Notable Games
From Styleguide
Civilization: Civ acceptable after first reference. Series sequels use Roman numerals: Civilization II, Civilization III and Civilization IV.
Computer Space: The first coin-operated arcade game. Based on Spacewar for the PDP mainframe computer.
Counter-Strike: Originally a mod for Half-Life; later became a standalone game and went on to achieve independent success. Not: Half-Life: Counter Strike.
Dance Dance Revolution: DDR acceptable after first reference.
Final Fantasy: Use Roman numerals for all sequels. Note that games before Final Fantasy VII had different numbering schemes inside and outside Japan. Also note that some unreleased Japanese games have been subsequently released outside Japan under the original numbering (so, in North America, there are two completely different games named Final Fantasy III; one for the Super NES and the Nintendo DS). Make sure the correct numbering scheme and release is clear from context, or else note it in the text.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories: Note the lack of a 3 or III in all of these titles.
Half-Life: Note hyphenization and capitalization.
Madden: The original game, published in 1989, was titled John Madden Football. In 1994, the series was retitled Madden NFL '94. Subsequent releases use the year as a part of the title. Refer to the series as a whole as the Madden or Madden NFL series.
Ms. Pac-Man: Note hyphenization and captialization.
Pac-Man: Hugely popular 1979 arcade game; also shares its name with first international videogame star. Note hyphenization and captialization.
Pokémon: Note the accent and direction on the e.
PONG: Not the first videogame, but the first large-scale commercially successful videogame.
Quake: First-person shooter franchise which rose to popularity by being amongst the first to champion head-to-head multiplayer combat over the Internet.
SimCity: The game which established the simulation genre. Note the lack of a space between the two words.
Spacewar: The first computer game.
StarCraft: Widely acclaimed sci-fi realtime strategy game spin-off of the successful Warcraft franchise. Especially popular in South Korea. Note the capital C.
Super Mario Bros.: Popular series of platform games first appearing on the NES. Pronounced as “Super Mario Brothers,” but it's always written as “Bros.” Original arcade game is Mario Bros. (note: no super). Sequels are Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3. Subsequent sequels do not include the “Bros.”
Super Mario Bros. 2: Significantly different games going by this name were released in Japan and other territories. If the version is not clear from context, be sure to note it in the text.
Super Mario World: Not: Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Island is acceptable after first reference.
The Legend of Zelda: Series name may be omitted for sequels. Do not use numbers except to reference Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Tony Hawk's Underground, Tony Hawk's Project 8: Note the apostrophe and “s” in all these titles.
Tetris: Original version was developed/ published by Nintendo for consoles and handhelds, Atari for arcades and Spectrum Holobyte for home PCs. Current rights belong to The Tetris Company.
Unreal, Unreal Tournament: First-person shooter franchise notable for its stunning visuals. A major rival to id’s Quake series.
Warcraft: Fantasy real-time strategy series. One of gaming’s most revered. Unlike StarCraft, the “c” is not capitalized.
World of Warcraft: Benchmark massively- multiplayer online role-playing game currently with over 8 million subscribers worldwide.
XenoSaga: A popular series of role-playing games from Tetsuya Takahashi.
