The Most Important Multiplayer Games Ever

Gamasutra's 'Quantum Leap' awards roll on, with game developers voting in the titles they see as the most important multiplayer titles ever made. These are non-massive multiplayer games that significantly advanced the pastime of playing videogames with other people. Some of the listed games are gimmes (Goldeneye, Tribes), but I thought an Anonymous submitter's comment about humble Pokémon was interesting: "Tajiri-san's introduction of the collect and trade concept opened the eyes of every developer, all of whom previously believed multiplayer was either head-to-head or cooperative. What Pokémon created with this breakthrough concept was a true sense of community centered about a game - a kinship among people which transcended the immediate game environment. With the inclusion of real-world Pokémon merchandise, and a constant flow of new, wicked-cute characters, it was easy for anyone to embrace the Pokémon lifestyle...not that I would ever admit to it." Any multiplayer classics you'd add to the list?

Re:The classic multiplayer 'game'

[otacon]

for the readers the article was intended for that is generally a single player game

Joust, dammit

[Megane]

And get off my lawn, you damn kids!

Re:Joust, dammit

[Sponge Bath]

Megane: You see kids, you played a medieval knight flying around on an ostrich and avoiding pterodactyls.

Kids: Mom, grandpa is having acid flashbacks again.

Re:WoW?

[triffid_98]

I fully endorse Lord Gariott and his grand vision of a RPG involving PvP with naked miners, hacked crossbows and karma exploits.

If you're going to talk about MMORPGs, then I can really only endorse Ultima Online which started the whole genre, or