Every year since 2015 The Strong museum inducts a small number of games to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. This year's finalists for induction are Candy Crush, Centipede, Colossal Cave Adventure, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, Microsoft Windows Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Myst, NBA 2K, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Super Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, said of the finalists: “These 12 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists span decades, gaming platforms, and countries of origin—but what they all have in common is their undeniable impact on the world of gaming and popular culture. Whether it’s a true pioneer like Colossal Cave Adventure, a mobile gaming phenomenon like Candy Crush that’s been played by hundreds of millions, or a game like Mortal Kombat that pushed boundaries and changed the landscape of the gaming industry, they’re among the most influential games of all time.”
The nominations take into account thousands of votes from more than 100 countries. From March 21 to March 28 fans will be able to vote for their favorite finalists as part of a Player's Choice ballot on the World Video Game Hall of Fame website. After that, the three games with the most public votes will form one ballot, joining the other 27 ballots submitted by members of the International Selection Advisory Committee, made up by journalists and scholars familiar with the history of video games and their role in society and media history. As such the public will have the weight of one judge, collectively. The final inductees will be announced during a special ceremony at The Strong museum on Thursday, May 2nd.
Certain criteria are necessary for games to be nominated: icon-status, in the sense that the game is widely recognized and remembered; longevity, meaning it can be played years after its original release; geographical reach, which allows the game to move beyond its cultural constraints; and influence, where the game has had an impact on both game developers and gamers, but also on other media, and on popular culture and society as a whole.
Inductees of the the first three classes of the World Video Game Hall of Fame include Donkey Kong, DOOM, Final Fantasy VII, Grand Theft Auto III, Halo: Combat Evolved, John Madden Football, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, Pac-Man, Pokemon Red and Green, Pong, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Invaders, Spacewar!, Street Fighter II, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Tomb Raider, and World of Warcraft. They are now displayed on permanent view at The Strong in Rochester, New York. You can also see previously inducted games in the official website.
What's your favorite out of these 12 finalists? And which one do you think is more likely to win this year? Let us know in the comments below!
