Last year The Strong National Museum of Play started an exhibit for the World Video Game Hall of Fame. This year, out of 15 finalists, six games were chosen for this year’s Hall of Fame. Those games are Grand Theft Auto III, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders. The other games up for consideration were Elite, Final Fantasy, John Madden’s Football, Minecraft, Nurburgring, Pokemon Red and Green, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Street Fighter II, and Tomb Raider.
The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame focuses on games from all platforms that have “exerted influence on the video game industry or on popular culture and society in general.” A game’s qualifications is based on Icon-Status, how recognized and remembered a game is; Longevity, how well the game holds up over time; Geographical Reach, the impact the game has across the globe; and Influence, or how game’s design and development influenced other works of art in pop-culture and society.
Despite some of the games not getting inducted, that’s not to say that all the nominees meet the requirements to be in the Video Game Hall of Fame. Personally, I’m surprised Sonic was able to beat out Pokemon, Minecraft, and Street Fighter II, but there’s always next year.
Last year’s inductees were Doom, Tetris, Super Mario Bros, World of Warcraft, Pong, and Pac-Man. When people ask the question “Are games art?” I think they shouldn’t look at games that are trying to be movies or “visual novels,” but instead look at games like Space Invaders and Doom, which have actually had a major impact on our pop culture and set new standards for the gaming industry. Congratulations to this year’s inductees, and if there was a game you want to see put into the Hall of Fame you can submit a nominee here.