In celebration of National Video Game Day, National Today conducted a survey of 1000 Americans through a Portland PR Firm to determine which video game franchise is the best. The results are a mix of predictable titles and entries that seem to come entirely out of left field, but are rather enjoyable to look at.
National Video Game Day is uniting gamers online today, as they share their own opinions on what the best video game is, or how video games have affected their lives.
In addition to specific video game franchises, the survey also asked participants to pick their favorite between Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. Interestingly, PlayStation and Xbox both tied at 38% while Nintendo came in at third place with just 21%. Even so, the list below is seemingly dominated by Nintendo games.
The number one video game listed by these 1000 participants should come as no surprise to anyone. Super Mario garnered 47% of the votes, placing it in the number one spot for best video game franchise. Trailing behind the mustachioed plumber quite a bit is Call of Duty with 21% of votes, less than half of what Mario and gang got.
Third and fourth place are rather close, both coming in at 19% (though they are likely ordered in this way due to inconsistencies caused by rounding), and are Donkey Kong and Grand Theft Auto respectively. Somewhat surprisingly, Donkey Kong is more popular than the fifth place spot, Pokemon, which earned 16% of the vote.
Sixth and seventh place are another “tie” in which both entries rounded to 13%. The honor of sixth place goes to yet another Nintendo game, however, as The Legend of Zelda barely edged out its competitor, Sonic The Hedgehog, which fell in seventh place. Eighth and ninth place are also tied, each coming in at 9% and easily deserving a place in the top 10. Final Fantasy claims the eighth spot on the list, as it effectively defined the JRPG genre, and Halo comes in at nine, since it effectively defined the original Xbox console.
Of all of this, the most surprising entry is the tenth and final one, Crash Bandicoot with 7%. This is to say nothing bad about Crash Bandicoot, as those games are genuinely awesome, but it is mind boggling how it somehow managed to surpass other popular franchises like The Elder Scrolls or even another Naughty Dog game like The Last of Us.
Source: National Today
