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Video Game Hall Of Fame Inducts First Six Titles: Did Your Favorite Make The List?

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 07:51 PST, Jun 7, 2015

The Video Game Hall of Fame has officially begun building its own list of all-time greats. You may or may not be surprised at what made it to the list for the first class.

Modern games may be amazing to watch and play, but it’s mostly classics which made it to the top, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. The greatest games of all time didn’t impress us with visuals as much as they kept us coming back for more.

Only one of the titles added to the list of legends was launched in the last 15 years. This means that the killer IP franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty didn’t make the cut.

What was the most important factor in deciding which inductees made the first class? It had to be fun, an international hit, have a lasting replay value, and be a major influence on gaming due to its ingenuity.

  • World of Warcraft was the newest of the first six inductees to The Strong World Video Game Hall of Fame. Though its popularity has been slowly dying off after 11 years, it helped launch the MMORPG genre. Without it we wouldn’t have League of Legends. Rockstar Games even based Grand Theft Auto Online on the concept.
  • On the other end of the release date spectrum is Pong, a game so old that it has been known as the father of all console gaming. It was a simple ping pong type game with dials which moved “paddles” up and down the sides of the screen and was also the first-ever multiplayer video game.
  • Super Mario Bros. was the game which brought video gaming back after the E.T.-inspired crash in the 80s. Nintendo used the game alongside the Nintendo Entertainment System to make consoles cool again. Without this Video Game Hall of Fame inductee, gaming history wouldn’t be what it is today.
  • Doom may have caused a lot of controversy over its use of pentacles and demon creatures, but without it, the first-person shooter genre might never have gained its fame. Id Software shocked us with the game’s imagery, and then fueled one of the biggest gaming genres of all time.
  • Pac-Man has gone down as one of the most addicting games of all time, still almost a must-play in any arcade. It might not have invented any genres, but it did help make Namco a name to respect. If that name sounds familiar, you may have played Soul Edge and its many sequels.
  • Tetris, the sixth inductee into the Video Game Hall of Fame, helped launch Nintendo’s Game Boy and make portable gaming popular. It still remains one of the most addicting games ever made and spawned the puzzle genre.

According to ABC News, The Strong Museum itself is interactive.

“At 55,000 items and growing, The Strong’s collection of video games, other electronic games, and electronic game-related historical materials is the largest and most comprehensive public assemblage of such items anywhere.”

Some classics such as Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and Space Invaders almost made it in the first round.

What do you think should be added to the Video Game Hall of Fame? If it meets the criteria of icon status, longevity, geographical reach, and influence, click here and nominate your favorite.

[Image via YouTube]

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