The Games That Shaped Video and Computer Entertainment (VG&CE - December 1989)

This is a six-page article that appeared in the December 1989 issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment (VG&CE) magazine. I came across it shortly after Game Informer (GI) released its top 300 games list and I thought it would be interesting to see what a magazine thought were the important games nearly 30 years earlier. Of course, GI's list, which I wrote a little about here, is a mix of staff favorites, well reviewed games, and those that are historically significant, whereas VG&CE's article is not the writer's favorite games or best selling games, simply games that had the biggest impact on the industry (through 1989 which for consoles is around the time the 16-bit generation hit North America).

If you don't want to read the whole article, I'll list the 12 games below. However, you might not understand all of VG&CE's choices without reading it. There are the usual arcade classics and early computer games but there is also a very odd choice at #8.

 

 

 

1. Pong
2. Space Invaders
3. Pac-Man
4. Defender
5. Zork
6. Flight Simultor
7. Wizardry
8. Smurf Rescue
9. Miner 2049er
10. Impossible Mission
11. Micro League Baseball
12. Defender of the Crown

If you're curious, the GI list includes half of VG&CE's choices: Pong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Defender, Zork, and Wizardry.