Support NeoGAF

[DunDunDunpachi]

In case you can't remember off the top of your head:

List of video game console launch games

This is an incomplete list of launch games for various video game consoles. Although most launch titles were released synchronously with the system they were released for, some games were released prior to the actual system release: for example, Dragon Quest Monsters was released on the Game Boy...

gamicus.gamepedia.com

Interested to see GAF's distribution.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

None. A lot of people liked Resogun at the time, I wonder if it's held up.

EDIT I forgot about Oblivion.

 

[Stilton Disco]

2, but only on technicalities.

1) Twilight Princess is one of the best Wii games, but is crossgen and better on Gamecube.

2) Breath of the Wild, but that's obviously because the Switch launched midgen after the game had been in development on the WiiU for the first half.

But if we're talking purely next gen only launch games, then fuck no. The really good stuff only comes once devs are able to really go to town with what the new hardware is really capable of.

 

[xpresstuning]

Original Xbox - Halo: Combat Evolved. This one probably comes the closest to the topic, i could see it as a reasonable mention as "GOTG", despite how ridiculously packed the 6th generation was later down the line. I haven't forgotten about Dreamcast's Soul Calibur, which was an incredible sight to behold and play, but it doesn't compete.

As for any other generation .. no. I can barely count a few launch titles that are actually good games, let alone name them as some of the best of a specific generation. Most of them suck ass.

 

[Laconian Sword]

I ended up putting a ton of hours into Battlefield 4 on PS4 even though I hadn't seriously played an FPS for something like 10 years before then. Loved it so much despite the bugginess in the beginning, got all the expansions, and even had the loadout mobile app. Definitely a top game of the generation for me.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Some that come to mind for me are Soul Calibur on Dreamcast and Halo: CE on Xbox. There are a few others like Super Mario World / 64. These all held up over the lifespan of the system even as sequels came out.

 

[SpartanN92]

Halo and Mario 64 are my only two.

 

[Tesseract]

 

[xpresstuning]

Some that come to mind for me are Soul Calibur on Dreamcast and Halo: CE on Xbox. There are a few others like Super Mario World / 64. These all held up over the lifespan of the system even as sequels came out.

I actually forgot about Nintendo. I think the 4th generation slipped my mind completely. I would absolutely see Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 reasonable mentions as "GOTG", as well as Super Mario Bros. for the NES actually.

 

[poodaddy]

I was so ready to just answer quickly without thinking about it, and my initial thought was that there wasn't many. Then I sat and really reviewed the list.....actually yeah a ton of launch games for various generations, (NES, Dreamcast, N64), are in my top 3 for that gen. Honestly wasn't expecting that. I guess sometimes they really do kind of front load the great games, but in general I think the most innovative and impressive games come around the end of a gen or near the mid way point.

 

[Eevee86]

A few Mario and Zelda games is all I can think of.

 

[Stuart360]

The only one you could make a genuine case for would be Halo CE on Xbox.
Mario 64 was fantastic, but N64 had like 10-15 similar level games over the course of its life.
All the other consoles, i'd say no.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I was so ready to just answer quickly without thinking about it, and my initial thought was that there wasn't many. Then I sat and really reviewed the list.....actually yeah a ton of launch games for various generations, (NES, Dreamcast, N64), are in my top 3 for that gen. Honestly wasn't expecting that. I guess sometimes they really do kind of front load the great games, but in general I think the most innovative and impressive games come around the end of a gen or near the mid way point.

Yeah when I looked back through I realized PS2 had Tekken Tag Tournament at launch, another gotg.

 

[M1chl]

Killzone: Shadow Fall without a question. Killzone had to die for that ubishit, it's sad.

 

[-Arcadia-]

I think Mario 64 and Halo were the last legitimate ones.

Nintendo keeps sliding by Zelda games on a technicality (hardware hasn’t changed too much, game already in development for years), but it doesn’t seem feasible to create those kinds of launch titles anymore.

 

[poodaddy]

Yeah when I looked back through I realized PS2 had Tekken Tag Tournament at launch, another gotg.

Oh shit you're right man, I fuckin love that game.

Random point that has nothing to do with this thread: Why the fuck hasn't Namco released Tag 2 on Switch with all the exclusive Nintendo content that the Wii U port got? I want Tag 2 on the go dammit.....

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Oh shit you're right man, I fuckin love that game.

Random point that has nothing to do with this thread: Why the fuck hasn't Namco released Tag 2 on Switch with all the exclusive Nintendo content that the Wii U port got? I want Tag 2 on the go dammit.....

Maybe holding off for Tekken Tag Tournament 3

 

[Bonfires Down]

Battlefield 4 and Breath of the Wild.

 

[JimiNutz]

Tetris
Halo CE
Condemned Criminal Origins
Motorstorm
Breath of the Wild

If I owned a N64 then I'm sure Mario 64 would be on my list too (am playing through it currently and can understand how awesome it would have been all those years ago).

 

[Birdo]

A few. Oblivion, Mario 64, Ridge Racer.

 

[diffusionx]

Soul Calibur
Super Mario 64
Knack

You know, the obvious ones

 

[Vandole]

Tetris on the Gameboy
Super Mario World on the SNES
Blitz 2000 on DC
Wii Sports on the Wii

 

[iconmaster]

Since Combat for the Atari 2600, I count seven:

Combat
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario World, F-Zero
Super Mario 64
Wii Sports
Breath of the Wild (Switch)

(SNES launch was incredible. SimCity and Pilotwings were also launch titles; ActRaiser very nearly so.)

 

[M1chl]

Also, damn....one of my favorite games of all time, Condemned Criminals Origins....

 

[MrS]

Champ Man 01/02 on OG Xbox
Halo of course
I would argue in favour of Resogun

 

[EverydayBeast]

Gamers are reacting nicely to Ratchet and Spider-Man, Last of Us 2 should have been a launch game

 

[01011001]

nowadays that's just not happening, and I am bot counting stuff like BotW and Twilight Princess because those were simply ports of last gen games.

BUT back in the day that was absolutely something that was very common.

Super Mario Bros
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Hydro Thunder
Soul Calibur
Halo CE

are just a few that were very much beloved and great games that were all launch titles.

 

[ZippyTheOtter]

None?

Gamers are reacting nicely to Ratchet and Spider-Man, Last of Us 2 should have been a launch game

We're getting enough tlout2 drama, please don't imagine a new console world on top of it.

 

[RCU005]

Super Mario 64 - N64
Twilight Princess - Wii

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

How is anyone saying less than 3?

Super Mario 64
Super Mario World
Halo CE
Super Mario Bros
Breath of the Wild
Timesplitters
Tony Hawk 2X
Twilight Princess
Castlevania Circle of the Moon

Edit: Lmao at 3+ having 26% of the votes, ya'll got some shitty taste.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Halo: Combat Evolved

No question.

 

[Vawn]

Depends on who we are talking about. For Nintendo, it seems most of their best games are launch games.

 

[Goro Majima]

Super Mario Bros
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Soul Calibur
Halo
Zelda Twilight Princess
Zelda Breath of the Wild

Yeah I’m confused how 3+ is losing so badly.

“launch windows” would also include:

Smash Bros Melee
Oblivion
Persona 4 Golden

 

[CitizenX]

first games on Steam:

• Counter Strike
• Half Life
• Team Fortress Classic
• Death Match Classic

End ...of ....discussion.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Super Mario World
Mario 64
Halo 1
BotW

 

[Chiggs]

Demon’s Souls - PS5
Halo - Xbox
Super Mario 64 -N64

 

[ksdixon]

I would count TLOU Remastered, released approximately 9 months after PS4 Release.

The Multiplayer being 60fps made the PS3 MP feel like slow motion at 30fps. The MP Levels were placed into one pool, rather than being seperated by DLC Pack lobbies.

Especially seeing as how they shut off the PS3 MP servers.

 

[ksdixon]

Gamers are reacting nicely to Ratchet and Spider-Man, Last of Us 2 should have been a launch game

That would have given them a number of extra months to get the MP in there. Therefore softening the blow of the poor story.

 

[kunonabi]

N64: Super Mario 64
Dreamcast: Soul Calibur
Gamecube: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Wii U: Nintendo Land

The Dreamcast's Power Stone also came pretty close to being in my top 10 for that system as was ZombiU for the Wii U.

 

[Kagey K]

Halo and Mario 64 are my only two.

I came here to say exactly this.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Demon's Souls for the PS5.

And yes, I'm from the future.

 

[Yoda]

Mario 64, Halo: CE (I think this was a little bit after launch), Bloodborne (might be too far from launch to be considered one).

 

[Bkdk]

ps2, midnight club, timesplitter, SSX, dynasty warriors 2.

 

[Megatron]

Halo, Mario 64 and Super Mario World.

 

[Ozzie666]

Super Mario World as a pack in game, simply amazing. Great game, great first experience out of the box. I wish we could go back to an included mascot game with a console, full on effort.

I love the history of Mario 64 and the allegations that Nintendo basically stole the idea and work from Gex or was it Croc? Similar to Star Fox 2. Makes me wonder sometimes about Nintendo.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

The honor is Gravity rush and my crown Gravity Rush 2

 

[Explosive Zombie]

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario World
F-Zero
Super Mario 64
Halo Combat Evolved
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Resistance Fall of Man
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Killzone: Shadow Fall

 

[TLZ]

Thanks for the list. Looking through them:

Super Mario Bros
Super Mario World
Daytona
Super Mario 64
Jikkyou World Soccer 2000
Luigi's Mansion
International Superstar Soccer 2
Enchanted Arms
Zelda Twilight Princess
Ryse: Son of Rome
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Zelda BOTW
New Super Mario Bros U
Nintendo Land

 

[RoadHazard]

SM64, BotW. The end.

 

[Zannegan]

Off the top if my head, I would have voted 1-2, but looking through the lists here, I'm honestly surprised how many launch games ended up being classics.

EDIT: And I'll just add that Excite Trucks is an underappreciated masterclass launch title, if not quite Top 10 in a system that ended up with quite a few gems to go along with all the shovelware.