Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

The Most Ported Games of All Time

The Most Ported Games of All Time

When we think of ports, we usually think of things like HD remixes, ports to another console, mobile conversions, and the like. At most, we see games with two or three ports, covering modern day HD consoles and maybe PC. Very popular games, or games that are trying to get as many impulse buys as possible, may have 5-7 ports, covering last gen systems and handheld systems. Incredibly popular games might get 10 ports as they are brought forward from generation to generation. But the games on this list outdo all of those titles, as they get ported on wacky things like graphing calculators and consoles developed to play one title only. These are 9 of the most ported games of all time.

Peggle (12 Different Platforms)

Peggle (12 Different Platforms)

It’s difficult to find modern games to put on this list. Most modern games simply haven’t been around long enough to be one of the most ported games of all time. But Peggle , released in 2007, made the cut. According to Wikipedia, the game has been ported to twelve different platforms, like iOS, Android, PS3, Xbox 360, Windows Mobile, and Zeebo… whatever that is. It’s also the only title that really stands a chance to climb up this list, as it’s still being made today (in addition to its sequel, Peggle 2) and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on next-gen platforms.

Sonic: The Hedgehog (13 Different Platforms)

Sonic: The Hedgehog (13 Different Platforms)

Sonic is most well known for being Sega’s mascot, but he made his way to many different consoles once Sega got out of the console business. According to Giantbomb, the original Sonic found its way to Nintendo handhelds, the Wii e-shop, and the Xbox 360. Actually, Sonic stands out as being one of the only titles on this list that doesn’t fill its ranks with awkward mobile publishings. Yes, it’s on the iPhone, iPad, and Android, and if you counted handheld LCD versions of the game, you could probably bump its 13 platforms up even higher, but Sonic has always primarily been a console game, and 10 of its ports have been on dedicated gaming platforms.

Final Fantasy (14 Different Platforms)

Final Fantasy (14 Different Platforms)

Final Fantasy is well known as another console giant, but according to Giantbomb’s wiki, it actually spends just as much time on PC and mobile platforms. It has found its way to the MSX, the Wonderswan, the Windows Phone and more. Yes, the most well-known port is the NES port and its later remakes, but at this point it would be difficult to find a platform that doesn’t let you play this grandfather of RPGs.

Street Fighter II (18 Different Platforms)

Street Fighter II (18 Different Platforms)

OK, OK, I admit that I’m cheating here a little. If you were to count only the original Street Fighter II: The World Warrior , then it would have only been ported about 12 times, according to its Wikipedia page. But, if you include the many different releases of the game, including Super, Hyper, Turbo, Super Turbo, HD Remix, and more, the number jumps up quite a bit. Believe it or not, Street Fighter II was ported to consoles such as the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 63, Atari SI, and Amistrad CPC. This, in addition to its many different arcade releases on many different Arcade platforms, made it one of the best-selling and most ported games of all time.

DOOM (23 Different Platforms)

DOOM (23 Different Platforms)

You’ll note that old PC games tend to have a lot of different ports. This is partially because, at the time, there were many different computer platforms to choose from. Then, as consoles came out, we saw them get ported to them as well, and now, in the current day, they are ported to mobile platforms for retro gaming purposes. DOOM was released on such platforms such as the NEXTSTEP, the Atari Jaguar, the 3DO, and the Tapwave Zodiac, according to its wiki page, but that’s only the beginning. DOOM has been hacked onto printers, TVs and practically anything with an LCD screen. Heck, at one point, someone ported DOOM onto an arcade machine found inside DOOM ! Now that’s meta.

Lemmings (24 Different Platforms)

Lemmings (24 Different Platforms)

Lemmings only slightly outshines Doom in number of ports, but a lot of its ports are more legitimate. It’s been on the Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, SNES, and even PSP. Granted there are some weirdos in there, like the Acorn Archimedes and the Sharp X68000, but there are plenty more consoles. Considered one of the first puzzle strategy games, Lemmings has been around since 1991, and was developed by DMA Design, which oddly enough has become Rockstar North. Hard to believe the studio behind this game of herding green haired critters is also the studio behind Grand Theft Auto.

Pong (25 Different Platforms)

Pong (25 Different Platforms)

The number of platforms Pong has been on is really just an estimate. According to Computer Museum, over 19 consoles were made in the 70s and 80s to specifically play Pong and nothing else. Then there were the original Pong arcade machines, ports to the Atari and Nintendo platforms, modern remakes on the PlayStation, and tons of unofficial ports onto calculators, watches, browsers, and more. It’s likely that we won’t ever actually know how many devices can play Pong, but we know it’s a lot, which seems natural for the game that caused both a video game boom and crash all at the same time.

Dragon’s Lair (29 Different Platforms)

Dragon’s Lair (29 Different Platforms)

Dragon’s Lair’s number of ports is also just an estimate. The 29 platforms listed on Giantbomb’s wiki page don’t include things such as DVD and laserdisc releases, nor does it include original arcade platform releases. Dragon’s Lair was one of the biggest games of the eighties, which is saying a lot considering it was basically just a gigantic quick time event. For platforms that could not handle DVD graphics, like the NES, ports were just made to be platformers that required a ton of memorization, just like a quick time event. They weren’t that great.

Tetris (65 Different Platforms)

Tetris (65 Different Platforms)

Finally, we have the granddaddy of all ports, Tetris . Created by Alexey Pajitnov in 1985, Tetris has been ported to more than 65 different game platforms, according to the Guinness Book of World Records (2011 edition). That too is mostly just an estimate because it doesn’t count browser ports or ports to things like graphing calculators and clocks. It is the perfect casual game, and it sold the Gameboy to a generation, but long before that it was just a computer game. You probably have Tetris on your phone right now. That’s how incredibly prolific it is.

To top