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GameSpot Video Games, PC, Wii, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PSP, DS, GBA, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Japan honors NES, PS2, Mario

Government-sponsored Media Arts Plaza includes 14 game entries--including Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, the PlayStation, and DS--in list of 100 items most representative of Japanese media.
By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
Posted Oct 4, 2006 5:35 pm PT

The Media Arts Plaza, a project of the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, has announced a list of "100 examples of media that represents Japan."

The list was compiled based on questionnaire results to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Japan Media Arts Festival, a yearly event that recognizes creative and technically excellent media. List candidates were selected based on Web-based polls--some 33,884 people responded--and mailed-in surveys from artists, editors, and critics.

The list is broken into four categories--art, entertainment, animation, and manga--of 25 items each. Over half the entertainment category was composed of game hardware and software: Nintendo's Game Boy, DS, and Famicom (aka the NES), were chosen, along with Sony's PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The games selected were Super Mario Bros., Space Invaders, Final Fantasy VII, Puyo Puyo, Pokémon, Metal Gear Solid, and Dragon Quest I, III, and V.

From January 21, 2007, a special exhibition at the National Art Center Tokyo will showcase the chosen works.

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136 Comments

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Gouki_13

cool.. will go look up the full article.

Posted Mar 25, 2007 4:26 pm PT
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Staryoshi87

Sigh, i need to go to Japan

Posted Feb 21, 2007 9:44 am PT
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Saphire_Kitsune

*clicks on last link*

Ooooo, what a neat looking building. It's so...wavy...

Posted Feb 8, 2007 8:57 pm PT
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Zacek1000

Great! Here we have some Dragon Quest! Best series ever!

Posted Nov 16, 2006 1:06 pm PT
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sephirothrulez9

ya... youd think there would be a lot of final fantasies

Posted Nov 7, 2006 3:28 pm PT
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sephirothrulez9

ya... youd think there would be a lot of final fantasies

Posted Nov 7, 2006 3:28 pm PT
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aznballer91

FF7 all da way!!! mgs is pretty good too ^^()

Posted Oct 25, 2006 2:58 pm PT
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Robert_Garcia

Wow...it just goes to show how theres a greater love for DQ in Japan, than in the States...

Posted Oct 14, 2006 5:14 pm PT
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Fraek

Hmm, I also expected to see Final Fantasy VI. Still, I suppose that while Final Fantasy VI is seen as one of the top RPGs of its generation, Final Fantasy VII is representative of a new generation of RPGs... ...and some of the themes do smell more of Japan than do those of Final Fantasy VI.

Anyhow, we can only hope electronic gaming will eventually become as highly valued in the West as it is in Japan today...

Posted Oct 12, 2006 9:52 am PT
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Liamland

Interesting. No Final Fantasy VI or Dragon Quest IV. But it shows us evidence of the differences between Japan's preference and America's: Representing Japan - three Dragon Quests made the list and only one Final Fantasy.

Posted Oct 11, 2006 1:05 pm PT
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_Sam_

Government-sponsored

wow

Posted Oct 8, 2006 11:44 am PT
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rokkuman09

I

Posted Oct 6, 2006 3:29 pm PT
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Eviltwin

Pokémon rules XD

Posted Oct 6, 2006 3:17 pm PT
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jasonmacrillo

japan rules

Posted Oct 6, 2006 1:50 pm PT
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ftjx

Viva Japan!!!!!!!!!

Posted Oct 6, 2006 12:47 am PT
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rbarahona

Definitely a nice event in Japan. I really hope that they could make a "tour" and showcase that event in more museums around the world.
I was really surprised to see manga like Slam Dunk (a personal favorite) and Neon Genesis Evangelion in the list.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 7:45 pm PT
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theKSMM

Not to sound stereotypical or anything, but I really hope that Gozilla and/or the Power Rangers made it onto that list.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 5:37 pm PT
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NFunspoiler

Okaaaaaaay... um.... cool?
I wish the US was more accepting of Video Games...

Posted Oct 5, 2006 5:20 pm PT
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MarioMainic

I don't get it!!!!!!!.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 4:11 pm PT
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Riverwolf007

What!?! No transexual anime porn catagory?????? Don't these people know anything about japanese media?

Posted Oct 5, 2006 3:59 pm PT
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juanfraino

Mario FTW!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 3:49 pm PT
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jhotmann

where would the united states be without stuff from japan

Posted Oct 5, 2006 3:23 pm PT
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gonzalezj1

DJGeki
"Slow day for news, eh? It's not a building erected to pay homage, nor is it a museum exhibit...just a survey. Why, exactly, is this news?"

Well, seriously, why is anything videogame related "news"?

Posted Oct 5, 2006 3:23 pm PT
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wooooode

Its weird that the Japanesse dont like Zelda as much as we do in the States because I would think OOT would be on there.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 3:12 pm PT
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DJGeki

Slow day for news, eh? It's not a building erected to pay homage, nor is it a museum exhibit...just a survey. Why, exactly, is this news?

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:56 pm PT
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comthitnuong

pokemon...it should have been there maybe 4 years ago but i dont think it deserves to have a spot now

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:52 pm PT
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King_Dodongo

go nintendo!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:20 pm PT
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Mr_Saturn26

FF7, jest plain awesome, MGS sweet, Mario, hmm hey its a classic. DQ 1,3,5 cool, i jest beat 8, and whats funny i found out that the game i played as a kid dragon warrior, was DQ1 lol, and beat it too, no wonder why the DQ sieres felt fimiler.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:20 pm PT
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NandoSupes

at last Nintendo gets the respect they rightfully deserve,Sony as well has some great games on that list

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:18 pm PT
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SinisterC

There isn't a comparison, FFVII completely and utterly owns FFVIII - X. Chrono Trigger should have been acknowledged though.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 2:06 pm PT
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SoraTheExtreme

I was in Japan in febuary... Akihabara, Tokyo is the best place in the world!!!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 1:36 pm PT
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LoWpS

no words describe the success of the DS in japan...

Posted Oct 5, 2006 1:18 pm PT
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MrPuzzlez

I wanna go to Japan!!(

Posted Oct 5, 2006 1:12 pm PT
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Zeromind_Eric

Touring (Zeromind) Japan next week baby!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 12:10 pm PT
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DS_fan_atic

Going to JAPAN NEXT SUMMER! CAN'T WAIT!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 12:03 pm PT
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Elite_Jounin

playstation the shyt!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 12:01 pm PT
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remmbermytitans

thats good... nintendo is getting the respect it deserves

Posted Oct 5, 2006 11:18 am PT
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shizwill03

NES FTW!!!!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 11:10 am PT
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TintedChimes

Nice.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 11:06 am PT
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ghostadv

Yay, Puyo Puyo made the list

Posted Oct 5, 2006 11:00 am PT
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dmn_link

The DS is like a cellphone in that country, everyone has it

Posted Oct 5, 2006 10:59 am PT
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gt3killer

awesome, NES was a great system.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 10:17 am PT
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piecake

yay

Posted Oct 5, 2006 10:08 am PT
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erdrickgr

Cool to see three Dragon Quest titles up there, including DQ3 and DQ4, which were two of the best games ever made (regardless of genre), and DQ1 which helped popularize the RPG genre on consoles (though it was not the first Japanese RPG).

Posted Oct 5, 2006 10:08 am PT
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aashkii

I'm glad the NES is on the list. The NES did ressurect the videogame industry after the Crash in the 80s. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the Crash was caused by poor quality of games when Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision (to name a few) were competing each other in the console war in the early 80s. Due to bad sales, this caused videogame companies to go out of business. To know more about the Crash, watch G4's Game Makers (used to be called Icons). If you can't find the time and date, check the G4tv.com for schedules (GameMakers might not be on the channel anymore, but double check just to be sure.)

Posted Oct 5, 2006 9:21 am PT
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alimn1984

NES, PS2 and Mario?

Ok, Well deserved but please let me to let you know that Shenmue is in the list too...

BTW Game Spot do you know that SEGA will release Shenmue III:Next Gen(Terilogy Pack) or no???

Posted Oct 5, 2006 9:15 am PT
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SecretWasianMan

Well deserved. I still have my NES

Posted Oct 5, 2006 9:11 am PT
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SoraTheExtreme

Dragon Quest first of all was the first japanese RPG, secondly japanese gamers have allways been appealed more to a story of magic and of a hero who saves the world... heck, I'd say I'm more of a japanese gamer than anything else... though I'm from the west...

Posted Oct 5, 2006 9:00 am PT
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asimplerapper

Go Mario! You RULE!

Posted Oct 5, 2006 8:52 am PT
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The_Weekend

Hey peeweeshift ... go read your history books and see why DQ games appeal to the Japanese more than most other things ... if you don't like it, save your comment for yourself. A nation of gamers can't be anymore wrong than your pathetic understanding of their culture.

Posted Oct 5, 2006 8:41 am PT
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