10 Video Games That Revolutionized the Industry

Let’s go ahead and get Pong out of the way up front. Yes, the table-tennis game for arcades and Ataris was a game-changer, and your older brother or parents thought it was awesome, but everyone knows that already. What about the other games that pushed the field in new directions? Some of them are major titles recognizable to people who’ve never picked up a controller in their lives and whose eyes glaze over when you talk about 8-bit versus 16-bit; other games, though, are below-the-radar smashes, responsible as much for influencing the field than capturing an audience. These are the games that did more than entertain players. They redefined what it meant to play a video game, and they took story and graphics to fantastic new places. They revolutionized the industry, and they were — and are — worth your time, money, and extra lives.