I’m a simple man. I don’t mean that I’m a bit “Forrest Gump” and lack a half-decent IQ, I mean I like things kept as uncomplicated as possible. I don’t ask for much out of life, a cuddle from my kids, a bit of nookie with my lass, the occasional beer and people to know something about the subject that they are covering. A while back, Rolling Stone magazine put out a list of the 50 greatest videogames of all time. A list that contained (and I quote) “the titles that have defined the culture”. Defined gaming culture is the important part. It was a terrible list that hardly had any gaming culture defining titles on it. It annoyed me so much that I felt the need to write my own article as a rebuttal.

Alas, history tends to repeat itself. No, Rolling Stone have not put out an even worse list (I’m not even sure if that is possible), BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) have published a list of the Most Influential Video Game of All Time. I have no idea why the British Academy Film Awards are covering videogames, but here we are. Here’s the main article covering BAFTA’s pick of the Most Influential Video Game of All Time, and I will be pointing out a massive oxymoron a bit further along. But before all of that, here are all the games, in a countdown-type list.

21. Grand Theft Auto (1997), 20. Skyrim (2011), 19. Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001), 18. Dark Souls (2011), 17. Final Fantasy VII (1997), 16. Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), 15. World of Warcraft (2004), 14. Metal Gear Solid (1998), 13. Pong (1972), 12. Tomb Raider (1996), 11. Tetris (1984), 10. The Sims (2000), 9. Half-Life 2 (2004), 8. Super Mario 64 (1996), 7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025), 6. Minecraft (2011), 5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), 4. Half-Life (1998), 3. Super Mario Bros. (1985), 2. Doom (1993), 1. Shenmue (1999).

No, I don’t know why it is 21 games, seems like an odd number. Anyway, I honestly don’t think that, as an overall list, this is anywhere nearly as bad as the Rolling Stone one. There are some genuinely influential videogames there, no doubt about it. But, there are some questionable entries too. Tetris is a great call. Confession time from me, I don’t like the game and never have. But yeah, Tetris is one of the most influential videogames of all time, I agree. Now, any list of “most influential videogames of all time” has to have Pong on it. It doesn’t matter if you like the game or not, it’s influence is inarguable – it created gaming culture. Pong was not the first videogame ever, but it was the first to kickstart the entire gaming craze. For me, Pong would be number 1 because it didn’t just kickstart the gaming craze, it influenced a massive number of game designers, devs and coders. And it turn, this built gaming studios. For instance, did you know that John Romero has gone on record as saying that him playing games like Asteroids and Pong in the arcade as a kid influenced him to get into making games? This brings me to the next title.

Doom, fuck yeah. I know first-hand how influential Doom is, because it influenced me to write a book about it’s 30 year legacy. Of course, it’s not just about the persona factor, Doom influenced the gaming world massively (read my book for more details). Now, I’m not going to go through the whole BAFTA list, but I do agree with some of it… some. The original Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, Tomb Raider and Minecraft? Yeah, I can see how they influenced. But there are some dubious picks here. Super Mario Bros.? I would agree that the game is influential but where’s Donkey Kong? If not for Donkey Kong, then Mario and even Nintendo themselves would not exist. Speaking of which, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I love this game… but it wouldn’t exist of not for the more influential and original The Legend of Zelda. 

Half-Life and Half-Life 2? Not at all. You could argue that they are good shooters (I personally couldn’t stand the first game, the sequel was a massive improvement), but they were hardly influential. Other FPS were doing the same kind of thing and usually better too. The only thing that Half-Life 2 has influenced is an almost endless number of comments and memes about the lack of Half-Life 3. Dark Souls? Nope. Demon’s Souls came first and was the main influence behind Dark Souls. Many would even argue that Demon’s Souls was the better game too. The Sims would not exist without Little Computer People that was released 15 years before. I fail to see how one can list “influential” games, but not the titles that those games were influenced by.

Where’s Pac-Man? Not only did Pac-Man use AI on the ghosts and lead the way for programmable AI enemies from that point on, it was the first game to include cut scenes to tell a story. Pac-Man was also the first gaming mascot and the character moved into other mediums. Merchandise, music, TV and more. Other studios saw the popularity of the Pac-Man character and began to develop their own mascots. There would be no Mario or Sonic without Pac-Man. Do you own a gaming T-shirt, a plushie, a figure, etc? All down to the Pac-Man game breaking out of the world of gaming and into world of merchandise.

In what way is Baldur’s Gate 3 one of the most influential videogames of all time that the previous two games and various spin-offs weren’t? This brings me to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. This was only released a couple of months back, it hasn’t had time to become one of the most influential videogames of all time. Gaming has existed for over 50 years, so two months is nothing. Both Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 are way too new to be considered as the most influential videogames of all time, they’re both still foetuses in the grand scheme of gaming. The only reason they are on the list is because they are currently popular, not because they’re influential.

This all brings me to the number one pick… Shenmue, the most influential videogame of all time? Fuck right off with that. Before I dissect why, I need to bring up another article. ITV News covered this list and even spoke to someone at BAFTA about the number 1 pick, and I want to take a look at a few quotes from that article.

ITV News: “In what later became a successful franchise, SEGA’s 1999 entry to the series is described by Bafta as both a “pioneer” and “blueprint” for future open-world games.”

Nope, I’m not having it. As someone who likes to write, the use of English is very important to me. Pioneer means to be the first to do something. Shenmue was not the first open-world game, as described in that quote. This BAFTA list has the original Grand Theft Auto in it. and open-world game that came before Shenmue. so the list is contracting itself. How can Shenmue be both a “pioneer” and “blueprint” for future open-world games (as quoted) when there are games that were pioneering and blueprinting the genre before it? Even the original GTA wasn’t the first open-world title. In terms of open-word games… where’s Elite on this list? The game that did revolutionise 3D (wireframe) graphics and open-world gaming?

BAFTA spokesperson: “Its pioneering approach to creating an ‘open-world’ game environment has been fundamental to the design of many of the industry’s biggest titles and franchises since.”

There’s that word again, “pioneering”. Shenmue did not pioneer open-world gaming or environments. We already had numerous open-world games long before Shenmue. What Shenmue did was to take a lot of pre-existing game ideas and mechanics, and mush them into one game. It didn’t pioneer, it copied.

BAFTA spokesperson: “Its implementation of key design concepts including the use of quick time events.”

Dragon’s Lair was doing QTEs in 1983, long before Shenmue was. And the QTE mechanic was used a great many times between Dragon’s Lair and Shenmue too. They just were not called QTEs at the time.

Head of Product PR at SEGA Europe: “Shenmue is a game that defies conventional gaming labels, drawing in elements from genres such as open-world gaming, RPGs, fighting games and so on”

Wait, Shenmue “defies conventional gaming labels”, then this spokesperson applied multiple, gaming labels to it? How does it defy gaming labels when, in the very same sentence, you labelled it?

ITV News: “When asked why a lesser-known game like Shenmue ranked higher than classic titles like Mario and Tomb Raider, a Bafta spokesperson said mainstream popularity was just one factor to consider. “Shenmue may not be as widely known as some of the other titles in this list, but it’s had a profound influence on game making and design,” said Bafta.”

This is where I can bring up the massive oxymoron I alluded to before. Shenmue is described as being “lesser known” here. This BAFTA list was compiled following a public vote. So if Shenmue is “lesser known” compared to other games on the list… how did the public vote for it as the number one? That makes no sense. The very fact that Shenmue beat out other (and much more deserving titles) to be crowned “Most Influential Video Game of All Time” means that is had to be well known… right?

I’m not saying that Shenmue didn’t influence, it did. But he “Most Influential Video Game of All Time”? Come on! Shenmue is topping the list because its a much-loved game on a much-loved (and failed) gaming console, not because of it’s influence as a game. As I said before, I agree with some of this BAFTA list and there are some definite and massively influential titles on it. In one way, I’m not as angry with this list as I was with that awful Rolling Stone one. But this is a case of “swings and roundabouts”. The Rolling Stone list was infuriating because it was just thrown together by people working at Rolling Stone who (clearly) knew nothing about videogames. This BAFTA list is different because it came from a public vote. I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed by the gaming public.

If the public have voted Shenmue as the “Most Influential Video Game of All Time”, then I’m quite concerned that the public seem to know less about gaming then Rolling Stone does. You can say that Shenmue helped to shape the already existing open-world genre, but it didn’t pioneer it. As I said, gaming is over 50 years old. A lot of games have been released in that time, to be the “Most Influential Video Game of All Time”, that game really does need to be truly pioneering… Shenmue isn’t it. Unless it got voted number 1 because when it comes to looking for sailors, Shenmue is the most influential videogame.

Mind you, the BAFTA spokesperson seems to think that Shenmue is “not as widely known”… while was voted number one over much more known titles (oxymoron). Stick to films BAFTA, or at least hire people who know something about the subject they are talking about. A quick reminder that a BAFTA poll once had Lara Croft as the “most iconic video game character of all time” (oh dear!). Hey BAFTA, if you’re looking for someone who knows about gaming, I’m available for a decent salary.