Rather than compile the list from staff writers and editors, Game Informer opened the voting to its' readers. What follows is their list of the top 100 greatest video games of all time, which appeared in issue #100 (Aug 2001). Be aware the voting wasn't scientific or structured... some readers voted for a single game, others voted for as many as 244. The editors only stepped in when there was a tie. An exact count wasn't published, but they said there were "thousands" of votes.

As much as I like the results (NES #1!!), we need to consider a few factors in the voting. First of all, not every voter owns every system, and therefore hasn't played every game. I could only vote for games from the NES, Colecovision, and early arcade days, so nothing from the SNES, N64, Playstation, Dreamcast, et al would show up on my ballot. Obviously, that's not fair to those games and systems. The NES and Playstation are two of the top-selling systems of all time. So are they the top-sellers because they have so many great games, or did their games get so many votes because they're so common?

Another factor to consider is income. Consider the 3DO... the original retail price was nearly $700. Who could afford that? The games won't get many votes if few can afford the system. Furthermore, what about the age of the average Game Informer reader? I'd guess in the 15-25 range, which means voting would be skewed toward games of the last 10 years or so. In that light, it's amazing that 3 Atari 2600 games garnered enough votes. Being an older gamer, I remember lots of great games from the early arcade days, such as Space Invaders, Asteroids, Galaxians, Missile Command, Pole Position, Defender, Dragon's Lair, and more. Which brings another question to mind...

How do you define "great"? Is it innovation? Influence? Fun? Challenge? Graphics? (Yes, some kids think great graphics mean it's a great game). Everyone has a definition. Pac Man didn't make the list, but it's impact is undeniable. Solitaire on the PC, arguably the most played video game in recent history, received a single vote. On the flip side, I'm stunned that Pro Wrestling made the top 100. We could go on and on about which games got too many votes and which ones didn't get enough. But regardless, lists are fun, and that's why I have so many here at Grand NEStral Station. Enjoy!

Geez, I tend to ramble.