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Classic Games (Games) Games

Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame 94

Posted by Soulskill from the fierce-competition-between-tetrominoes dept.
killdashnine writes "Last year we discussed the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa, and a first event in 2009 which brought 3,500 people to witness it. Since then, there's been much progress toward creation of the museum, including the upcoming 'Big Bang 2010' exhibition. Their first event kicks off with formal induction ceremonies, tournaments, record-setting attempts, and an array of concerts from 8-bit music to modern rock. This serves as the first official fundraiser for this new non-profit. Iowa is positioning itself as the Video Game Capital of the World. While some sneer and scoff at this, pointing to LA or Seattle as gaming giants and rightful heirs to the title, the real goal is not to glorify software developers but rather to memorialize the 'heroes of video games,' from the iconic Pac Man to pioneers such as Ralph Baer." Here's a list of this year's inductees. Who gets your vote for next year?
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Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame More

Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

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  • Plus Key Switch (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:19AM (#32974328)
    No Yokoi [wikipedia.org]? Blasphemy!

    • Re:Plus Key Switch (followup, more hubris) (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:28AM (#32974370)
      Without Gunpei Yokoi there would be no "Plus Switch" (originated on his Game and Watch), no Metroid, no Donkey Kong, no Mario, no Game Boy, no Virtual Boy, and likely Shigeru Miyamoto would never have created Super Mario Bros. or Zelda. Nintendo most likely would not have had enough excellent games to break into the North American market in the mid 80s (or even have ever gotten into the home console market), and quite possibly the crash of 1983 [wikipedia.org] would have been permanent, leaving only PC games in the market. Possibly Sega would have dominated Japan, or possibly they would never have been inspired to actually try. The gaming world would have turned out very differently.
    • I just checked the Concert page. They've not listed Machinae Supremacy [machinaesupremacy.com] either.

      Why they should be on the concert list [youtube.com] - The video is fan-made, and sucks.
      • You do realize you have to pay people to perform? We were unable to get many bands to come and perform. Sorry.

  • Did I miss something? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nemyst ( 1383049 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:24AM (#32974350) Homepage
    Why is half the list consisting of "champions" when there isn't even a mention of such names as Sid Meier, Will Wright, Gabe Newell, Richard Garriott or John Carmack? I couldn't find any other list, so I must assume this is the first one, right?

    • You left out Radar O'Reilly.

      • Re:Did I miss something? (Score:4, Funny)

        by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:43AM (#32974436)

        You left out Radar O'Reilly.

        You just didn't scroll down enough. He was on #4077 on the list.

        • Nice. :-)

          But, quoting the website:

          And, if you think that someone is missing -- someone who absolutely deserves to be inducted into the IVGHOF, but is not on this list, you are right! This process is just beginning and we plan on bestowing the highest honors on every individual or organization who has contributed to the success or enrichment of the worldwide video game industry. Unfortunately, everybody can't be inducted in a single year, so we ask for everyone's patience as we move through this first year and work to establish the IVGHOF as the cultural crossroads of the video game age.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MoFoQ ( 584566 )

      my thoughts exactly...
      yet...."fatal1ty" is on the list....WTF.
      shoot....the fictional characters from Penny Arcade would be better....or even what's-his-face from firingsquad.com....or Duke Nukem....or...Gordon Freeman.
      it would at least make sense....

    • I agree, any list without John Carmack on it is meaningless. At least they got Shigeru Miyamoto, but what about Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy composer)? I mean, he's half the reason that all Final Fantasy games are distinctly Final Fantasy games. One of the longest running franchises in video game history, 1987-present, with 13 main titles spanning 5 major console systems. The guy's work is epic.

    • Re:Did I miss something? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Spyware23 ( 1260322 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @10:17AM (#32978254) Homepage

      http://www.ivghof.com/media-and-sponsors/our-official-media-partners [ivghof.com]

      Scroll down, take notice of the sponsors. The list contains, among others, Walmart, Xbox 360 (yes, the name of the console, not the company), Gamestop and Alienware (Dell).

      Dirty little fucking companies at it again. Skewing results, steering votes. Eugh.

    • Not to mention the handful of excellent designers from Ensemble Studios. Please, a moment of silence in remembrance of the now closed company.
    • Pretty sure it's the first. And yes, the list is complete and utter wank. There are only a few who deserve to be on that list and the only one on the list that stands out (and who would be on my list of potential inductees), Shigeru Miyamoto. Nolan Bushnell, Ralph Baer and the founder of NAMCO, are all industry pioneers who have earnt a place on the list. I might...MIGHT...even go so far as to say that Jonathon "Fatal1ty" Wendel isn't *that* out of place considering how well known he is and how he was one o
  • It's fine if they want to induct mainly people into the "Hall of Fame" as it were, but why does Pac-Man get the sole video game induction? I don't doubt the effect Pac Man has had over the years but surely some other games deserve mention if even ONE game gets the nod.

    Why is Miyamoto listed as "creator of Donkey Kong"? Surely he is well known for MUCH MUCH more than just donkey kong, it's as if they treat him as some obscure programmer when everyone knows he's much more than that.

    • It would appear as the answer to both your questions is along the lines of how long and how big of impact those games had. And if that's not a good enough answer then pretend I ended it with "that's what she said!"

    • Could be the fact Pac-Man is 30 years old on top of everything else? As to your other questions, I don't have the answers, but I can try to track them down.
      • For some reason when you said "track them down" I imagined you navigating a maze chewing on pellets.

  • Wait just a damn minute (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ceraphis ( 1611217 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:28AM (#32974372)
    Now this is really bugging me. I like mah xboxes and such, but why is the xbox design team part of this list and not the design team from the many other much more influential consoles than of all things, THE FIRST XBOX?!

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The only rational reason I can think of for the list of names chosen is that there's a fair bit of Microsoft sponsorship money involved. Is there any other possible explanation for choosing all those Microsoft staff and leaving out so many important game developers and designers in favour of them?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 3vi1 ( 544505 )

      I totally agree. Putting the XBox guys on the list completely invalidates it and dilutes any honor associated with the nomination.

      I could see adding designers of some classic console hardware... but for the design of the original XBox? No disrespect to Mr. Blackly, but is their a single original coponent to the design? Is borrowing hardware and OS components from existing PCs a revolutionary accomplishment?

      If so, why the hell aren't the Colecovision designers on there for their MSX conversion? It was ar

  • You mean if you win the award you have to actually go to Ottumwa? I thought towns with names like that were only found on job postings....

    • No. Award recipients who cannot make the trip will be receiving their trophy in the mail. Several individuals are unable to make it, like Ralph Baer, and are recording messages to be played at the event.

  • I have an idea for the opening ceremony... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lord Kano ( 13027 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:43AM (#32974432) Homepage Journal

    Everybody gathers around, then they all make John Romero their bitch.

    LK

  • Strange list (Score:4, Insightful)

    by zr-rifle ( 677585 ) <`zedr' `at' `zedr.com'> on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:52AM (#32974468) Homepage
    I don't understand what they're celebrating here, since its got videogame designers, characters and gamers, all on the same list! Also, it says "Class of 2010", but the nominees span more or less 30 years of history.

    Anyway, I'd would nominate Rob Hubbard, a brilliant video game musician.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Karlprof ( 993894 )
      I think that was Koji Kondo: certainly he was the main composer for Ocarina of Time, as well as most of the other Zelda games. He's also done a lot of composition work for the Super Mario Bros. series. A very talented man!

  • Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AtariKee ( 455870 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @01:13AM (#32974524)
    No Ed Logg [wikipedia.org]. No Ed Rotberg [wikipedia.org]. No Tim Skelly [wikipedia.org]. No Toru Iwatani [wikipedia.org]. No Eugene Jarvis [wikipedia.org]. No FUCKING EUGENE JARVIS?!?!

    Instead they honor such douche nozzles as Billy "Kenny Loggins is my long lost dad" Mitchell. Great.

    Hall of fames are a joke, just like the lame, political, glad-handing "Rock N Roll" Hall of Fame...
    • My bad. You can add pioneer Al Alcorn [wikipedia.org] to that list as well. Where the fuck is he?

    • At least Steve Richie is in there, but yeah, the first name I looked for is the one in my signature.

      From Firepower to Black Knight to Defender to Robotron... his creations kicked my ass many times, and I kept coming back for more.

  • So many names missing (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak AT yahoo DOT com> on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @01:18AM (#32974538) Homepage Journal

    Ian Bell (Elite), David Braben (Elite, Zarch, Virus, Virus 2000), Jeremy Smith (Thrust, Exile), Peter Irvin (Starship Command, Exile), Nigel Alderton (Chuckie Egg), Geoff Crammond (Revs, Formula One Grand Prix), Tim and Chris Stamper (Knight Lore), Nick Pelling (Firetrack, Frak!, Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat 2, Duke Nukem), Peter Molyneux (Populous). And that's within a few minutes of looking. Of these, Ian Bell and David Braben deserve MBEs for their service to gaming and a lifetime of free psychiatric care to help with their feud).

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      And what about the whole crew of Lucasfilm Games?, including Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Michael Z. Land, Aric Wilmunder, Brian Moriarty... they made history!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by glwtta ( 532858 )
      Nick Pelling (Firetrack, Frak!, Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat 2, Duke Nukem)

      Wait, is that the "The Curse of the Voynich" Nick Pelling?

      Had no idea he worked on so many well-known games.
    • If you think that someone is missing -- someone who absolutely deserves to be inducted into the IVGHOF, but is not on this list, you are right! This process is just beginning and we plan on bestowing the highest honors on every individual or organization who has contributed to the success or enrichment of the worldwide video game industry. Unfortunately, everybody can't be inducted in a single year, so we ask for everyone's patience as we move through this first year and work to establish the IVGHOF as the

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jd ( 1658 )

        This is the age of multi-core! No longer are you limited to single-thread inductions. With the appropriate locks and barrier operations, 16-way parallelism should be possible.

  • Ottumwa, Iowa? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chas ( 5144 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @01:45AM (#32974630) Homepage Journal

    Oh. I see it right here on the map. Just southeast of Outer Buttfuckistan...err...Des Moines.

    Who in their right mind puts something like this out in the asscrack back of beyond?

    "Oh property values are cheap and this'll draw tourism!"

    IT'S FUCKING IOWA! It's one gigantic cornfield with pretty much NOTHING else to recommend it.

    And this place is nearly an hour's travel from the nearest major expressway. Yeah! Gonna draw lots of non-locals there!

    What next? The Goatse hall of fame?

    • Build it and they shall come.

      A part of a destination is the journey taken, and what honor is there to a hall of fame without a pilgrimage?

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Wait, are you talking about the goatse hall of fame?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by greg1104 ( 461138 )

      Ottumwa is the founding location of Twin Galaxies [wikipedia.org], and from 1982 to 1984 it really was the video game capital of the US at least. Nowadays, I find it much more convenient to visit Funspot [funspotnh.com] when I'm looking for that sort of thing though, rather than go to the middle of Iowa. (All of Iowa feels like the middle)

      • Nowadays, I find it much more convenient to visit Funspot

        Agreed. People look at me funny when I describe my yearly visits as "holy pilgrimages", but I really love that place! I'm fortunate it's only an hour's drive away.

    • IT'S FUCKING IOWA! It's one gigantic cornfield with pretty much NOTHING else to recommend it.

      Be nice, they have soy beans and pigs too. (Said as the son to 2 Iowans. Too many vacations to that boring as all fuck place.)

  • I'm guessing this is marketing spam from Microsoft, particularly as it doesn't contain someone like David Braben but does contain a whole load of x-box designers.
  • I'd rather they focus on recognizing the games themselves, kind of like how other museums focus on the artifacts they display. Funspot Family Fun Center [wikipedia.org]'s non-profit wing takes that approach - showcasing old arcade games.
  • the title appears misleading is it only console games? (what i think of when i see video games) or is it all computer games including consoles etc. There are brilliant games that should be included in such a HOF including but not limited to games like Gauntlet and for me the original ad&d roleplaying games. In terms of people Mike Singleton sticks out (Lords of Midnight developer) but this was not console/arcade so might be excluded on that basis. It seams that such a HOF will very much depend on wha

    • they need pinball games as well.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by julesh ( 229690 )

      the title appears misleading is it only console games? (what i think of when i see video games)

      That's just you. Generally, the definition of "video game" is considered inclusive of computers, consoles, and dedicated devices with graphical displays, whereas "computer game" is exclusively either games for general-purpose computers, or sometimes includes console games, but (almost) never includes games running on dedicated devices.

      Some definitions from around the web:

      "an electronic game that involves interac

  • Alexey Pajitnov and Tetris (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Sven-Erik ( 177541 ) on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @07:41AM (#32976332)

    And what about russian Alexey Pajitnov and his Tetris game...

  • ...Not exactly impressive. They basically have a bunch of shops (Walmart, Gamestop), some random studios (but hey if they made the hit SuperMonkeyBash HD on XBLA, then who are we to doubt the decades of industry knowledge AngryChimp Studios has?) and then XBox 360. Well then, that'd explain all the XBox related crap on the list. The whole site smacks of some coordinator of State relations being given a government grant and noticing that them thar games are big at the moment, and gathering a similar bunch of
  • Let's not forget Fred Savage in the Wizard...
  • 1. This is the first year of the induction ceremonies. Like every other hall of fame out there, people don't make the first year, or second year or other years. 2. Yes, we know some of the people who "should be inducted" didn't make the cut. Shit happens. 3....please read the below comments from Walter Day on how the inductees were picked: When the IVGHOF was first conceived, it immediately approved a list of inductees that included five noted competitive gamers, four legendary industry pioneers and o
    • You guys sure did manage to induct a bunch of XBox developers, though

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by julesh ( 229690 )

      The problem is, you've basically screwed the whole thing up. You should be putting the most influential people in first. I'm not sure about the gamers you included -- I see at least one of the names I'd expect to see there, but don't know a huge amount about the field -- but in terms of designers you've basically missed the mark. By including multiple people from the same project (i.e. design of the Xbox) you appear to be showing bias towards that particular project. And by not picking many of the score

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by brolin9 ( 634581 )

      1. This is the first year of the induction ceremonies. Like every other hall of fame out there, people don't make the first year, or second year or other years. 2. Yes, we know some of the people who "should be inducted" didn't make the cut.

      However, most people would expect inductions to start with the most significant people first. I believe the point people have been making here is that your list completely misses that mark. For example, the Xbox design team? I would think the developers of, say, the first successful console, first successful handheld, etc., would be first. You know, the people that actually created the industry? What, exactly, did the Xbox create? At least you didn't pick the hardware disaster that is the Xbox 360 (my gr

  • Ottumwa, Iowa? The Center of the Video Game Universe?! Nooooo! Say it isn't so! All Ottumwa, Iowa and the whole state in fact is the Epicenter of BF Nowhere and a huge black hole for technology! (I should know - I use to live there!)

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