I have read the poll, and saw a few things I liked and didn't like. But then I relized.
This.
Is.
STUPID.
I'll tell you a number of reasons about why I think this.
1.
The truth about this is that this will not decide anything. If anything like Mario or Starcraft wins, it really WON'T decide anything. You have only a part of the gaming comunity represented here. Hell, I'm a gamer and I had no idea this existed intill I clicked this topic. And I bet there are millions of others who also are not aware of this poll. Also, some gamers may have not tried some of the games on this list. Hell, some players may even HATE the game they would love because of what they have heard about it. Not to forget the online trolls who hate a game so much they will vote againist it no matter what, even if the game its up againist is worse.
So unless you manage find EVERY SINGLE GAMER in the whole world, get them to play EVERY SINGLE GAME that has ever existed, and make sure they are ALL mature and appropriate, then you cannot decide what is the best game in the peoples view.
2.
The deathmatch pair-ups make no sense. How does one judge if a FPS is better then a RPG? They are entirely different categories, and aim for different appels. In the end, it is not a choice betweem which is a better game, it is a choice between which genre is more liked. And then it goes back to the point made in the first reason, you have trolls who not only hate a certain game, but sometimes an entire genre of games! There is no real way to say if a stealth game like Metal Gear Soild is better then an action-packed FPS like Call of Duty. There is also no way to say if a RTS game like Starcraft is better then a survival-horror game like Slient Hill. In fact, in my personal opinion, I hate horror in general and I would vote for Starcraft because I simply dislike the whole survival-horror genre and not because Starcraft is a better game (I am not saying it is, I bet both games have their ups and downs.). Online game polls only really work if it is one genre being compaired, otherwise results are moot.
3.
Not very game or Genre is repersented there in equal number and support. For example, WoW is the only MMO there, while there are something like, what, over five FPSes. There also also games that are semi-popluar and popular that aren't on the list. For example, Dragon Age, an emerging and somewhat popluar game is not there. There are also some games people may not be aware of, such as Tomb Raider, in which I believe some people are not sure whether its a video game or a movie series (The movies weren't too bad, and certainly watchable). You would need to have EVERY SINGLE game on that list to make it fair, and then you have the problem of what order should the "Matches" take place in. Some games that would really be an interesting vote may not even be in a match. ALso comes the over-all pronlem of the fact that this list repersents EVERY game in the franchises. A franchise may have one really bad game, but then it is saved by a great second game (See: Assassin's Creed).
Thats my insight that, no matter the outcome, nothing will be decided by it. Just because one game wins does not mean it is suddenly the greatest thing on the planet. It means its just a game that some people perfer over a few other Genres and games. Nothing has been decided. This is a stupid idea, and is just a way to make some money and gain some publicity for G4.