History OlderThanTheyThink / Videogames

* Apparently, Casual games that don't require one to constantly press buttons or have a zillion shortcuts, the apparent scourge of gaming (ignore the MTV-gamers of the [=PlayStation=] and Xbox -- they don't count) are a new thing with the Nintendo Wii. What's kind of sad is that even PC Gamers, supposed "smart gamers" are even saying this -- obviously they're ignoring the fact that not only have games that fit under the definiton of "Casual" like ''{{Snood}}'', ''{{Petz}}'', ''{{Bejeweled}}'' and ''DinerDash'' have been around for even longer than the Wii. Heck you can even argue that ''{{Tetris}}'' is a casual game.

* Apparently, Casual games that don't require one to constantly press buttons or have a zillion shortcuts, the apparent scourge of gaming (ignore the MTV-gamers of the [=PlayStation=] and Xbox -- they don't count) are a new thing with the Nintendo Wii. What's kind of sad is that even PC Gamers, supposed "smart gamers" are even saying this -- obviously they're ignoring the fact that not only have games that fit under the definiton of "Casual" like ''{{Snood}}'', ''{{Petz}}'' and ''DinerDash'' have been around for even longer than the Wii.

* The [[{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]] games are expansions on a comic by their creator, a comic called ''Capsule Monsters'' released in [[http://web.me.com/celebi23/Capsule_Monsters/Main.html 1975]]. He wasn't allowed to reuse the name in the 90s. [[JustifiedTrope It may have something to do with the comic and the Megami Tensei series]] [[NoExportForYou never getting released outside of Japan.]]

* Critics and fans are quick to label any sandbox that features driving and shooting a ''GrandTheftAuto'' clone. But the original ''GTA'' games were isometric, and ''GTA 3'' closely resembled, and has a continuing rivalry with, a game called ''{{Driver}}'' released two years prior. And then there's ''[[www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=512 Hunter]]'', which was released on the {{Amiga}} by {{Activision}} in ''1991''.

*** A relative newcomer then, given that Sega (yes, that Sega) was founded in 1940 in, of all places, Honolulu, Hawaii by three Americans to make coin operated amusements for visiting American GI's. It wasn't even moved to Japan until over a decade later, by another American named David Rosen who was associated with the company from the early 50's to the mid 90's. Sega's name isn't of Japanese origin either. It's an abbreviation for SErvice GAmes, the original name of the company.

* While one of the most recognizable quotes from ''{{Castlevania}}: SymphonyOfTheNight'' may be "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!", the (mis)quote is actually an old psychological aphorism, enough so to be refuted by French author and statesmen André Malraux in 1955.

** The first ever ''coin-op'' video game wasn't ''{{Pong}}'' either, but ''Computer Space'' a year earlier (by the same company, before they changed their name to Atari). However, ''{{Pong}}'' was the first ''successful'' coin-op. Atari later revamped ''Computer Space'' and rereleased it as ''{{Asteroids}}''.

* For a company that's known for making video games, many people are surprised when they learn {{Nintendo}} has been around since ''1889''. Naturally they weren't making video games all that time; they were originally a playing card company, and started with the game ''hanafuda''. Nintendo still makes playing cards and card games, even continuing to make ''hanafuda'' cards.

*** A relative newcomer then, given that Sega (yes, that Sega) was founded in 1940 in, of all places, Honolulu Hawaii.

** In the ''{{X-Play}}'' review for the American release of ''beatmania'', after giving it a poor score, co-host Morgan Webb accused it of being one of many ''GuitarHero'' rip-offs. This incident is remembered as a true WallBanger by Bemani fans for the above reasons.

** Similarily, it isn't hard to find fans who still think ''FinalFantasyVII'' is the first ever game in the series, despite the obvious number in the title. One reason why ''FinalFantasyVIII'' sold so well when it came out and quickly developed a {{Hatedom}} from the fans, was because they thought it was a sequel. A real Wallbanger, since the roman numeral "VII" stands for, well, you know...''[[CaptainObvious seven.]]'' Little do they know that around ''FFVII''[='s=] release, the series has been around for ''ten years''.

* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' [[WallBanger vs.]] {{DragonBall}} [[FanDumb argument]] has been going a long time over who invented the idea of seven gems (Chaos Emeralds vs. the Dragon Balls) uniting to create 'a miracle' but in truth neither of them invented it and it is seated in ancient mythology.

** And as time passes, ItGetsWorse. Many games coming out after WorldOfWarcraft were derided as "WoW-clones" for [[FollowTheLeader directly copying the systems and sometimes look]] of WorldOfWarcraft. There were some real problems with other companies trying to capitalize on the success but failing because they didn't actually understand what made the game great. However, it's now changed that the response to calling something a "WoW-clone" is "Well, it's an MMO! What else do you expect?" Which ignores the significant variety in games and playstyles that existed before or alongside WorldOfWarcraft that were also MMORPGs. Raids, quests, progressively more ridiculous equipment, linear storylines, etc. are now seen as the definition of MMOs, even though some of those were in completely unrecognizable forms or nonexistent altogether before WorldOfWarcraft.

***** Warhammer Fantasy came out in 1983; Warcraft: Orcs and Humans came out in 1992, so no, WHFB did not, in any way, "rip off" Warcraft. If you're referring to the (floundering) WHFB MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, bear in mind that much of the game's skill, group, raid, dungeon, quest and city infrastructure is pretty different from WorldofWarcraft, to the extent that many features that debuted with WAR have been incorporated into WoW. Yes, they're both still [=MMOs=] and WAR is going to be similar to WOW since it's become the TropeCodifier for [=MMOs=] as of late, but that's not "ripping off."

** There's a camp going around thinking that a lot of what ''Halo'' had done was done first for the FPS genre ''in general''. Vehicles? [[strike:''GoldenEye'']] [[strike:''Starsiege: Tribes'']] [[strike:''RedlineGangWarfare2066'']] [[strike:''Terminator: [=SkyNET=]'']] [[strike:''ShadowWarrior'']] the ''[[http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php?id=1429 Mercenary]]'' series on the {{Amiga}} had them, starting from 1988. RegeneratingHealth? The ill-fated ''Jurassic Park: {{Trespasser}}''. There's probably someone floating around thinking ''Halo'' might even be the ''first'' popular FPS game on a console.
*** While it is true that it didn't do alot of things FIRST, it did do them the BEST at the time. Oh, and the grenade system. Pretty sure that at least was a first (or another best, at least). Plus, the Regenerating and Medpack combo was most likely a first and the idea of the of the [=Grenade/Vehicle/Gun=] Rock-Paper-Scissors was a first and best. Just putting it out there, Halo might not have done everything first but that doesn't take away from the fact that alot of the things it's mistaken for doing first is because it did them in a new [=and/or=] functional way.
* Tell me if this game premise [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything reminds you of anything]]: Enemies are camping in a fortress made of solid blocks. You fling projectiles at said fortress, WreakingHavok and attempting to kill all the enemies with as few shots as possible. Sounds like ''AngryBirds'', doesn't it? A Flash game called ''Crush the Castle'' did it earlier, and even there, they got the idea from another game called ''Castle Clout''.

* In a strange version (both examples, the older and the newer are made by the same by the company) The Jjaro and maybe the W'rkncacnter first appeared in PathwaysIntoDarkness, not {{Marathon}}. Though, it's likely they're in the same 'verse.

* ''Ghen War'', a 1995 FirstPersonShooter for the [[SegaSaturn Saturn]] is a tragically unknown innovator in the genre. The game featured fully 3D environements and enemies a full year before {{Quake}} came out, extensive terrain deformation before ''RedFaction'' made it cool and something of a [[WalkItOff regenerating health system]].
* There's the belief that {{Quake}} is the first fully 3D (As in, drawing all aspects of 3D) FPS and SuperMario64 being the first full 3D Platformer when in fact a PlayStation launch title JumpingFlash came before them. And it was a hybrid of sorts.
* The "Boss Rush" phenomenon dates back to 1986, with Space Harrier. The last level was nothing but previous bosses.
* The developers of TheForceUnleashed spent a lot of time in pre-release interviews for the first game talking about how they'd incorporated a materials-system into their engine like it had never been done before and would revolutionize how objects in the environment react to physical force; [[HalfLife Half-Life 2]] did it four years earlier and to a much greater extent.

* Remember when the NPC daily schedules were touted as innovative in ''[[TheElderScrollsFour The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion]]?'' Sure, they were new for TheElderScrolls... but ''UltimaV'' already did it in 1988.

** Similarily, it isn't hard to find fans who still think ''FinalFantasyVII'' is the first ever game in the series, despite the obvious number in the title. One reason why ''FinalFantasyVIII'' sold so well when it came out and quickly developed a {{Hatedom}} from the fans, was because they thought it was a sequel. A real WallBanger, since the roman numeral "VII" stands for, well, you know...''[[CaptainObvious seven.]]'' Little do they know that around ''FFVII''[='s=] release, the series has been around for ''ten years''.

* Believe it or not, there were {{Sega}} titles for {{NES}}, before {{Sonic}} came to being, and LONG before the company left the [[SegaDreamcast console business]]. These, of course were ports made by other companies. Ports include, but are not limited to, FantasyZone, SpaceHarrier, and AfterBurner.

** Too many people seem to think that Halo first came up with ring shaped worlds, even though Ringworld used it at least 30 years before.
** Speaking of ''MetroidPrime'', it is often lauded for being the first MetroidVania FPS ever... but the truth is, the cult SegaSaturn FPS ''PowerSlave/Exhumed'' did it almost a decade earlier.
** There's a camp going around thinking that a lot of what ''Halo'' had done was done first for the FPS genre ''in general''. Vehicles? ''GoldenEye'' had them. Regenerating health? The ill-fated ''Jurassic Park: Trespasser''. There's probably someone floating around thinking ''Halo'' might even be the ''first'' popular FPS game on a console.
* So many people seem to be under the impression that Bahamut being portrayed as a dragon was from FinalFantasy, but it was done in DungeonsAndDragons long before FinalFantasy did it.

** Similarly, people often credit ''ResidentEvil'' for inventing SurvivalHorror, when all it did was invent that ''name'' for it and bring the genre into the mainstream. The ''AloneInTheDark'' series invented the actual gameplay model years earlier. Capcom's ''Sweet Home'' -- despite being a horror [=RPG=] -- also has elements of the genre, and predates ''Alone in the Dark'' by three years. And if you ''really'' want to stretch, you could even trace the lineage back as far as ''Haunted House'' for the Atari 2600.
*** The first Alone in the Dark plays almost the same as the first Resident Evil. But here is the best way to describe it and make perfect sense to anyone reading this: take a silent ghost movie and turn it into a 70's zombie movie -- there you have it.

* When you hear the name "Morrigan," what do you think of? A [[Darkstalkers fighting succubus]] or a [[DragonAge disapproving sorceress?]] But what about the ancient celtic triune goddess both characters were named after?

* Haters of FinalFantasyXII will probably tell you that Sakimoto is a new guy, or make the fallacy that FinalFantasyXII was his first work on the FinalFantasy series -- Ignoring FinalFantasyTactics and the FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance games...both of those predate FinalFantasyXII by 3 - 9 years. He's also by no means new to game development...you'll probably see his name (as well as Masharu Iwata) in the credits of any OgreBattle games, or Revolter, which was released in 1988. Way OlderThanTheyThink.
* Related to the above, most people will give you the impression that Nomura first started working with Square around FinalFantasyVII, and some may tell you he was working with them with FinalFantasyVI. Ignoring of course, that he was actually hired ''long'' before those games were even in production. Did you know he was actually working with the series as long ago as FinalFantasyIV? Sure he was only a debugger there, but did you also know he was a graphic designer in ''FinalFantasyV'', too? And ChronoTrigger? And SuperMarioRPG? ''And'' ParasiteEve and BraveFencerMusashi.
* FinalFantasyX is often credited as Squaresoft's first game on the PS2 -- ''TheBouncer'' predates it by a year.
** FinalFantasyVII is also recognized as Squaresoft's first game on the PlayStation. A fighting game by the name of Tobal No.1 came out in 1996, complete with a demo of FFVII.

***** Warhammer Fantasy came out in 1983; Warcraft: Orcs and Humans came out in 1992, so no, WHFB did not, in any way, "rip off" Warcraft. If you're referring to the (floundering) WHFB MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, bear in mind that much of the game's skill, group, raid, dungeon, quest and city infrastructure is pretty different from WorldofWarcraft, to the extent that many features that debuted with WAR have been incorporated into WoW. Yes, they're both still MMOs and WAR is going to be similar to WOW since it's become the TropeCodifier for MMOs as of late, but that's not "ripping off."

* The Pokémon games are expansions on a comic by their creator, a comic called ''Capsule Monsters'' released in [[http://web.me.com/celebi23/Capsule_Monsters/Main.html 1975]]. He wasn't allowed to reuse the name in the 90s. [[JustifiedTrope It may have something to do with the comic and the Megami Tensei series]] [[NoExportForYou never getting released outside of Japan.]]

** Speaking of... Atari is NOT the first home game system, that goes to the Magnovox Odyssey.
** Nor is the Atari VCS (a.k.a. Atari 2600) the first console to use ROM cartridges -- that honor belongs to the Fairchild Channel F. (The "cartridges" used in the original Magnavox Odyssey were basically just a block of jumpers that connected various pins together inside the Odyssey to select a particular game; all the games the Odyssey could ever play were already contained in the main unit. The Odyssey2, which ''did'' use ROM-containing game carts, didn't come out until a couple of years after the VCS.)

* Critics and fans are quick to label any sandbox that features driving and shooting a ''GrandTheftAuto'' clone. But the original ''GTA'' games were isometric, and ''GTA 3'' closely resembled, and has a continuing rivalry with, a game called ''{{Driver}}'' released two years prior.
** Similarly, some people believe that the series started with ''GrandTheftAutoIII''. Conveniently forgetting the number three in the title.

* Every third-person shooter with a cover system is doomed to be compared to ''GearsOfWar''. This in spite of Gears' developers openly admitting on several occasions that they got the mechanic from an obscure PS2 game called ''Kill Switch''.
** There was an earlier game on the N64 called Operation: Winback with a similar cover system.
** All of this ignores that many such games featured "leaning" mechanics, allowing players to effectively utilize cover by only exposing a minimal portion of their avatar when returning fire.

* The street racing franchise ''NeedForSpeed did not actually start at Underground, contrary to what many people (and some gaming magazines and websites) believe. Underground was indeed the first ricer game in the franchise, but there were a '''few''' NFS games that preceeded Underground: Need for Speed 1 (+ SE), 2 (+ SE), Hot Pursuit, High Stakes, Porsche Unleashed, Hot Pursuit 2, an early racing MMO called Need for Speed Motor City Online and two rebrands of the V-Rally franchise. They were all very successful, too, until the failure of Hot Pursuit 2 prompted a franchise reboot. The key difference was that you couldn't tune your car, so they are considered "uncool" today by the fans of the franchise's later games.

** B) The concept predates ''Guitar Hero'' by at least 8 years: Konami's ''Guitar Freaks'' was first released in 1998.

*** For Hardcore Mature Material, you have Alicesoft. The Rance series has been running since 1989. Second Longest running adult series, after Leisure Suit Larry.
** There were also pornographic games on the Atari. (If you can call them that) Beat 'em and eat 'em, Philly Flasher, Cathouse Blues, Jiggolo, Custer's Revenge, Westard Ho...and that's not even scratching the surface.
** BubbleBathBabes, anyone? What about MonsterParty, which features gore? Or BionicCommando which has hitler's head explode in gory detail?

* Customizing ''{{Counter-Strike}}'' servers to add the ''UnrealTournament'' "Headshot!" "Multi kill!" "Killing spree!" etc. sound effects has become such a wide-spread practice that many CS players, unaware of the now-less-popular game, conclude that they are "CS sounds." (Note that, while Counter-Strike, in its original form, is in fact slightly ''older'' than ''Unreal Tournament'', the use of the sound bytes in the former is the result of server mods, is not part of the game itself, and were obviously added after the release of UT.)

* Many people believe that the first version of Hudson Soft's ''{{Bomberman}}'' was on the Nintendo Famicom in 1987. There were actually at least two earlier versions: a version for the Sinclair ZXSpectrum in 1983, released both as ''Bomber Man'' (two words) and as ''Eric and the Floaters'' (the latter being the more widely known name); and a version for the Amstrad [=CPC464=] which Hudson demonstrated (on a smart-card system which they were also demonstrating) in 1984.

* You know that TitleDrop scream in the theme for the movie adaptation of ''MortalKombat''? It actually debuted in the commercial for the console ports.

** Similarily, it isn't hard to find fans who still think ''FinalFantasyVII'' is the first ever game in the series. One reason why FinalFantasyVIII sold so well when it came out and quickly developed a {{Hatedom}} from the fans, was because they thought it was a sequel. A real WallBanger, since the roman numeral "VII" stands for, well, you know...''[[CaptainObvious seven.]]'' Little do they know that around FFVII's release, the series has been around for ''ten years''.
* There are people who think Sephiroth from ''FinalFantasyVII'' is the first "Effeminate villain" (and he honestly isn't even ''that'' effeminate compared to some of these examples). Obviously you can tell who has probably never seen the art for the [[BigBad Emperor]] of ''FinalFantasyII''.

* Hey, DrawnToLife is ''so'' innovative, never mind that ''Magic Pengel'' and ''GraffitiKingdom'' did that concept 5-7 years ago. In 3D!
* ''KingdomHearts'' has this theme about memories, huh? Well a similar theme was done in ''{{Persona}}'' 2 a couple years ago...and that's not even counting the amounts of shortstories about similar themes that have probably existed long before Nyarlathotep tried to manipulate Jun's memories....
** Speaking of Nyarlathotep, the [[HPLovecraft first appearance]] of the Crawling Chaos certainly wasn't in the {{Persona}} or ShinMegamiTensei games, despite what some people seem to believe.
* The''{SonicTheHedgehog'' [[WallBanger vs.]] {{DragonBall}} [[TooDumbToLive argument]] has been going a long time over who invented the idea of seven gems (Chaos Emeralds vs. the Dragon Balls) uniting to create 'a miracle' but in truth neither of them invented it and it is seated in ancient mythology.

* ''JakeHunterDetectiveStory'' was criticized for being a cheap cash-in on Capcom's ''AceAttorney'' series by many professional critics, even though it's actually a localization of the latest installment of an older detective game series known as ''Detective Saburo Jinguji'', which dates back to the original Famicom (long before the GBA debut of ''Gyakuten Saiban'' in Japan). Part of the blame can be placed on Aksys' themselves for cutting half of the game's content and their arguably unnecessary decision to Americanize the game's storyline (whereas ''Ace Attorney'' is filled with numerous [[PunnyName pun-based names]] that wouldn't had translated well if they were kept in Japanese, the Jinguji series on the other hand has a decidedly more serious tone, as well as settings that are obviously based on real Japanese locations such as Shinjuku). They later re-released the game with a newer (but still Americanized) translation and all of the missing content restored, but the damage has already been done.

*** AND [[{{Recca}} RECCA]]?! Yeah, one year ''before'' Batsugun...

* ''HarvestMoon'' is a FarmVille rip-off. Yes, there are people who believe so.

* WorldInConflict was widely praised for it's brand new original resource and recruitment system, even though the creators had previously used the exact same system for GroundControl 2.
** Or the free style camera control, which dated back to the original GroundControl.

* Young'uns these days credit Blizzard with creating the first MMORPG; others just as misguided will correct them and refer to Everquest. Ultima Online was the first game specifically referred to as an MMORPG; prior to the naming, they were called graphical Multi-User Dungeons (MUDS), the earliest examples of which date back to the 80s! The first fully graphical multiplayer RPG was AOL's Neverwinter Nights back in 1991, compare to Ultima Online's 1997 release. Oh, it's great fun to tell stories of games prior to WoW, where players could kill other, unconsenting players and ''take their possessions as loot'', be hunted as criminals and banned from towns as ''murderers''! Imagine losing stats permanently when dying, rushing back to your corpse (''after'' someone resurrected you) before someone looted it, compared to zipping right back and popping back up, fully equipped and at half health and mana.

* Newer gamers, or at least outsiders to the PC gaming market, seem to believe ''DragonAge'' was BioWare's first foray into the fantasy RPG subgenre, unaware they did it a decade earlier with the BaldursGate saga, the TropeCodifier for all of their subsequent games, ''DragonAge'' included, not to mention that it was infact the game's spiritual successor.

* At least some people think that the "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again" joke originated from one of the GrandTheftAuto games.
* Remember when the NPC daily schedules were touted as innovative in ''[[TheElderScrollsFour The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion]]?'' Sure, they were new for TheElderScrolls... but ''UltimaV'' already did it in 1988.

* At least some people think that the "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again" joke originated from one of the GrandTheftAuto games.

* The developers of TheForceUnleashed spent a lot of time in pre-release interviews for the first game talking about how they'd incorporated a materials-system into their engine like it had never been done before and would revolutionize how objects in the environment react to physical force; [[HalfLife Half-Life 2]] did it four years earlier and to a much greater extent.

* The "Boss Rush" phenomenon dates back to 1986, with Space Harrier. The last level was nothing but previous bosses.

* WorldInConflict was widely praised for it's brand new original resource and recruitment system, even though the creators had previously used the exact same system for GroundContol 2.

*** And don't call me Shirly.

** Needless to say, Emo's existed (both as a musical genre and as a visual style) since the 1980s.

* For all its popularity, many people assume that ''[=~Pokémon~=]'' is the first {{Mons}} collection/raising game; those people forget that ''[[ShinMegamiTensei Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei]]'' was released in the ''eighties''. It also wasn't the first Mons anime; ''Megami Tensei'' had an {{OAV}} in 1987.
** The Pokémon games are expansions on a comic by their creator, a comic called ''Capsule Monsters'' released in [[http://web.me.com/celebi23/Capsule_Monsters/Main.html 1975]]. He wasn't allowed to reuse the name in the 90s. [[JustifiedTrope It may have something to do with the comic and the Megami Tensei series]] [[NoExportForYou never getting released outside of Japan.]]
** Good luck trying to submit anime-styled pictures of monsters on DeviantArt. Apparently Pokémon also invented ''monsters''.

* ''RedFaction'' is often credited as being the first game to feature extensive terrain deformation via the Geo-Mod engine, something the 1995 Saturn FPS ''Ghen War'' also did. ''Ghen War'' also had a [[WalkItOff regenerating health]] system, though implemented a bit differently than most.

* There's the belief that {{Quake}} is the first fully 3D (As in, drawing all aspects of 3D) FPS and SuperMario64 being the first full 3D Platformer when in fact a PlayStation launch title JumpingFlash came before them. And it was a hybrid of sorts.