The 'Citizen Kane of video games' is a hypothetical game which revolutionises all games that come after, and elevates video games as an art form and entertainment medium.
I think the key problem with this whole discussion is that Citizen Kane wasn't appreciated as a game changer until decades after it was released. No one knew in 1941 that Citizen Kane would influence movies for the rest of the century and beyond. Likewise, maybe a game released this year will do the same for games, but we aren't going to know that this year, next year, or even next decade. Games are too young of a medium to have a Citizen Kane simply because even if we did, we wouldn't know it yet. We can't predict what games will be like in 50 years. Maybe every single game will use techniques pioneered in, say, the Mass Effect series, or maybe some game that flew under the radar, like one of those Russian shooters that Dave likes, will be "found" and people will realize that it was really the game that started it all. We don't know yet so this entire argument is generally pointless. Talk to me in 20 or 30 years and I'll tell you what the Citizen Kane of games was, if it ever occurs.
" I personally thought the way Red Dead handled its plot made it the Citizen Kane of gaming stories. Those three endings and that final title card were effing brilliant. "
This. It's one of the best told stories in games I think.
" At the time everyone hated Citizen Kane, though. It bombed and was only really "discovered" much later. "
That's not true at all. It was nominated for 9 Oscars. "
Probably because the Academy members were some of the only people to even see it the year it actually came out, it was one of the most "prohibited" movies to ever come out.
The very fact that there is this much discussion over which video game is the "Citizen Kane" of video games shows that video games don't have a "Citizen Kane" yet.
" The very fact that there is this much discussion over which video game is the "Citizen Kane" of video games shows that video games don't have a "Citizen Kane" yet. "
" Citizen Kane is widely regarded as the greatest film ever made. It also revolutionized how movies were filmed with it's camera angles, lighting and lens focus. So when someone refers to "the Citizen Kane of video games", they mean a revolutionary video game that will be regarded as one of, if not the greatest video game of all time and how it pushes video games further as an art form. "
" Citizen Kane is widely regarded as the greatest film ever made. It also revolutionized how movies were filmed with it's camera angles, lighting and lens focus. So when someone refers to "the Citizen Kane of video games", they mean a revolutionary video game that will be regarded as one of, if not the greatest video game of all time and how it pushes video games further as an art form. "
I don't even consider Citizen Kane to be the Citizen Kane of movies. It's good, but not that good. Repo Man by Alex Cox is clearly a better choice in that category. Citizen Kane is more like the Civilization V of movies. Yars' Revenge is the Citizens Kane of video games.
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