Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Essential articles

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WikiProject CVG Essential articles

The purpose of this page is to list the most essential topics related to computer and video games. The list could be used to select candidates for Wikipedia 1.0, or perhaps even to create a CVG 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 {{cvgproj}} template found on the article's discussion page.

There is also a log of all CVG 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

[edit] General

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Arcade game	High		B	Short sections, needs refs.
Computer and video games	Top	Our top-level article.	B	Could use a few more refs.
Game controller	High		B	Needs refs, mostly.
Gaming PC	Mid	Is an important topic for PC gaming.	B
Handheld game console	High		B	Good summaries of all handhelds, but needs refs. Some images (WS, GP2X) need replaced by public domain/GNUFDL images.
Handheld video game	High		B	Short sections, only one ref.
Light gun	Low		B	Not necessary if the entry in Game controller is expanded.
Machinima	No		B	Expansive, but nothing beyond the lead is essential.
Personal computer game	Mid		GA
Video game console	High		B	Improved over the past few months. Could use one or two more general references.

Accessories

[edit] Accessories

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
NES Zapper	Mid	Zapper gun released with the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 for use with their games.	Stub

Consoles

[edit] Consoles

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
3DO Interactive Multiplayer	Low		Start
Amiga	Mid	Popular computer in the 1980s and 90s, ahead of its time in terms of graphics and sound quality.	Start	Too much trivia, lacking in refs.
Amstrad Mega PC	Low	Amstrad's version of Sega's TeraDrive.	Start	Article covering mainly the unit's specification but lacking detail in other areas such as market impact.
Apple II series	High	One of the most popular computer gaming platforms.	A	One of the most popular and important gamin platforms of the 1980s.
Atari 2600	High		B	refs, obviously. A fairly good history, specs are fine, but little else.
ColecoVision	Low		Start	Significantly smaller than surrounding articles. Refs.
Commodore 64	Mid		FA
Game Boy	High	Nintendo's most successful console	Start	Needs to be expanded.
Game Boy Advance	Low	Part of the Game Boy line	Start	Lead, refs. Jumps directly into the hardware, not much else.
Game Boy Advance SP	Low	Part of the Game Boy line	Start	Mostly a list of changes and a ton of unsourced criticisms.
Game Boy Color	Low	Part of the Game Boy line	Start	No sources, short (one paragraph) sections.
Game Boy line	High	The dominant handheld console since '89.	B	Covers nearly all Nintendo handhelds, briefly.
Game Boy Micro	Low	Part of the Game Boy line	B	Only two references in the "reaction" section.
Handheld electronic game	Mid		Start
Intellivision	Low		B	No refs, could stand to be reorganized (History, features, peripherals, specs?). Image:Intellivision.jpg should be replaceable.
Nintendo 64	High		B	Inline references and coherency: list of "notable" games? Technical specs right in the middle?
Nintendo DS	Mid		GA
Nintendo Entertainment System	High		FA
Nintendo GameCube	Mid		B	References. Not outstanding by any means. Promo images might be replace with free photos.
PlayStation	High	Most important console of its era, first popular console with CD media.	B	Needs references. Lots of references.
PlayStation 2	High		B	Jumps into "history" with little context. Convert links to references, but needs more refs anyway. Not bad but not excellent.
PlayStation 3	Low	Not released as yet.	B	Ineligible for GA status until it is released and stable.
PlayStation Portable	Low		GA	Lead needs expansion. Plenty of technical info, if that's your thing.
Sega Dreamcast	Low		B	Refs.
Sega Master System	High	SMS and NES were the two most important consols of their era; head-to-head combattants.	B	Needs refs and free images.
Sega Mega Drive (aka Sega Genesis)	High		B	Refs, obviously, and once you get past the history there's a lot of bulleted lists. Promo images ought to be replaced.
Sega Saturn	Mid		B	Refs, especially for comparisons to PSX versions. No pic of the "standard" controller.
Sega TeraDrive	Low	Sega's unsucessful attempt at creating a Mega Drive/PC combo for the Japanese market.	Start	Fair amount of info on specification and brief mention of SDK, but lacking much else.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System	High		B	Needs (inline) references badly (Yakuza? Blue-collar anti-Japanese sentiment? WTF?)
Wii	High	Current-gen console. Cutting-edge motion sensing technology.	GA	Need some rewriting
Xbox	Mid		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 (including one of the original controlller).
Xbox 360	Mid		GA	Needs reorganized, mostly. See: Peer Review
ZX Spectrum	Mid	One of the more popular line of computers in the 1980s in Europe. Important for the British computer games industry.	A	Mostly complete and stable, but could do with some making-of history and impact around the world

History

History

[edit] History

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
History of computer and video games	Top	All CVG history articles are essential.	B	Bad lead, needs more refs, copyediting. The 1970's section is a mess. Perhaps fork off a timeline list as the article is quite large.
Golden Age of Arcade Games	High	All CVG history articles are essential.	B	FARC page
History of video game consoles (first generation)	High	All CVG history articles are essential.	Start
History of video game consoles (second generation)	High	All CVG history articles are essential.	Start
Video game crash of 1983	High	All CVG history articles are essential.	B
History of video game consoles (third generation)	High	8-bit era. All CVG history articles are essential.	Start
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)	High	16-bit era. All CVG history articles are essential.	B
History of video game consoles (fifth generation)	High	32-bit/64-bit era. All CVG history articles are essential.	Start
History of video game consoles (sixth generation)	High	All CVG history articles are essential.	Start
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)	Mid	All CVG history articles are essential. However, info on future consoles is speculative.	Start
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
Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.	High	Authorized code modification add-ons such as Game Genies	Start

Game contents

Genres and gameplay

[edit] Genres and gameplay

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Adventure game	Mid		B	Included in this table too for gameplay; references
Beat 'em up	Mid		B
City-building game	Low		B	Could be treated together with Economic simulation game, of which this is a sub-genre
Computer role-playing game	Mid	Desperately 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.
Computer and 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.
Console role-playing game	Mid		B
Economic simulation game	Low		Stub
First-person shooter	Mid		B	Lots of detail, but too much "game guide" stuff, and barely any refs.
Government simulation game	Low		Stub	A venerable part of gaming history, this article had to be stubified. Could use some good contributions.
Massively multiplayer online game	Mid		Start
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game	Top		A	On our way to FA!
Multiplayer game	Mid		B	History? Multiplaying is not a genre, should be moved to another section.
Racing game	Mid		Start	Good for a "Short and listy" article. No history.
Platform game	Mid	dominanted gaming in the 8 and 16 bit era more than any genre has before or since	GA	Current FA
Real-time strategy	Low	Really higher importance than "low", but could be disussed under "strategy game" together with some other genres (turn-based strategy etc).	B	Really higher importance than "low", but could be disussed under "strategy game" together with some other genres (turn-based strategy etc). Extensive history, exhaustive treatment. Lead and history should be included. History recently reworked, now clear, succing, without "listy" style, good treatment of history and classification problematics. (No refs; weasel words, for example, no discussion of WHY Warcraft and Warcraft 2 "arguably usherd in the era of contemporary RTS by its treatment of the burgeoning genre elements and grundbreaking popularity." -- Nifboy)
Real-time tactics	Low		B	Recently restructured. Really higher importance than "low", but could be disussed under "strategy game" together with some other genres (turn-based strategy etc).
Run and gun	Low		B	New article that I (larsinio) wrote last week, although its pretty extensive as it is (well written, no refs, images need sources and FUR)
Shoot 'em up	Mid	Its time's most characteristic genre.	B	Was re-written and organizaed as a part of a CGOTW, (well written, no refs, images need sources and FUR).
Shooter game	Mid		B	A decent disambig-style page. No history.
Simulation game	Mid		Start	Problematic entry; lack of focus and unclear definition ("simulation"/"simulator"). See article's talk page
Sports game	Mid		Start	"Types" section needs expansion, a history section is missing (Extreme Sports).
Strategy game	Mid		Start	Needs expansion. No history
Strategy guide	Low		Start	Needs expansion, sections...
Third-person shooter	Low		Start	Stublike. Not really necessary ("Shooter game" below will suffice)
Turn-based strategy	Low		Start	No history
Turn-based tactics	Low		Start	No history
Versus fighting game	Mid		B

Plot and characters

[edit] Plot and characters

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Bowser (character)	Low		B
Cloud Strife	Low	One of the most popular Final Fantasy characters.	GA
Donkey Kong	Mid		B
Lara Croft	Mid		B
Link (Legend of Zelda)	High	One of the most recognized video game characters	FA
Mario (character)	Top	Considered to be the international symbol of video games	B
Master Chief (Halo)	Mid	Protagonist of the Halo series.	Start	Needs refs and out of universe writing.
Mega Man (character)	Low	Capcom's mascot, and star of a huge franchise	B	Needs references and organizing.
Pikachu	Mid	The face of the Pokémon franchise, absurdly popular character	GA
Princess Peach	Mid		GA
Samus Aran	Mid	Protagonist of the Metroid series.	B
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)	Low		GA
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)	Mid	Sega's response to Mario, also a popular mascot	GA	Appearances section need cleanup for FAC
Solid Snake	Mid	Protagonist of the Metal Gear (series)	GA
Tidus	Low		GA
Wario	Low		GA	FARC page
Yoshi	Low	One of the most popular Mario Characters	B	Needs references

Industry and development

Industry and development

[edit] Industry and development

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Computer and video game industry	Top		Start	Needs refs (currently has none), significant cleanup and expansion. Factual accuracy disputed.
Console wars			B	(Opinion withheld, consider comparison to George W. Bush's article)
Expansion pack	Low	(Essential?)	Start
Game Artificial Intelligence	Low		B	Has references, but might just be better to include the top article on AI. Stub sections.
Game artist	Low	(Not really essential.)	Start	Slightly above stub length.
Game engine	Low		B	Needs references.
Game producer	Low	(Essential?)	B	Needs references.
Game programmer	Low		B	Needs references. Consider merging into game programming.
Game programming	Mid		B	For a second I thought I was reading the above article again; needs different pics. Consider merging?
Game tester	Low		B	Needs references. Accuracy disputed: does "game testing" really refer only to CVG? Strongly consider merging into game testing.
Game testing	Low		Stub	Substub: only thirteen words long (plus a planned page layout). Strongly consider merging game tester here.
Homebrew (video games)	Low	(Essential?)	Start	Narrow scope, low on content.
Video game developer	Mid		B	Needs references, particularly for generalizations.
Video game publisher	Mid		B	Needs references, particularly for generalizations.

People

[edit] People

[edit] Defunct companies

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Atari	High	One of the oldest gaming companies; made one of the oldest game consoles (the 2600)	B	By far the best article of this bunch. Yellow article needs references badly, though.
Brøderbund	Low	Prince of Persia, Carmen Sandiego, Myst	Start
Bullfrog Productions	Mid	Populous, Syndicate, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper	Stub	Stublike.
Enix	Mid	Dragon Quest, Star Ocean mostly.	Stub	might be worth merging to Square Enix.
Epyx	Low		Start
FASA	Mid	BattleTech, Star Trek (RPG), ShadowRun	Start	fine details; could benefit from graphics
Epyx	Low		Start
Looking Glass Studios	Low	Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, System Shock, Thief: The Dark Project	Start
MicroProse	Mid	Master of Orion, X-COM, founded by Sid Meier	Start
New World Computing	Low	Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic (computer game),	Start
Origin Systems	Mid	Ultima, Wing Commander	Start
Sierra Entertainment	Mid	King's Quest, various published/developed games	Start
Square Co.	High	Final Fantasy and friends.	Start
The 3DO Company	Low		Start	Not quite a stub, but close.
Westwood Studios	Mid	Dune II, The Legend of Kyrandia, Lands of Lore, Command & Conquer	Start

Active companies

[edit] Active companies

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
3D Realms	Low	Duke Nukem and nothing else.	Start
Activision	High	The first third-party developer; one of the biggest software publishers	B
Bethesda Softworks	Low	The Elder Scrolls series.	Start	Little more than a list of games.
BioWare	Low	Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, various engines	Start	Nothing beyond the lists of games and engines.
Blizzard Entertainment	Mid	Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft.	Start	Too focused on Cease and Desists (POV).
Capcom	Mid	Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and more.	Start
Cyan Worlds	Mid	Myst and sequels.	Start	Most of the article is a timeline.
Eidos Interactive	Low	A relatively small publisher (Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain)	Start
Electronic Arts	High	The biggest third party publisher.	B	Good info but tagged for cleanup.
Epic Games	Low	Unreal Tournament, mostly.	Start
Id Software	Mid	Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake	B
Konami	Mid	Castlevania, DDR, Metal Gear.	B
Lionhead Studios	Low	Black and White and Fable.	Start
LucasArts	Low	Monkey Island and many Star Wars games.	Start
Midway Games	Mid	Developer of Spy Hunter, Tron, Mortal Kombat, licensing & distribution of Pac-Man, Space Invaders...	B
Namco	Mid	Pac-Man, Soul Calibur, Tekken, Ridge Racer	B
Nintendo	Top	Major console and game maker for a long time	B	Removed from the GA. References might be cited in the article itself, unappropriate formatting.
Rareware	Mid	Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark	B	List needs to be put into a separate article
Sega	High	Former major console maker	B	References.
Sinclair Research	Mid		GA	FAC page
SNK Playmore	Mid	Neo-Geo, King of Fighters, Metal Slug, etc.	B
Sony Computer Entertainment	Mid	A subsidiary of Sony; creators of the Playstations	B	No history.
Square Enix	Mid	Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts and others	B
Take-Two Interactive	Low	Owns Rockstar Games (GTA), others (2k Games, etc).	Start	A lead and a list of subsidiaries
THQ	Low	Produces many different games.	Start
UbiSoft	Mid	Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Myst sequels, etc.	Start	Mostly a list of games.
Williams (gaming company)	Mid	Basically the pinball company.	B
Valve	Mid	Developers of the Half-Life line and Counterstrike, amongst others	Start	Underdeveloped.

Games

Series

[edit] Series

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Carnivores games	Low	Probably the first hunting game series to break out of the traditional Deer Hunter mold	Stub	Recently extensively edited and expanded, may now be eligible for Start- or even B-Class status, still lacks lots of references
Castlevania (series)	Mid		B
Dance Dance Revolution (series)	Mid		B
Dragon Quest (series)	Mid		B
ESPN NFL 2K (series)	Low		Start	Not much on what makes this series unique.
Final Fantasy (series)	Mid		B	No references, bullets could stand to be prose-ified.
Fire Emblem (series)	Mid		B
Grand Theft Auto (series)	High	Likely the most popular, stand-out franchise this past console generation.	B	No refs, long and listy.
Gran Turismo (series)	Mid		Start
King's Quest series	Mid	The first third-person adventure game, at its time one of the best-selling computer games of all time.	Start	Lacking in detail about games and history, no refs whatsoever and has a minor case of "list-syndrome".
The Legend of Zelda series	Mid		GA	Proper footnotes now. Still some work to be done.
Madden NFL	Mid		B	Madden Curse section should probably be split. Also, the only refs in the article refer to that and not the actual game series.
Mega Man (series)	Mid		B	Refs, long trivia section.
Metal Gear (series)	Mid		B
Metroid series	Mid		B	Needs more sources (particularly when talking about reception), but otherwise fine.
Monkey Island series	Low		B
Pokémon ("franchise")	Mid		B	Needs sources badly (esp. "controversy" section). Section on games could stand to be cleaned up.
Resident Evil (series)	Mid		GA	More expansion on impact/influence of series needed.
SaGa	Low	Among Square games, SaGa is second to the Final Fantasy series in number of installments (it is also quite popular)	Start	Recently cleaned up, but still not quite B class
Serious Sam	Mid	Brought a fresh, albeit simple, perspective into First Person Shooters which hadn't been seen since the days of Doom	B	Needs citations and more information, especially regarding reception and impact on the industry. Should probably be split up into several separate articles as well.
Sonic the Hedgehog series	Mid		B	Talks little about the later installments. Sources again.
Street Fighter (series)	Mid		Start	Lots of unsourced statements. Might have POV, technical concerns.
Ultima (series)	Mid		B	Critical entry, page links to games and is decent right now, but could use some expansion
The Elder Scrolls (RPG series)	Mid		Start	Mostly a list of the games of the series
Dead or Alive (video game series)	Low		B	Fixed. Greatly expanded, recently. Should be GA class.
Spyro the Dragon (series)	Low		Start	Quite goodly detailed... on the parts it has. Quite good but needs extending and updating.

Computer games

[edit] Computer games

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
3D Monster Maze	High	the 1st 3D game for a personal computer	FA
The 7th Guest	Mid	The very first computer game to only ship on CD-ROM (and two CD's at that). Mega hit when it first came out.	Start	Good gameplay and story section, but few references and a lot of needless lists.
Age of Empires	Mid		B
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings	Mid		B
Age of Empires III	Mid		GA
BioForge	Low	Ahead of its time, somewhat overlooked, 1995 interactive movie game	B	Is well referenced, but failed a GA nom due to one missing reference and minor POV
Civilization (computer game)	High	Megahit game (and one that changed the way we think about turn-based strategy) started a series that continues to this day.	B	No sources, but very applicable to the series as a whole (only played Civ4).
Colossal Cave Adventure	High	The very first story-based adventure game.	B
Command & Conquer	High	Popularized RTS games	Start	Not enough info, to much on Music
Command & Conquer: Red Alert	High	World record selling RTS game	Start	Not comprehensive, imbalanced, trivial, needs serious attention
Counter-Strike	High	One of the most popular multiplayer online games ever	B	Detailed, but needs references and some rewriting
Deus Ex	Mid	Recognized as an important evolution of the FPS/CRPG style of gameplay and winner of many awards	B
Diablo (computer game)	Mid		B	Also: Diablo 2
Doom	High	A seminal title in the history of the first-person shooter genre and one of the most recognized gaming franchises	FA
Duke Nukem 3D	Mid	Well-known satirical FPS	B	Lacks refs, some sections need rewrite, excessive external links
Duke Nukem Forever	Low	The most famous vaporware	GA	Not yet released
Dune II	High	It's the precursor to the C&C franchise and established a few precedents for the RTS genre.	B
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	Mid	One of the most well recieved games of 2006 and fastest selling XBox 360 game around console launch	B	Large and detailed but slightly negatively bias against it
Everquest	Mid		B
Fallout (computer game)	Low		Start
Half-Life	High	Introduced interactive and scripted events into gameplay. Won over 50 game of the year awards.	B	What's up with FPSs and both really detailed plot and weapons sections?
Half-Life 2	Mid		FA
Jet Set Willy	Mid	It was a significant developement in the platform game genre on the home micro.	Start
Klondike (solitaire)	Mid	Comes with Windows; most played game in the world	Start
KKnD	Low		Stub	Needs expansion badly: one of Red Alert's main competitors at its time
Lemmings (video game)	Low	Quite significant game in the 90s	B	Move to Amiga section if necessary
Lineage II	Low		Start	Lacks references.
Minesweeper (computer game)	Low	comes with Windows	Start
Manic Miner	Mid	The game is notable for being among the most important pioneers in platform game genre.	B
Myst	Mid	The best-selling computer game of all time until it was unseated by The Sims. Has a devoted fan following.	B
Myth	Mid	Revolutionary combat engine and paved way for modern RTS and RTT.	Start	Way too much game guide material, too many lists, should be split up into seperate articles.
NetHack	Low		B	Refs, but seems lacking. Crufty? I don't know.
The Oregon Trail (computer game)	Mid		B
Prince of Persia	Mid		Start	Disorganized, much info on other games in the series)
Quake	Mid	Revolutionized FPS and deathmatch multiplayer gaming	Start
Serious Sam	Mid	Brought a fresh, albeit simple, perspective into First Person Shooters which hadn't been seen since the days of Doom	B	Needs citations and more information, especially regarding reception and impact on the industry. Should probably be split up into several separate articles as well.
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
SimCity 2000	Low		Start
SimCity 3000	Low		Start
The Sims	High	The best selling computer game ever.	B	Needs to have a bit more depth to it
The Sims 2	Low	Sequal to the best selling computer game ever, cultural impact through music. Expanded to several platforms.	B	currently being rewritten with major clean-up.
Snake (video game)	Mid		Start
Spore (computer game)	Low		A	Not-released yet but has already received several awards.
StarCraft	Mid	First RTS with three totally different races; hugely popular and highly influential.	FA
Tomb Raider	High		Start
Ultima Underworld	Low		Start
Wolfenstein 3D	High	Hugely influential first-person shooter	B
World of Warcraft	High		B
Zork	High		Start

Arcade

[edit] Arcade

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Asteroids (computer game)	Low		Start	not much is given about the legacy and impact of the game
Berzerk	Mid		Start
Contra (arcade game)	Mid		B
Donkey Kong (arcade game)	High	Miyamoto's first game, created the characters of Donkey Kong and Mario.	FA
Galaga	Low	One of the most popular games of the time that still retains a high level of popularity in modern arcades (as of 2006)	B	Add sources and footnotes
Gradius	Mid		Start
Mario Bros.	Mid		B
Mortal Kombat (arcade game)	Mid	Console release helped establish the ESRB, drove Genesis sales	Start	Probably B-Class, but still has zero references as of August 2006.
NARC (arcade game)	Low		Start
NBA Jam	Mid		Start
Night Driver	Mid		Start
Pac-Man	High	One of the most iconic arcade games.	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	Mid		Start
PONG	High		B	Needs some slight re-org
Sega Rally Championship	Low		Start
Space Invaders	High	One of the first major arcade games.	B	Needs references formalized and in its own section.
Space Wars	Mid		Stub
Street Fighter II	Mid	Established the fighting genre.	B	Doesn't adequately address the game's historical importance or the impact of the game on popular culture. More references would help.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)	Mid		Start
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time	Mid		GA
Tempest (arcade game)	Mid		Start
Time Traveler	Low	A leap forward in arcade cabinet technology, albeit a flop with critics.	Start	Will require cleanup on technology aspects; include information on levels, characters, and plot.

Atari 2600

[edit] Atari 2600

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Adventure (Atari 2600)	High	First interactive adventure game on a home console	B	No references.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)	High	Considered the main cause of the Crash in '83.	A
Pac-Man (Atari 2600)	Low	First high profile port of one of the most popular games at the time that fell far short of expectations.	B
Pitfall!	Mid	One of the earliest platform games.	B

NES

[edit] NES

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Castlevania	Low		B	still needs some work (and refs)
Dragon Quest (video game)	Low	Launched the most popular RPG series in Japan, set standards for console RPGs.	Start
Final Fantasy (video game)	High	Saved Squaresoft from ruin, launched a major RPG series.	GA
Mega Man	Low		B	mostly lists, but OK
Mega Man 2	Low		Start	Needs some expansion and a smaller Notes section
Metroid	Mid		B	Has Plenty of info. Not enough gameplay info though.
The Legend of Zelda	High	Started the Zelda franchise, pioneer of the adventure genre.	B	pretty detailed
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!	Low		Start	Doesn't really cover the game's massive popularity in North America
Rad Racer	Low	Not only was it the NES's premier racer, but it sold nearly 2 million copies. It was also one of the few games to feature those 3-D glasses	B	Needs to be expanded
Super Mario Bros.	Top	Top selling video game series of all time, platforming standard.	GA	Besides a handful of small sections needing references, probably close to A-Class.
Super Mario Bros. 3	High	Highest selling stand-alone game, often cited as the best 2D platformer of all time.	B	Needs references.

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

[edit] Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle	Low		Start
Phantasy Star IV	Low		Start	Also: PS3 and PS2
Shining Force II	Low		Start	Also: Shining Force
Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)	High	Killer game for the Genesis. Started off the series	B	Could use more references, especially for the Versions and Hacks sections.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)	Mid	Best selling-game	B	Also: Sonic 3 and S&K
Streets of Rage	Low		Start

Super NES

[edit] Super NES

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Chrono Trigger	Mid	RPG tour de force for SNES	FA
Donkey Kong Country	Mid		Start	To much Speed Run info, not enough info on the game itself.
EarthBound	Mid	Although it did not sell well outside Japan, it has a large and dedicated fanbase.	B	Possibly to many lists. Plenty of info though.
Final Fantasy IV	Mid	Popular in all regions of release; 1.5 million copies sold in Japan initally	FA
Final Fantasy VI	Mid	Often considered by critics as the series' "high point."	FA
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	High	Considered by fans and critics as the best Zelda Game.	B
Mario Paint	Low		Start	To many sections with just one sentence.
Secret of Mana	Low		B
Star Fox	Low		B	Seems to cover everything, though not enough References.
Super Mario RPG	Mid		B	Needs more references, as well as gameplay info.
Super Mario World	High	Considered by some critics as best Mario game. Best selling SNES game.	B
Super Metroid	Mid	Widely considered as one of the best games ever	B
Super Mario Kart	Mid	Successful spin-off turned into a series	B	Not enough references
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island	Mid		B

PlayStation

[edit] PlayStation

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	Mid	Set the Metroid-esque tone of later GBA games	B	see CVG Peer Review
Chrono Cross	Low	Sequel to Chrono Trigger, received perfect 10 at Gamespot	FA
Crash Bandicoot	Low	Sony's attempt at a mascot.	Start	Needs more information.
Final Fantasy VII	High	Often tops "favorite" lists, popularized the series.	FA
Final Fantasy VIII	Mid	Popular game, generally well-received	FA
Final Fantasy IX	Mid	Notable for bringing the series back to it's roots and it's wacky art style.	GA
Gran Turismo (game)	Mid		Stub	Needs expansion
Metal Gear Solid	High	Popularized the stealth genre.	FA
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee	Mid		FA
Resident Evil (video game)	Mid	Popularized survivor horror; started the series	B	Some sections need cleanup (specially concerning the ports); references
Tekken 3			Start
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	Mid		Start
Xenogears			B	Needs some sources and perhaps a slight expansion in some areas.

Nintendo 64

[edit] Nintendo 64

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Conker's Bad Fur Day	Low		B
Goemon's Great Adventure	Low	Considered the highpoint of N64 sidescrollers	A	FA push once the plot is finalized
GoldenEye 007	High	Best-selling console FPS, introduced mission-based play	B	Needs refs, some sections need rewording
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Low	Virtually no impact compared to OoT.	FA
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	High	Set the standard for 3D adventure games, often cited as the best CVG of all time, first perfect Famitsu score	B	Plot section is too big; Triforce section needs references. Confusing to non-specialists. Recently downgraded from GA status.
Mario Kart 64	Low	Same league as Perfect Dark, extremely popular but not revolutionary. Mario franchise.	B	Recently downgraded from GA status.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon	Low	Considered first proto-RPG N64 title, a cross between Mario 64 and Zelda	FA
Perfect Dark	Low	Similar to GoldenEye 007, but neither more important nor more popular.	FA	Featured
Star Fox 64	Mid	First game to use Rumble Pak.	GA
Super Mario 64	High	Pioneer in 3D platformers, drove N64 sales	A	Recently downgraded from FA; weasel/peacock words
Super Smash Bros.	Mid	A popular, simple fighting game (traits that usually don't go together)	B	Lots and lots of lists.
Paper Mario	Mid	New, innovative graphical style; sequel to Super Mario RPG	B	Some sections need expanding; Characters section needs cleanup
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter	Low	Succesful third-party game. Three sequels, two in the N64	GA

PlayStation 2

[edit] PlayStation 2

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Final Fantasy X	Mid	Brought the series into the next generation	FA
Final Fantasy X-2	Mid		FA
Grand Theft Auto III	High	Popularized "sandbox" gameplay and Grand Theft Auto series, attracted controversy.	B	Article size is about 50kb. Most but not all information lack references. Possible need to include more information.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Mid	Hot Coffee controvesy.	GA
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Mid		Start
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec	Low	Sold a lot (14 million)	Start	Needs expansion
Ico	Low		Start
Katamari Damacy	Low		FA
Kingdom Hearts	Mid	High-profile Disney/Square mix	Start
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty	Low		B	Substantially more informative than previous versions of article. Needs reffing up.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	Low		FA
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht	Low		B	Almost a good article, though it needs a few sources.
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse	Low		B	See above. Also needs a slight expansion.

GameCube

[edit] GameCube

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Animal Crossing	Mid	"Communication game" unique and unlike most other games of the time	B	No references, some sections either need expansion or deletion.
Battalion Wars	Low	Part of the long-running Nintendo Wars series -- probably not too essential though.	B	To many lists.
F-Zero GX	Mid		GA
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker	High	Cel-shaded title in the Zelda franchise	FA
Metroid Prime	High	Successfully transitioned Metroid gameplay to 3D, much critical acclaim	GA
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	Low	Sequel to Paper Mario with interesting style and humor, but might not be essential	B	Needs references
Pikmin	Mid	Quirky and unique strategy game, possibly not essential	B	Needs more References
Resident Evil 4	High	received with extremely positive reviews and good sales	B
Star Fox Adventures	Low	Despite differing from the previous Star Fox, well-received	GA
Super Mario Sunshine	Mid	Sequel to Super Mario 64	B
Super Smash Bros. Melee	High	The best-selling GameCube game, a social phenomenon	B

Xbox

[edit] Xbox

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality
Halo: Combat Evolved	High	The killer app for the Xbox.	FA
Halo 2	Mid	Sequel to the bestselling game	GA
Jade Empire	Low		B
Project Gotham Racing 2	Low		Start
Shenmue II	Low		Start
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	Low		B

Xbox 360

[edit] Xbox 360

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Call of Duty 2	Mid	Most succesful launch title	B
Dead Rising	Low		B	Lists and quotes should be replaced\trimmed
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	Low		B
Gears of War	Low		B
Perfect Dark Zero	Low		B
Project Gotham Racing 3	Low		Start
Saints Row	Low

Wii

[edit] Wii

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Wii Sports			Start
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	Mid	Flagship launch title	GA

PlayStation 3

[edit] PlayStation 3

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Resistance: Fall of Man	Low		B

Game Boy

[edit] Game Boy

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Final Fantasy Legend	Low	The first RPG on the Game Boy (possibly the first RPG in handheld gaming)	Start
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening	Mid	First handheld Zelda, high acclaim and sales	B
Metroid II: Return of Samus	Mid	First handheld Metroid	B
Pokémon Red and Blue	High	Started a multi-billion dollar franchise	B	Needs more references. Also, reads slightly like an editorial. Strongly consider merge with Pokémon Green
Super Mario Land	Mid	First handheld Mario title, early Game Boy popular seller	GA	Could maybe do with fleshing out.
Tetris	Top	Best selling portable game.	B	Legal history of the game is very lacking, could do with a proper copy edit
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3	Low		Start

Game Boy Color

[edit] Game Boy Color

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Pokémon Crystal	Low		Start	Not enough references or info.
Pokémon Gold and Silver	Mid		B	No references
Pokémon Yellow	Low		B	No references.
Super Mario Deluxe	Low	Got almost a perfect grade from every critic.	B

Game Boy Advance

[edit] Game Boy Advance

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Advance Wars	Mid		Start	Needs more info
Golden Sun	Mid		B	Tons of info, few references.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap	Mid		B	Great info, but no References.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga	Mid		Start	No references, not enough info on gameplay, no boss info, to much plot info.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit	Low		B	Not enough character info, no references, some sections need to be expanded.
Metroid Fusion	Mid		B	No references, needs more boss info.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire	Mid		B	Needs more references
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$	Mid		Start	No references. Award section needs to be expanded. Needs more info on Minigames
WarioWare: Twisted!	Low	First game to use Gyro on GBA	Start	Needs much more information.

Nintendo DS

[edit] Nintendo DS

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Animal Crossing: Wild World	Mid	Made the series one of the most successful series of all time in Japan; its success led to a highly popular motion picture, million seller	B	Could use a copyedit. Trivia section is huge.
Brain Age	High		B	Inspired a new demographic of gamers, one of the DS' most successful, spawned a new "genre" (Touch! Generations), million seller
Kirby Canvas Curse	Mid	Considered the best Kirby game by many critics.	B	No references. needs more pictures.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time	Mid	Million seller, decent critical response	Start	Not enough info on Gameplay. To much info on Plot.
Mario Kart DS	Mid	Started Nintendo Wifi Connection, million seller, considered to be one of the best on DS (for instance, by Game Rankings)	B
Meteos	Low	Got a great deal of high ratings	B
Metroid Prime Hunters	Mid	Considered one of the best-looking DS games, with good reviews and sales exceeding 400,000	B	Has Weasel Words
New Super Mario Bros.	Mid	First Mario side-scroller in over 15 years, has done better than any Dragon Quest game in Japan, million seller, GotY in many places, one of the best-selling games on the DS in all regions	B	Plenty of info, not enough references.
Nintendogs	Mid	Top-selling DS game, million seller, increased the % of female DS owners, considered to be the DS' first mega-hit	B
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl	Mid	Top-selling game in Japan, while unreleased outside. Sales exceeding 4.5 million, fastest-selling Pokémon title ever, first Pokémon to have online play	GA
Super Mario 64 DS	Low	The best-selling and highest-rated launch game in all regions, million seller, first Mario game for the DS	B	Needs more references.
Tetris DS	Low	sales exceeding one million, first Tetris game developed by Nintendo since The New Tetris in 1999	B
WarioWare: Touched!	Mid	million seller, best-selling WarioWare game	Start
Yoshi Touch & Go	Low	Decent sales and okay reviews	B
Kirby: Squeak Squad	Mid	million seller, and might manage to outsell all other Kirbies released in recent generations (has already beaten Amazing Mirror and Nightmare in Dream Land in Japan in two months)	B
Mario Hoops 3-on-3	Low	sold exceptionally well in Japan and North America (reaching a figure of nearly 800,000), European release coming soon	Start
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon	Mid	million seller worldwide and in Europe for DS alone, nearly 800k in Japan, nearly 800k in NA	Start
Pokémon Ranger	Mid	million seller	Start
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney	Low	cult favorite, has sold well beyond Capcom's expectations and until recently, it had been selling out as fast as Capcom can put them on retail	B
Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop		million seller, best-selling third party DS game (needs article!)

Sony PSP

[edit] Sony PSP

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	Mid	Top-selling PSP game.	B	Short sections.
Lumines	Low		Start

Master System

[edit] Master System

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Alex Kidd in Miracle World	Mid	Built in to the Master System console in many distributions. Master System article claims it was top selling game.	Stub
Phantasy Star	Mid		Start
Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)	Low		Start	Needs to be expanded
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)	Low		Start

Saturn

[edit] Saturn

Article	Need	Quality
Burning Rangers	Low	Start
NiGHTS Into Dreams	Low	Start
Panzer Dragoon	Low	Start
Radiant Silvergun	Low	Start
Saturn Bomberman	Low	Start

Dreamcast

[edit] Dreamcast

Article	Need	Rationale	Quality	Comments
Jet Set Radio	Mid	Critically acclaimed, caused some controversy, pioneer in video game cel-shading style.	Start	Needs refs, expansion on gameplay.
Shenmue	Mid	Huge franchise for Sega, although generally considered a failure.	B
Skies of Arcadia	Mid	Third highest selling Dreamcast game. Highest rated and highest selling Dreamcast RPG.	Start
Sonic Adventure	High	Top-selling Dreamcast game. Transition of a very famous franchise to true-3D.	B	Huge trivia section. List of characters should probably be split off.
Soul Calibur	Mid	Killer app for the Dreamcast, arguably the most popular fighting game in recent times.	Start	Not much information on its popularity or importance in the life of the Dreamcast.
Virtua Tennis	Low	Not a major title, compared to other Sega Sports games.	Stub

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	2	10	19	11		42
	A	2		5	3		10
	GA	3	14	26	51	11	105
	B	30	96	220	325	391	1062
	Start	5	103	458	2205	3236	6007
	Stub		15	114	1965	7082	9176
	Assessed	42	238	842	4560	10720	16402
	Unassessed	0	0	0	1	159	160
	Total	42	238	842	4561	10879	16562

**Article progress grading scheme** **[ v • d • e ]**
Label	Criteria	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 editing is necessary unless new published information has come to light; but further improvements to the text are often possible.	Supernova (as of February 2007)
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 "hard" (peer-reviewed where appropriate) literature rather than websites. 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 good. 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, 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}}	Has several of the elements described in "start", usually a majority of the material needed for a completed article. Nonetheless, it has significant gaps or missing elements or references, needs substantial editing for English language usage and/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.	Munich air disaster (as of May 2006) has a lot of helpful material but contains too many lists, and needs more prose content & 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)

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