds, but needs refs. Some images (WS, GP2X) need replaced by public domain/GNUFDL images.
Handheld video game	High		Start	Short sections, only one ref.
Multiplayer video game	High		C
Online game	Top	A large part of the Internet culture as well.	C
PC game	Top		C	delisted GA article.
Video game	Top	Our top-level article.	B	Could use a few more refs. Also former GA.
Video game console	Top		B	Could use one or two more general references.
Video game genre	Top		C	A discussion of genres might be required, but is also perhaps the most problematic topic since there is no real consensus on genres.

Consoles

Consoles
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Atari 2600	High		B	Refs, obviously. A fairly good history, specs are fine, but little else.
ColecoVision	High		B	Significantly smaller than surrounding articles. Refs.
Dreamcast	High		GA
Game & Watch	High	Introduced cross-style D-Pad. Launched Gumpei Yokoi's career.	B
Game Boy	High	Nintendo's most successful console	C	Needs to be expanded.
Game Boy Advance	High	Part of the Game Boy line	C	Refs. Jumps directly into the hardware, not much else.
GameCube	High		B
Intellivision	High		C	Could stand to be reorganized (History, features, peripherals, specs?). Image:Intellivision.jpg should be replaceable.
Magnavox Odyssey	High	The first video game console.	FA
Master System	High	SMS and NES were the two most important consoles of their era; head-to-head combattants.	FA
Nintendo 3DS	High	Produces "3D effects without the need for any special glasses".	B
Nintendo 64	High		B	Lacks inline citations.
Nintendo DS	High	Cultural phenomenon.	C	Former GA.
Nintendo Entertainment System	High		B	Former FA.
Nintendo Switch	High		B
PlayStation (console)	High	Most important console of its era, first popular console with CD media.	FA	Needs references. Lots of references.
PlayStation 2	High		C	Jumps into "history" with little context. Convert links to references, but needs more refs anyway. Not bad but not excellent.
PlayStation 3	High		B	Former FA.
PlayStation 4	High		GA
PlayStation 5	High	Current-gen console.	B
PlayStation Portable	High		B	Former GA.
Sega Genesis	High		FA
Sega Saturn	High		FA
Super Nintendo Entertainment System	High		B	Former FA.
Vectrex	High		Start
Wii	High	Cutting-edge motion sensing technology.	FA
Wii U	High	First 8th gen home console.	GA
Xbox	High		C	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 (console)	High		B
Xbox 360	High		B	Former GA.
Xbox One	High		GA
Xbox Series X and Series S	High	Current-gen consoles.	B

History

History
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Early history of video games	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	GA
Golden age of arcade video games	High	All VG history articles are essential.	B	FARC page
History of video games	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	C	Bad lead, needs more refs, copyediting. The 1970s section is a mess. Perhaps fork off a timeline list as the article is quite large.
First generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	GA
Second generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	GA
Third generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	B
Fourth generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	C
Fifth generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	C
Sixth generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	B
Seventh generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	GA
Eighth generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	B	Still happening.
Ninth generation of video game consoles	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	C	Still happening.
North American video game crash of 1983	Top	All VG history articles are essential.	C	Former GA.
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.	High	Firmly established Nintendo as a video game company, having stood its ground against a media giant.	GA

Industry and development

Industry and development
Article	Need	Quality	Comments
Game artificial intelligence	High	C	Has references, but might just be better to include the top article on AI. Stub sections.
Game design	High	C
Video game development	Top	C
Game engine	High	C	Needs references.
Game programmer	High	C	Needs references. Consider merging into game programming.
Game programming	Mid	C	For a second I thought I was reading the above article again; needs different pics. Consider merging?
Game testing	High	Start	Needs better layout. Consider merging game tester here.
Video game developer	High	C	Needs references, particularly for generalizations.
Video game industry	Top	C	Needs refs (currently has none), significant cleanup and expansion. Factual accuracy disputed.
Video game publisher	High	Start	Needs references, particularly for generalizations.

People

People
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality
Ralph H. Baer	High	Creator of the first video game console.	B
Richard Bartle	High	Co-creator of MUD1, first MUD and progenitor of MUD and MMORPG genres; author of Designing Virtual Worlds	C
Nolan Bushnell	High	Creator of Pong, kick-started the industry.	C
John D. Carmack	High	Main programmer of Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake.	B
Richard Garriott	High	Creator of Ultima series; in many ways the father, or the evolver, of CRPGs.	B
Trip Hawkins	High	Founder of Electronic Arts	C
Keiji Inafune	High	Creator of all the Mega Man and Onimusha series.	C
Satoru Iwata	High	President of Nintendo from 2002 to 2015.	FA
Hideo Kojima	High	Creator of the Metal Gear series.	B
Kōji Kondō	High	Prolific video game music composer responsible for the music of Mario series and The Legend of Zelda series.	B
Raph Koster	High	Lead designer of Ultima Online, creative director of Star Wars Galaxies, chief creative officer of EverQuest II, author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design	C
Ken Kutaragi	High	Father of the PlayStation.	C
Jordan Mechner	High	Creator of Karateka, Prince of Persia, The Last Express, the first game designer to use rotoscoping (a predecessor to motion capture).	Start
Sid Meier	High	Creator of Civilization	C
Shinji Mikami	High	Creator of the Resident Evil series (and other Capcom franchises).	C
Shigeru Miyamoto	High	Most widely-known and successful video game developer, creator of Mario and Zelda franchises, etc.	B
Peter Molyneux	High	Creator of Populous, one of the first graphical 'god games'.	C
Michael Morhaime	High	Co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment.	Start
Yuji Naka	High	Creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog series.	C
Gabe Newell	High	Creator of the Half-Life series and founder of Valve Corporation.	C
Alexey Pajitnov	High	Creator of Tetris, arguably the most popular/recognized puzzle game, crucial to the success of the Game Boy.	C
John Romero	High	Game designer for Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake	C
Hironobu Sakaguchi	High	Creator of the Final Fantasy series.	C
Tim Schafer	High	Creator of Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, etc.	C
Yu Suzuki	High	Creator of Out Run, Virtua Fighter, and Shenmue.	B
Nobuo Uematsu	High	Prolific video game music composer responsible for almost all the Final Fantasy soundtracks.	GA
Roberta Williams	High	Creator of Mystery House (the first first-person game), King's Quest series, Phantasmagoria, all best-selling games. Did for adventure games what Meier and Wright did for strategy games, one of the most famous female video game designers.	FA
Will Wright	High	Creator of SimCity, The Sims, and Spore.	B
Hiroshi Yamauchi	High	President of Nintendo from 1949 until 2002.	C
Gunpei Yokoi	High	Creator of Game Boy, Game & Watch, and other systems.	B

Defunct companies

Defunct companies
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality
Atari, Inc.	Top	Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, Pong, Breakout, Asteroids, Adventure, Centipede.	C
Brøderbund	High	Lode Runner, Prince of Persia, Carmen Sandiego, Myst.	B
Bullfrog Productions	High	Populous, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper.	GA
Commodore International	High	Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, Amiga.	C
Enix	High	Dragon Quest, Star Ocean.	C
Looking Glass Studios	High	Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II, System Shock, Flight Unlimited, Thief.	Start
MicroProse	High	Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, F1 Grand Prix, Master of Orion, UFO.	B
New World Computing	High	Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic.	B
Origin Systems	High	Ultima, Wing Commander.	C
Square	High	Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Vagrant Story.	GA

Active companies

Active companies
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Activision	Top	The first third-party developer; one of the biggest software publishers.	C
BioWare	High	Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, various engines.	C	Nothing beyond the lists of games and engines.
Blizzard Entertainment	Top	Diablo, WarCraft, StarCraft, Overwatch	C	Too focused on Cease and Desists (POV).
Capcom	Top	Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and more.	C
Electronic Arts	Top	The biggest third party publisher.	C	Good info but tagged for cleanup.
Epic Games	High	Fortnite, Unreal Engine	B
Id Software	High	Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake	C
Konami	Top	Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, Metal Gear.	C
LucasArts	High	Monkey Island and many Star Wars games.	C
Microsoft Studios	Top	Division of Microsoft; creators of the Xboxs.	C
Midway Games	High	Developer of Mortal Kombat, Spy Hunter and Tron. Licensing & distribution of Pac-Man and Space Invaders.	C
Namco	High	Pac-Man, Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, Tekken	FA
Nintendo	Top	Major console and game maker; created international gaming icons such as Mario and internationally recognized series such as The Legend of Zelda.	B	Former GA. References might be cited in the article itself, inappropriate formatting.
Rare	High	Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007 and Jetpac	GA	Prose needs improving for FA.
Sega	Top	Former major console maker.	FA
Sierra Entertainment	High	King's Quest, various published/developed games.	C	Gigantic amount of information (i.e. too much). Needs more references, of course.
Sony Computer Entertainment	Top	A subsidiary of Sony; creators of the PlayStations.	B	Needs references.
Square Enix	High	Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts and others.	C
Taito Corporation	High	Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble series, Darius series and Lufia series.	Start
Ubisoft	High	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Myst sequels, etc.	C	Mostly a list of games.
Valve	High	Developers of Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, and Portal.	B	Underdeveloped.

Books

Books
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
The Art of Computer Game Design	Mid	First book on video game theory.	C
Designing Virtual Worlds	Mid	Seminal work on MMO/virtual world development.	C

Genres

Genres
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
4X	High		FA	Promoted to featured status in August 2008.
Action game	Top	The largest and most important genre, tying together many video game concepts.	C	Might be hard to find research for a history / reception section. Will depend on adequate sources for subgenres.
Action-adventure game	High	Many major franchises fit within this genre.	C	Most action-adventure subgenres are considered good articles, which could help this root article improve.
Adventure game	Top	One of the oldest genres. A foundation to many other games.	B	Less popular now, and might require some digging to find appropriate references.
Battle royale game	High	Each major title has tens of millions of players (July 2020).	C
Beat 'em up	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in April 2009.
Construction and management simulation	High	Most of the major Sim games fall within this category.	Start	Research doesn't always distinguish between these and vehicle simulations, let alone realistic games.
Fighting game	High	A major genre, especially in arcades.	GA	Promoted to good article status in June 2009.
First-person shooter	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in March 2009.
Government simulation game	High		C	Former GA.
Grand Theft Auto clone	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in May 2009.
Indie game	High		C
Life simulation game	High		Start
Light gun shooter	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in March 2009.
Massively multiplayer online game	High	Not really a genre, but still an important game category.	Start
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game	Top		B	Lost GA status due to unreferenced content.
Multi-user dungeon	High	Pioneering genre in multiplayer persistent world gaming, predecessor to MMORPG genre.	B
Multiplayer online battle arena	High	A big part of the esports category during 2010s with sensational origins.	B
Platform game	Top	Dominated gaming in the 8 and 16 bit era more than any genre has before or since.	B	Lost GA status due to excessive non-free image use and unsourced content.
Real-time strategy	High	Important PC genre in the late 1990s and early 2000s.	C
Role-playing video game	Top	Far more important than the separate console versus computer RPG articles.	C	Produced through a merger of weaker articles. Ripe for improvement.
Rhythm game	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in April 2009.
Shoot 'em up	High	A dominant genre until 3D gaming came along.	GA	Promoted to good article status in March 2009.
Shooter game	High	Meta-genre.	Start	A decent disambig-style page. No history or references. Could become an good summary if only tactical and third-person subgenres weren't in rough shape.
Sports game	High		C	Types section needs expansion, a history section is missing. Extreme sports games lacks mention. Might need a split.
Stealth game	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in June 2009.
Strategy video game	Top		Start	Needs expansion. No history. Might need to focus on subgenres like real-time strategy and turn-based strategy first.
Survival horror	High		GA	Promoted to good article status in April 2009.
Vehicle simulation game	High	The root article for flight sims, tank combat games, and racing games. Very important.	Start

Gameplay and design

Gameplay and design
Article	Need	Quality
1-up	High	Start
Boss (video games)	High	Start
Gameplay	High	Start
Cooperative gameplay	High	Start
Critical hit	Mid	Start
Dialog tree	High	Start
Experience point	High	Start
Fog of war	High	Start
Game over	Mid	Start
Grinding (video gaming)	Mid	Start
Health (gaming)	High	B
Level (video gaming)	High	Start
Life (gaming)	High	Start
Looting (gaming)	Mid	Start
Magic (gaming)	High	C
Micromanagement (gameplay)	High	Start
Mob (video gaming)	Mid	C
Non-player character	Mid	Start
Player character	Mid	Start
Player versus environment	Mid	Start
Player versus player	Mid	C
Powergaming	High	Start
Quest (video gaming)	High	B
Side-scrolling video game	High	Start
Spam (gaming)	Mid	Start
Spawning (video gaming)	Mid	Start
Syntax guessing	Mid	Start
Tank (gaming)	Mid	Start
Technology tree	Mid	Start

Characters

Characters
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Donkey Kong (character)	High		C
GLaDOS	High	Considered one of the most noteworthy villains and female characters in video games. Was responsible for popularizing the video game Portal to the point where it was selected as required reading at Wabash College and for "the cake is a lie" meme.	B	Needs some copyediting.
Lara Croft	High	First game mascot to break the cutesy cartoon mold yet achieve mainstream recognition. Inspired glut of "sexy" heroines and pandering advertisements.	GA
Link (The Legend of Zelda)	High	One of the most recognized video game characters.	B	See FA review
Luigi	High	Iconic sidekick character, commonly noted as "neglected".	C	Needs some more sourcing, plus expansion in "Reception".
Mario	High	Considered to be the international symbol of video games.	C
Master Chief (Halo)	High	Protagonist of the Halo series.	FA
Mega Man (character)	High	Capcom's mascot, and star of a huge franchise.	C	Needs references and organizing.
Pikachu	High	The face of the Pokémon franchise, absurdly popular character.	B
Pac-Man (character)	High	Mascot of Namco, considered one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time even outside of video games.	C
Samus Aran	High	The first major female protagonist in gaming.	GA
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)	High	Sega's response to Mario. Inspired a whole generation of mascots.	B	See GAR for concerns.

Series

Series
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Assassin's Creed	High		B
Call of Duty	High		C
Castlevania	High		C
Command & Conquer	High	Popularized the real-time strategy genre.	C
Dance Dance Revolution	High		C	Failed GAN.
Diablo	High		C
Doom (series)	High	Helped start the First-person shooter craze.	Start
Dragon Quest	High		GA
The Elder Scrolls	High		C
Fallout (franchise)	High		C
Final Fantasy	High		FA
Grand Theft Auto (series)	High	Best-selling series of its generation.	B	Former GA.
Half-Life	High		B
Halo (series)	High	Broke several sales records for entertainment properties, iconic in 6th generation-onward gaming.	GA
King's Quest	High		Start	Has a minor case of "list-syndrome".
The Legend of Zelda (series)	High		B	Proper footnotes now. Still some work to be done. See GAR
LucasArts adventure games	High	Highly successful range of adventure games from beginning, through peak and decline, spanning 14 years.	C
Mario (franchise)	High	Best-selling video game series ever. Nintendo's flagship franchise, influenced 2D and 3D platforming.	C
Mega Man	High		Start	Refs, long trivia section.
Metal Gear	High		B
Metroid	High		GA	Expansion and more references.
Need for Speed	High		C
Pokémon	High	Crucial for keeping Nintendo's fortunes afloat during lean N64 and GameCube years.	GA	Also: Pokémon (video game series)
Pro Evolution Soccer	High		Start
Resident Evil	High		C	Needs longer lead, more refs. See GA reassessment
Sonic the Hedgehog	High	Flagship game series for the Sega consoles.	FA
StarCraft	High		GA
Street Fighter	High		C
Ultima (series)	High		B	Needs expansion. Failed GAN.
Warcraft	High	Series of real-time strategy games, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone.	C

Arcade games

Arcade games
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Asteroids (video game)	High		GA
Battlezone (1980 video game)	High	The first major 3D game.	C
Breakout (video game)	High		Start
Centipede (video 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
Computer Space	High	The first commercially sold video game.	FA
Defender (video game)	High	WMS Industries and Eugene Jarvis's first video game. Widely considered one of the most difficult video games ever. Furthered the shoot 'em up genre and the idea that challenging video games can be commercially successful.	GA	Prose needs polishing for FA
Donkey Kong (video game)	High	Made Nintendo a major player. Shigeru Miyamoto's first game. Mario and Donkey Kong's debut.	FA
Double Dragon	High	Considered the first successful game of its type.	Start	More information in "Reception" section
Dragon's Lair	High	The first successful game using an optical disc medium. The father of the twitch interactive-movie genre.	Start
Frogger	High		Start	More 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.	C
Gradius	High		Start
I, Robot	High	The first commercial video game with filled 3D polygon graphics and featured flat shading, as well as being the first video game to feature camera control options.	Start	"Development" needs expansion.
Mario Bros.	High		GA
Missile Command	High		Start
Mortal Kombat	High	Pushed the limits of violence in games. Critical flashpoint for national violence debate. Directly led to creation of ESRB ratings.	Start
NBA Jam	High		Start
Pac-Man	High	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 (video game)	High		Start
Pong	High	First successful computer-based arcade game. Popularized home gaming.	GA	Prose needs polishing for FA
Robotron: 2084	High	Introduced dual-joystick control method. Spawned many imitators.	GA	Prose needs polishing for FA
Space Invaders	High	First Japanese-developed hit game. Established traditional shooter genre.	FA
Star Wars (1983 video game)	High	Made Star Wars a gaming mainstay. Inspired countless cockpit-perspective action shooters.	Start	Needs more references.
Street Fighter II	High	Launched the one-on-one fighting genre into the mainstream. Revitalized the American arcade. Landmark home version.	C	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 (video game)	High	Introduced the button tapping gameplay.	Start

Computer games

Computer games
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
3D Monster Maze	High	The 1st 3D game for a personal computer.	C	See FAR
Civilization	High	Megahit game (and one that changed the way we think about turn-based strategy) started a series that continues to this day.	C	Need more references.
Colossal Cave Adventure	High	The very first story-based adventure game.	C
Command & Conquer (video game)	High	Popularized RTS games.	GA
Counter-Strike	High	One of the most popular multiplayer online games ever.	C	Detailed, but needs references and some rewriting
Deus Ex	High	Consistently ranked as one of the most important games ever released, and a decade-long touchstone for the philosophy of player choice-powered game design.	GA	Development section needs expansion.
Diablo (video game)	High		B
Doom (video game)	High	Defined the FPS genre. Transformed the PC into a viable action platform. Successfully deployed the shareware model. Inspired the advent of user mod communities. Became a flashpoint for countless debates on media violence.	C	Former FA. Concerns stated at FAR.
Defense of the Ancients	High	A community-created mod for Warcraft III which is largely attributed as being the most significant inspiration for the MOBA genre.	FA
Dune II	High	It's the precursor to the C&C franchise and established a few precedents for the RTS genre.	Start
Dungeon Master (video game)	High		Start
Elite (video game)	High		B
Fallout (video game)	High	Revitalized CRPG genre.	C
Fortnite Battle Royale	High		B
Half-Life (video game)	High	Introduced interactive and scripted events into gameplay. Served as the model for a massive fan mod community.	GA
Half-Life 2	High	Defined the use of physics in gameplay.	B	Former FA. See FAR discussion for concerns.
King's Quest: Quest for the Crown	High	The first adventure game with animation. Defined the adventure genre for the next decade.	Start
League of Legends	High	One of the most watched video games of all time.	C
Minecraft	High	Highly influential game, sparking an unprecedented presence in media. Also the best selling video game of all-time.	B	Former GA.
MUD1	High	First MUD, so origin point that MUDs and MMORPGs trace back to	C
M.U.L.E.	High	Precursor to god game and real-time strategy genres. One of the first titles to explore socio-economic networking.	C
Myst	High	Killer app for the CD-ROM. Spawned "Myst-clone" subgenre. Partially responsible for the decline of PC adventure genre.	FA
Mystery House	High	The first graphical adventure game.	Start
Populous	High	Created god game genre. Popularized hands-off approach to strategy gaming. First notable game to create a living world.	Start
Portal	High	One of the most influential video games.	FA
Prince of Persia (1989 video game)	High	Established an effective template for dynamic cinematic events in games. Introduced rotoscope motion capture to games. Created the cinematic platformer sub-genre.	Start
Quake	High	Revolutionized FPS and deathmatch multiplayer gaming.	Start	Too long and needs more references.
Rogue (computer game)	High	First screen-oriented video game take on the D&D concept. Introduced randomly-generated dungeons. Template for all roguelikes.	Start
SimCity	High	Pioneered the city-building genre. The success of the game also paved the way for the development and release of other sim games, including The Sims series.	Start
The Sims	High	The best selling computer game ever. Helped propel Electronic Arts to its current state of enormity.	Start	Needs to have a bit more depth to it.
Spacewar!	High	One of the first video games.	GA
StarCraft	High	First RTS with three significantly different factions; hugely popular and highly influential.	FA
Tetris	High	Established market for games with universal appeal. Instrumental in success of Game Boy. Subject of one of the industry's most convoluted legal battles. Gave puzzle gaming a new definition.	C	Legal history of the game is very lacking, could do with a proper copy edit.
Tomb Raider	High	Effectively translated Prince of Persia-style gameplay to 3D.	C
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar	High	First RPG to emphasize morality. Expanded the interactivity and importance of NPC characters via conversation trees.	Start
Ultima Online	High	Created the MMORPG genre.	C
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss	High		FA
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord	High	Laid out the foundation for both branches of the RPG genre.	Start
Wolfenstein 3D	High	Hugely influential first-person shooter.	C
World of Warcraft	High	One of the greatest games of all time.	B	Poor prose, poor organization, insufficient breadth of coverage.
UFO: Enemy Unknown	High	Established the turn-based tactics genre.	B
Zork	High	Popularized the interactive fiction genre. Pioneered the use of puzzles and narrative in games.	Start

Console games

Console games
Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Adventure (Atari 2600)	High	First console RPG/adventure. First major PC-to-console adaptation.	GA
Brain Age	High	Inspired a new demographic of gamers, one of the DS' most successful games.	C
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	High	Popularized the Call of Duty franchise, one of the highest rated video games of all time and considered to be among the greatest ever made.	FA
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	High	Was one of the most popular multiplayer video games, and sparked heavy controversy over violence in video games due to the mission No Russian.	B
Castlevania (video game)	High	Voted "one of the best video games ever" on several lists. Started the Castlevania franchise.	C	Still needs some work (and refs).
Contra (video game)	High	The NES version popularized the use of cheat codes.	Start
Dragon Warrior	High	Launched the most popular RPG series in Japan, set standards for console RPGs.	GA
Duck Hunt	High	One of the first and most popular light gun games.	C	See GA reassessment
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (video game)	High	Considered the main cause of the North American video game crash of 1983. First of countless genuinely wretched licensed games.	GA
Final Fantasy (video game)	High	Saved Square from ruin, launched a major RPG series.	GA
Final Fantasy VII	High	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.	FA
GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)	High	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
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.	Start	Needs expansion.
Grand Theft Auto III	High	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.	GA
Grand Theft Auto IV	High	Most expensive game ever produced of $100 million. Broke several sales records.	GA
Grand Theft Auto V	High	Broke several Guinness World Records, was "fastest selling entertainment product in history" upon release.	FA
Guitar Hero (video game)	High	Popularized rhythm games in the West. Spawned two highly successful franchises (see also Rock Band) with considerable cultural impact.	FA
Halo: Combat Evolved	High	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	High	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
The Legend of Zelda	High	Started the Zelda franchise, pioneer of the adventure genre.	GA
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	High	Set the standard for 3D action-adventure games, often cited as the best video game of all time.	FA
Mega Man (video game)	High	Start of a long-running and influential game series.	GA
Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game)	High	Popularized the stealth genre.	GA	See featured article review for concerns.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty	High	Gained notoriety for its political themes and served as an example of video games as an art form. Considered as a killer app for the PlayStation 2 and one of the greatest games of all time.	B
Metroid	High	Notable for its non-linear gameplay, moody atmosphere and introducing a female protagonist.	GA
Metroid Prime	High	Successfully transitioned Metroid gameplay to 3D, much critical acclaim.	FA
Nintendogs	High	Introduced millions of non-gamers to video games, million seller, increased the % of female DS owners, considered to be the DS' first mega-hit.	C
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. Partially responsible for the North American video game crash of 1983..	GA
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 multibillion-dollar franchise. Introduced link-enabled trading for handheld games. Invented multi-cart sales gimmick.	GA
Pitfall!	High	Ultimate demonstration of third-party developers' potential. First major run-and-jump adventure. Blueprint for modern action/adventure genre.	Start
Punch-Out!!	High	Milestone in sports games.	C	Doesn't really cover the game's massive popularity in North America.
Resident Evil (video game)	High	Popularized survival horror genre.	C	Some sections need cleanup (specially concerning the ports); references
Shenmue	Mid	The most expensive video game of its time. Introduced quick time events to modern gaming.	B
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game)	High	Demonstrated the power of strong marketing. Established true speed in games.	GA
Super Mario 64	High	Pioneer in 3D platformers, drove N64 sales.	FA
Super Mario Bros.	High	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.	GA
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.	GA
Super Smash Bros. Melee	High	The best-selling GameCube game, a social phenomenon.	FA
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	High	Popularized the extreme sports genre. Jumped the gap between games and mainstream popular culture.	B	Needs a lot of expansion and references.
Wii Sports	High	Best-selling video game of all time.	FA

Legend

**Need:** A measure of a subject's importance, regardless of its quality
Top	Subject is a must-have for a print encyclopedia.
High	Subject is exceptionally important.
Mid	Subject contributes a depth of knowledge.
Low	Subject fills in important details.
NA	Subject importance is not applicable.

Video game articles by quality and importance
Quality	Importance
Quality	Top	High	Mid	Low	NA	Total
FA	2	63	103	111		279
FL		1	3	98		102
FM					37	37
GA	7	125	516	1,566		2,214
B	20	150	390	1,310		1,870
C	33	323	1,168	4,764		6,288
Start		68	636	20,019		20,723
Stub			44	8,775	1	8,820
List			80	1,368		1,448
Category					10,579	10,579
Disambig					161	161
File					39,562	39,562
Portal					9	9
Project					356	356
Redirect					15,079	15,079
Template					2,013	2,013
Draft					449	449
Assessed	62	730	2,940	38,011	68,246	109,989
Unassessed					1	1
Total	62	730	2,940	38,011	68,247	109,990
WikiWork factors (?)		ω = 191,737			Ω = 4.77

Class	Criteria	Reader's experience	Editing suggestions	Example
FA	The article has attained featured article status by passing an in-depth examination by impartial reviewers from WP:Featured article candidates. More detailed criteria The article meets the featured article criteria: A featured article exemplifies Wikipedia's very best work and is distinguished by professional standards of writing, presentation, and sourcing. In addition to meeting the policies regarding content for all Wikipedia articles, it has the following attributes. It is: well-written: its prose is engaging and of a professional standard; comprehensive: it neglects no major facts or details and places the subject in context; well-researched: it is a thorough and representative survey of the relevant literature; claims are verifiable against high-quality reliable sources and are supported by inline citations where appropriate; neutral: it presents views fairly and without bias; stable: it is not subject to ongoing edit wars and its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured article process; and compliant with Wikipedia's copyright policy and free of plagiarism or too-close paraphrasing. It follows the style guidelines, including the provision of: a lead: a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the detail in the subsequent sections; appropriate structure: a substantial but not overwhelming system of hierarchical section headings; and consistent citations: where required by criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using footnotes—see citing sources for suggestions on formatting references. Citation templates are not required. Media. It has images and other media, where appropriate, with succinct captions and acceptable copyright status. Images follow the image use policy. Non-free images or media must satisfy the criteria for inclusion of non-free content and be labeled accordingly. Length. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail and uses summary style where appropriate.	Professional, outstanding, and thorough; a definitive source for encyclopedic information.	No further content additions should be necessary unless new information becomes available; further improvements to the prose quality are often possible.	Final Fantasy Tactics Cortana Wii
FL	The article has attained featured list status by passing an in-depth examination by impartial reviewers from WP:Featured list candidates. More detailed criteria The article meets the featured list criteria: Prose. It features professional standards of writing. Lead. It has an engaging lead that introduces the subject and defines the scope and inclusion criteria. Comprehensiveness. (a) It comprehensively covers the defined scope, providing at least all of the major items and, where practical, a complete set of items; where appropriate, it has annotations that provide useful and appropriate information about the items. (b) statements are sourced where they appear, and they provide inline citations if they contain any of the four kinds of material absolutely required to have citations. (c) In length and/or topic, it meets all of the requirements for stand-alone lists; does not violate the content-forking guideline, does not largely duplicate material from another article, and could not reasonably be included as part of a related article. Structure. It is easy to navigate and includes, where helpful, section headings and table sort facilities. Style. It complies with the Manual of Style and its supplementary pages. (a) Visual appeal. It makes suitable use of text layout, formatting, tables, and colour; and a minimal proportion of items are redlinked. (b) Media files. It has images and other media, if appropriate to the topic, that follow Wikipedia's usage policies, with succinct captions. Non-free images and other media satisfy the criteria for the inclusion of non-free content and are labeled accordingly. (c) Accessibility. It uses proper formating to be accessible to all readers. Bulleted and unbulleted lists and tables are structured correctly. Visual media, if included, utilize alternative (alt) text. Stability. It is not the subject of ongoing edit wars and its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured list process.	Professional standard; it comprehensively covers the defined scope, usually providing a complete set of items, and has annotations that provide useful and appropriate information about those items.	No further content additions should be necessary unless new information becomes available; further improvements to the prose quality are often possible.	List of Halo media List of Nintendo 64 games List of songs in Guitar Hero
GA	The article meets all of the good article criteria, and has been examined by one or more impartial reviewers from WP:Good article nominations. More detailed criteria A good article is: Well-written: the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct; and it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation. Verifiable with no original research: it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline; reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose); it contains no original research; and it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism. Broad in its coverage: it addresses the main aspects of the topic; and it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style). Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio: media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content; and media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	Useful to nearly all readers, with no obvious problems; approaching (though not necessarily equalling) the quality of a professional publication.	Some editing by subject and style experts is helpful; comparison with an existing featured article on a similar topic may highlight areas where content is weak or missing.	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Dante Clannad
B	The article meets all of the B-Class criteria. It is mostly complete and does not have major problems, but requires some further work to reach good article standards. More detailed criteria The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. Any format of inline citation is acceptable: the use of <ref> tags and citation templates such as `{{cite web}}` is optional. The article reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. It contains a large proportion of the material necessary for an A-Class article, although some sections may need expansion, and some less important topics may be missing. The article has a defined structure. Content should be organized into groups of related material, including a lead section and all the sections that can reasonably be included in an article of its kind. The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but does not need to be of the standard of featured articles. The Manual of Style does not need to be followed rigorously. The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams, an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content. The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. The article should not assume unnecessary technical background and technical terms should be explained or avoided where possible.	Readers are not left wanting, although the content may not be complete enough to satisfy a serious student or researcher.	A few aspects of content and style need to be addressed. Expert knowledge may be needed. The inclusion of supporting materials should be considered if practical, and the article checked for general compliance with the Manual of Style and related style guidelines.	Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory
C	The article is substantial but is still missing important content or contains irrelevant material. The article should have some references to reliable sources, but may still have significant problems or require substantial cleanup. More detailed criteria The article cites more than one reliable source and is better developed in style, structure, and quality than Start-Class, but it fails one or more of the criteria for B-Class. It may have some gaps or missing elements, or need editing for clarity, balance, or flow.	Useful to a casual reader, but would not provide a complete picture for even a moderately detailed study.	Considerable editing is needed to close gaps in content and solve cleanup problems.	Bushido Blade (video game)
Start	An article that is developing but still quite incomplete. It may or may not cite adequate reliable sources. More detailed criteria The article has a meaningful amount of good content, but it is still weak in many areas. The article has one or more of the following: A 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	Provides some meaningful content, but most readers will need more.	Providing references to reliable sources should come first; the article also needs substantial improvement in content and organisation. Also improve the grammar, spelling, writing style and improve the jargon use.	Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Stub	A very basic description of the topic. Meets none of the Start-Class criteria.	Provides very little meaningful content; may be little more than a dictionary definition. Readers probably see insufficiently developed features of the topic and may not see how the features of the topic are significant.	Any editing or additional material can be helpful. The provision of meaningful content should be a priority. The best solution for a Stub-class Article to step up to a Start-class Article is to add in referenced reasons of why the topic is significant.	Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
List	Meets the criteria of a stand-alone list or set index article, which is an article that contains primarily a list, usually consisting of links to articles in a particular subject area.	There is no set format for a list, but its organization should be logical and useful to the reader.	Lists should be lists of live links to Wikipedia articles, appropriately named and organized.	List of Star Wars video games