Have to love top 10 lists…except when they screw it up!  Credit is given for the fact that I agree with the majority of their choices…But I think Will Wright should rank higher and Doctor Who should be swapped out with Star Trek for the number one spot.  Sorry Will, but I have to pick the Tardis over you 😛  Here’s what PC Authority had to say about our beloved (4th placed) Will Wright on their Top 10 geek entertainment franchises list:

Iain Thomson: I like the fact that Wright is on the list because most of his input has been towards making computer games something for building things up rather than tearing them down.

Wright was the creator of SimCity and its future generations, games that really focussed on building good things. It’s an easy jibe, but a true one, that most computer games are built around the concept of “If it moves, shoot it. If it doesn’t, shoot it until it does.” Wright’s work took that focussed energy and moving it to building things – first cities and then people.

Wright’s attempt to tie his entire history of computer games into the Spore release was understandable but looks like a hubris-inspired mistake. We wait to see what comes out of him next.

Shaun Nichols: I grew up in that uncomfortable era when companies were pushing educational software to schools, but they hadn’t yet figured out that ‘educational’ didn’t have to mean ‘boring.’ Other than the occasional Ted Nugent buffalo hunting trip in Oregon Trail, the most entertaining thing we did with educational games was poke stuff in the disk drive until it started making funny sounds.

Then when I was in 3rd grade or so, a friend showed me Sim City. As with any great game, we played it for hours without even realising we were learning anything. Needless to say, my mother was more than a bit surprised when I came home and asked her about zoning laws and power grids.

Even more impressive is that nearly 20 years later, it’s still fun to fire up an emulator and replay SimCity and other Will Wright games. That is the hallmark of a great game; easy enough for young children to learn and deep enough for adults to still enjoy. Wright is the master at that.

check the full list here