Most influential Strategy Series

[Seigeless]

This is sort of a sequel to the "Best Role-Playing Games of All Time" thread. Strategy/War games seem to dominate the game market and industry. In fact, more than 60 percent of new games marketed since 1996 are Strategy/War games, springing from the enormous success of Warcraft. Which Strategy game series are the most influential and why?

[MetaStaiford]

Definitely Warcraft

their 2nd Warcraft game was what hit the market hard enough to make blizzard famous, giving them the perfect oppurtunity to follow up with the ever-famous Starcraft

[Seigeless]

I think so too. Warcraft was the starter not only for Blizzard, but to some extent for the whole industry.

[Hermit]

I 3rd the Warcraft motion, for the obvious reasons already stated by others ;)

It's the game that blew open the doors to PC RTS/war games.

[slothman]

Ahh, all you "new skoolers". Civilization 1 started it all. It was around in 4000 BC. :D

[Hermit]

I don't consider Civilization to be the straw that spawned the uproar of PC strategy gaming. It's a good game, but nothing really happened to the genre 'til Warcraft hit the market ;)