Same idea, different company. Here's my top 3 -- I'm limiting this to home systems, so the original Donkey Kong won't be on the list.

1) Super Mario Bros.

Uh, yeah. If anyone contests this, you're dumb. The end.

2) The Legend of Zelda

This is the quintessential adventure game. All adventure games that came after it mix the combination of exploration and puzzle solving in an attempt to mimic how this game operated.

3) Wii Sports

I'll admit it: this is basically the reason why I made this thread, as the first two are obvious choices. This choice is definitely up for debate for several reasons, as it's sales are still climbing and the system it's on is still burgeoning. Let me put it this way -- if the Wii ends up selling 80 million consoles or more and besting the PS3 and 360, I will have no hesitation in saying that Wii Sports was the most influential new IP of the generation.

Again -- I doubt many people are going to be picky about the first two, but if you want to be, please feel free. It's the third slot that's up for grabs, and several other major franchises (Pokemon first and foremost, but also Metroid, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Party and Super Smash Brothers are all very influential games) could easily be put in its place. Discuss!

Pennant Chase Baseball shud be #1. UR sooooooooo dum.

1)Super Mario Bros 3 - Refined what the first 2 had done aswell as added the concept of seeing the worlds as you explore them, occasionally choosing different paths or even avoiding levels, different abilities gained thoughout the game, single and multiplayer during the main game, loads of secrets, feeling of different atmospheres and enourmous and well designed boss levels.

2)Zelda II - I think this game had more of an influence because this type of game is still around and evolving. When i think of Orcarinca of Time i get much more a feeling of Zelda II then Legend of Zelda. Much more of and adventurous feel with the side-scrolling like and talking to everyone, magic spells, more of a feeling of growing stronger and fighting more powerful enemies. I just think this game did more to influence and push adventure games than the original.

3)Super Mario 64 - Really showcased what 3-D graphics and an analog stick could really accomplish. Incredible well designed levels the entire throughout the entire game, completely new concepts with the different caps, sense of exploration throughout the castle. This still is a beautiful game despite the outdated graphics.

You CANNOT make a top 3 for Nintendo's most influential:

There are so SO SO MANNY...

-Mario vs Donkey kong.

-Super mario 64.

-Zelda Ocarina of time.

-Super mario bros.

-Wii sports.

-Pikmin...?!

-Tetris on gameboy.

It really is unworthy for the ones left out to make a top 3... U'd better make a top 10 or something.

but then you'd still have to leave out quite a few. lets just make it a top 50!

Nintendo's most influential games are probably the ones that created entire genres, like those that have already been mentioned (SMB, Zelda, etc.). But my favorite Nintendo games are the ones that reinvented existing genres.

1) Super Mario 64 -- Brought platforming into 3D and showed what a platform action game could be in real 3D. Ocarina of Time could easily take this slot too.

2) Super Smash Bros. -- Completely turned the fighting game genre on its head, with battle items, interesting arenas, 4 player simultaneous battle, mixing characters from completely different backgrounds, and a single player experience that was so much more than just one-on-one fights until the boss.

3) Metroid Prime -- Super Metroid built on the foundation of the original Metroid and Zelda II, but Prime merged this gameplay style with the most popular, First Person Shooters, to create the first First Person Adventure. It put the player inside Samus's power suit and really gave the Metroid series the sense of immersion, and therefore the emotion that it needed.

Star Fox. For many consumers, this was their first taste of modern 3D graphics, although it took Virtua Fighter to help 3D explode.

Super Mario 64---The first great game in a beautiful 3d enviorment.

Ocarina of Time----Created lock-on, auto-jumping, etc, etc.

Mario Kart 64----First game that sold millions because of multiplayer ( I think)

Mario Party ---- Established the mini-game games genre as a million seller.

Nintendogs, Brain Age and Wii Sports --- Started the era of casual gaming

I agree with your list bod, altough wii sports has yet to prove if it really was that influent.

I'm not quite sure if Zelda is a good choice for the second place or if Mario 64 should be there, though.

I'd pretty much agree, though I'd be inclined to drop SMB or Zelda for SM64.

As far as influence goes, a Nintendo with no Super Mario Bros would still have seen platformers at some point. It was the first and was quite well executed, but the basic idea was Donkey Kong spread out horizontally.

No doubt Zelda did a great deal for the adventure game genre, but, again, I'm not sure that it did much to birth the genre or to set standards. Pen and paper D&D would have inevitably crossed over, and you really don't see many games like Zelda. It's a great series, of course, but it's not one that gets copied all that much. I tend to agree that Zelda II was more influential in the long run.

SM64, though, was the definitive 3D platformer. Mechanisms from it are still showing up in modern games, and it is high praise to say that a game feels at all similar to it. I don't know that the genre would be anything like as advanced as it is now without that game.

Wii Sports I agree on. This was out of left field and it was a huge hit. No matter what happens to the Wii from here on out, it's definitely begun a new era of casual games.