Tasked with selecting the best console games of all time, contributors of this year's Gamer's Edition reviewed hundreds of releases to compile a list of the top 50 titles ranked on their initial impact and lasting legacy.
The top three places on the winner's podium were allotted to Super Mario Kart, Tetris and Grand Theft Auto. Securing the first place on the coveted list is Super Mario Kart with the world's most prolific video game character, Mario, who has starred in more than 116 titles. As the best-selling racing game on the N64 (more than 9 million units sold), Super Mario Kart is also the best-selling racer on the SNES (8 million units), the Gamecube (nearly 7 million units) and the DS (10 million units). In second place, the world's most ported video game, Tetris, is available on at least 59 different gaming platforms receiving its high ranking because of its simplicity and devilish addictiveness. Third runner up, Grand Theft Auto holds the record for the most controversial series of games. It has received near-perfect scores in virtually every review and GTA IV has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling video game ever.
Number four to ten on the top list include, in ranking order, Super Mario World (#4), Zelda Ocarina of Time (#5), Halo (#6), Resident Evil IV (#7), Final Fantasy XII (#8), Street Fighter II (#9), GoldenEye (#10).
Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, said of the selection process: "We knew this would be a complex task so we invited a crack team of industry experts to form a judging panel - and the result is a "top 50" list of games ranked both on their importance and on how fun they are to play."
Graded in the subsequent forty spots, the list includes Super Mario 64 (# 11), Tomb Raider (#12). Metal Gear Solid (#13), Call of Duty 4 (#14), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (#15), GTA San Andreas (#16), Super Mario Bros (#17), Zelda: A Link to the Past (#18), Gran Turismo (#19), Final Fantasy VII (#20), Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (#21), The Orange Box (#22), Lego Star Wars Complete Saga (#23), Tekken 2 (#24), Wii Sports (#25), Pokemon Red/Blue (#26), Guitar Hero (#27), Project Gotham Racing 4 (#28), Super Mario Galaxy (#29), Resident Evil (#30), Ico (#31), Chrono Trigger (#32), Gunstar Heroes (#33), Soul Calibur (#34), Advance Wars (#35), Ridge Racer (#36), Super Metroid, (#37), Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (#38), GTA Vice City (#39), BioShock (#40), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (#41), The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (# 42), God of War (#43), Sega Rally Championship (#44), Starfox 64 (#45), Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (#46), WarioWare Inc (#47), Saturn Bomberman (#48), Crash Bandicoot (#49) and Outrun 2 (#50).
The newly-released Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition has already received critical acclaim from both the gaming world and the mainstream press, and the book climbed to the number one spot on the UK book charts last week. Gaming Guide Kotaku said: "With entries for professional gaming, top selling games in history, the history of hardware and Guitar Hero, the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition looks to be a must have for fans of gaming."