Ever wonder if there were people tracking the creation of video games out there, and if so, how many titles have been released since the medium's inception? The first answer is yes, and the other is 43,806 and counting.
The project is an undertaking by Pastebin user Data_Baser (appropriately), and that current number is not final. With help from 4chan's retro games board, he hopes to name every game ever released on any platform from arcade, consoles and PC to GameBoy and mobile phones. They're even including web browser-based flash games, which gives you an idea of the enormity of this endeavor.
The oldest titles on the list are Computer Space and Galaxy Game, both created in 1971. There were some games created before that, though, and it's unclear what will still be added. Pong is strangely absent from the list, so I'm not entirely sure what order or methodology is being used to track and add games. Considering it's widely seen one of the games that helped launch the industry, you have to assume it will make it on the list eventually.
Mods fall into a strange grey area as well, as some have become relevant enough (DayZ and Garry's Mod made the list) to warrant being seen as games on their own, including some that didn't spin off into full releases. Game jam creations have an argument to be included, too, even if they were never distributed or hosted commercially in any sense.
We'll see how the list develops, but scrolling through it as of now is still an interesting walk through gaming history. Look through it yourself and search for old favorites--maybe you'll be inspired to play a title from decades past.
Source: Polygon
