A List Of The Best Games For Boys

Xbox 360 - The Current Leader In The Video Game System Market

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The current video game market is flooded with AAA titles, with genres ranging from 2D fighters to Match-3 puzzle games. As budgets shoot skyward and release timeframes shrink, the situation is going to get even crazier over the next couple of years. As a parent, you probably know how hard it is to navigate through this huge amount of choices, but thankfully there is a lot of market research that strongly indicates which products sell the best with all sorts of demographics.

If you're looking for the best video games for boys, the sales figures speak loud and clear. Thanks to online gaming networks such as Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, boys tend to ask for games which can be played competitively against others. In order to reflect that trend, most of the games on my list (shown below) can be played online.

Many of the games that are selling the best among males are a mix between three genres: first person shooters, 2D fighting games, and adventure games. In fact, these three genres have consistently done well with males for years, so this is where parents should look first if they are shopping for boys. Let's take a look at them in a little more detail:

First And Third Person Shooters

Popularized by the games Wolfenstein 3D and Doom back in the early-nineties, first and third person shooters (FPS, for short) pit the player against all manner of enemies in fast-paced action and puzzling scenarios. Sometimes the player will be wielding a weapon, while other times he will take direct control over environmental mechanics to change the way that events play out in the virtual world. The sophistication and realistic presentation of these games grows exponentially every year, so this genre represents a very safe bet for the unsure parent.

2D Fighting Games

This genre really got its start with the game Street Fighter 2, a game which brought new levels of competitive balance and strategic thinking to a genre that was previously based on mindless button mashing. These games are characterized by virtual opponents fighting each other in hand to hand combat while the players view the action from the side. To the untrained eye, 2D fighting games can look like they're based entirely on random button inputs, but as any seasoned player will tell you, high level play is all about deep knowledge of system mechanics and hand-eye coordination. 2D fighting games reward repeated play as the player becomes more familiar with with different special moves and combos, so these games tend to have an extremely high level of replay value.

Adventure Games

While these games tend to have slightly less replay value than titles in the above two genres, this is generally made up for with the length and depth of a single playthrough. The adventure genre is characterized by involved storylines, lots of character development, and very often there are historical references thrown in for good measure. This genre may share some features with fighters and first person shooters, but the main focus is story (most of the time). Assassin's Creed is a great example of an extremely popular, contemporary series in the adventure genre. Placing the player in the shoes of a fictional character in the middle ages, the game takes you through a sequence of historical events that play out very differently in an altered universe. The series has been very well received, and Ubisoft (the developer) is continuing to release new installments due to huge demand.

Choose Your System

I have compiled a list of the best selling games in all three genres above, with a smattering of popular games from other genres thrown in for good measure. The left list is for the Xbox 360, while the right list is for the Playstation 3:

Top Selling Playstation 3 Games For Boys