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Classic Games (Games) Games

First Games Inducted Into the World Video Game Hall of Fame 277

Posted by samzenpus from the best-wasted-hours dept.
An anonymous reader writes: From 15 finalists, the first inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame were picked for 2015. Only one of the titles added to the list of legends was launched in the last 15 years. The six games inducted this year are: Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Doom, and World of Warcraft. The World Video Game Hall of Fame says it recognizes games across all platforms, and all have the possibility of being included.
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First Games Inducted Into the World Video Game Hall of Fame More

First Games Inducted Into the World Video Game Hall of Fame

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  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday June 07, 2015 @07:36PM (#49863677)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msauve ( 701917 )
      Yep. And notably absent are Colossal Cave Adventure [wikipedia.org] and Star Trek [wikipedia.org].

    • Re:WoW? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Sunday June 07, 2015 @07:57PM (#49863759)
      Yeah, absolutely. If we're doing introductory inductees (say that 10 times fast) WoW doesn't really belong with Pong and Pac Man, especially in the abscence of Space Invaders and/or Galaga.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

        My best guess is that they really wanted to include a "massively multiplayer" game in some fashion and what better representative of MMOs is there than WoW?

        But I agree, they would have been far better served just leaving MMOs out entirely than including WoW in the first iteration. WoW probably deserves to be in a "gaming hall of fame" - eventually.

        There's a huge catalog of games and genres that are just flat-out more deserving of recognition than MMOs in general and WoW in particular. WoW can wait.

        • Re:WoW? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by sound+vision ( 884283 ) on Monday June 08, 2015 @03:58AM (#49865065) Journal
          Really I think that part of the issue is they have no guidelines or limitations on the nominations. With the Rock & Roll hall of fame, there is a rule that a band or performer has to have released its first music at least 25 years ago to be nominated. The time aspect is important, it helps you recognize which releases are truly important and influential, and which ones are catchy but short-lived. The reason this game inductees list looks weird is that it's got WoW listed next to Pong and Tetris. Give it another decade, and it won't be so weird to see WoW in there. IMO they shouldn't be considering anything newer than the 90s for a few years.

    • All the games on the list were played by tens (if not hundreds) of millions of people...and even if you ask someone who's never played a video game in their life, they'll probably know of those six. They've also greatly influenced a huge number of other games, and more or less defined the mechanics in their particular genre.

      Whether you 'like' them or think of them as 'classics' or not is a far more subjective criteria.

      (Also, the ratio of good to bad music hasn't changed since you were young. It just meant m

    • no leisure suit larry??

    • Personally I think XCOM should have been picked over WoW. It's super iconic, consistently ranks as one of the best videogames ever made, and I would argue has had more influence on video game development than WoW.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cfalcon ( 779563 )

        More influence? Nah.

        X-COM sold less than a million, ever. WoW peaked at 12 million subscribers, and that's not every player ever- just the most playing at once.

        WoW belongs on this list. The game that only us nerds have played and literally no one else? No. It does not. WoW is influential and well known everywhere, X-COM is absolutely not.

    • Picking wow as opposed to picking lineage (or ultima online) is akin to picking super mario world as opposed to super mario bros.

  • what? when did this happen? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Karmashock ( 2415832 ) on Sunday June 07, 2015 @07:36PM (#49863681)

    when did a hall of fame for games get created that wasn't just some guy's opinion?

    Where is this?

    • when did a hall of fame for games get created that wasn't just some guy's opinion?

      This year, 2015.

      Where is this?

      Rochester, New York

      • ... I know but... like... I've seen nothing about this until now and who the fuck are these people... and etc etc?

        I mean, should I take this more seriously than any jackass saying "I like this"... is this supposed to be like the academy awards or golden globes or something?

        The very idea of this thing is baffling to me because I don't think the community or industry is organized enough to have such a thing.

        I don't really have a problem with their selections, I just think the way in which they go through this

        • I mean, should I take this more seriously than any jackass saying "I like this"...

          No, probably not.

          is this supposed to be like the academy awards or golden globes or something?

          I am sure that the people doing it see it that way.

          I don't think the community or industry is organized enough to have such a thing.

          That means that anyone can start such a thing, and no one is organized enough to stop them.

          I just think the way in which they go through this needs to be declared and obvious.

          Why? If you don't like the way they do it, then start your own hall of fame. They don't owe you anything.

        • Re:what? when did this happen? (Score:5, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 07, 2015 @10:13PM (#49864301)

          ... I know but... like... I've seen nothing about this until now and who the fuck are these people... and etc etc?

          I mean, should I take this more seriously than any jackass saying "I like this"... is this supposed to be like the academy awards or golden globes or something?

          The very idea of this thing is baffling to me because I don't think the community or industry is organized enough to have such a thing.

          I don't really have a problem with their selections, I just think the way in which they go through this needs to be declared and obvious.

          It's at the Strong Museum of Play which is the recognized Toy Hall of Fame by the International Toy Industry and the Strong Museuem is also home to the International History of Electronic Games. The Strong also has over 65,000 video game artifacts in its collection which is the largest collection in the world. It's a world-class museum. So yes it is worthy of creating this Hall. You should check it out if you ever have a chance. It's arcade game collection is also amazing.

  • Duke Nukem Forever!!!
  • a small division of the Universe.

  • History... (Score:3)

    by Ambient Sheep ( 458624 ) on Sunday June 07, 2015 @08:16PM (#49863833)

    Space Invaders, Defender and Tempest see the obvious omissions to me...

  • Anyone play Grave Robbers on C-64 datasette, that's the best game ever.

  • No Half-Life or CS? or Unreal for that matter.

    • No Half-Life or CS? or Unreal for that matter.

      Half-Life changed video games forever. It's an order of magnitude more important than WoW.

      • Half-Life changed video games forever. It's an order of magnitude more important than WoW.

        If you ask a random person on the street who Mario is, you're likely to find out he's a plumber from a Nintendo game, or you'll have a good shot at it. If you ask a random person on the street who Gordon Freeman is, they'll probably say "wasn't he involved in the civil rights movement?" Consequently, Pablo Picasso was never... no, wait. You know how this paragraph is supposed to end. That just popped into my head for some reason.

  • They have to be iconic, have longevity, have reached across international boundaries and also have exerted influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment or on popular culture and society.
    [...]
    Of the 15 finalists that were announced in late April, nine did not have what it took to be inducted at this time. Those titles included: The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Angry Birds, FIFA, Pokemon, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog and space Invaders.

    I question whether any sports game will ever truly belong in the video game hall of game; if anything it would probably be Golden Tee, which probably has done more to bring video gaming to old white farts than any other title. But I think it's clear that Zelda, Minecraft, Pokemon, The Sims, and Space Invaders all belong in the hall of fame by this criteria.

    Back on the subject of sports games, since I feel I have to defend my statement; the games don't influence society, the sport does, and the games are one

    • Probably better than a 1 in 10 chance that any random woman you meet on the street knows what a plumbob is.

      Uh oh, I thought I knew what a plumbob was until you said that. Then I had to go look it up. So yes, I still know what a plumbob is, but indeed what most people know as a plumbob does not match my definition. I've even PLAYED the Sims, probably have 40 or 50 hours in from about 10 years back, and didn't know that thing over their head was called a plumbob.

      • I know what both a plumb bob and a plumbob are, sadly. And I think I may actually have every Sims game, and I have lots of expansions... but I've only spent a total of a couple hours on all the titles combined, they're just readily available at yard sales, flea markets, and the like for a buck or less. Which in itself ought to say something...

  • Missing? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MouseTheLuckyDog ( 2752443 ) on Sunday June 07, 2015 @11:00PM (#49864407)

    Zork. It just has to be there. It's like having a basketball hall of fame, and not having Michael Jordan in it.

    Miner2049er. Again iconic.

    Myst, I'm not a big fan, but in it's time it was iconic.

    • Zork. It just has to be there. It's like having a basketball hall of fame, and not having Michael Jordan in it.

      On one hand, I want to agree with you. On the other hand, only nerds know what Zork is. It's never made the leap out to the real world.

      Myst, I'm not a big fan, but in it's time it was iconic.

      Probably it will weasel its way in there someday, but that genre has pretty much died for a reason, and that reason is that it's boring. Of course, now we have a rash of walking simulators, so I could be wrong.

      • On the other hand, only nerds know what Zork is. It's never made the leap out to the real world.

        You've made essentially this same comment about other games in this thread, and I'm not sure it is a good metric to go by.

        It would be like judging all of music by what is popular, since that is the only thing to have a real cultural impact (at least monetarily).

        I'd rather if it were video game aficionado's pointing the way to the general public as to why these games are important, and perhaps how they shortchanged themselves by only following what is popular.

        And a vote for Sini-Star.

        • You've made essentially this same comment about other games in this thread, and I'm not sure it is a good metric to go by.

          Well, RTFA and complain to the owners of the HoF, it's their metric. It's not mine. Although, the more time I've spent with this article, the more I agree that it's a worthy criteria. It eliminates a lot of similar games which otherwise would all be clamoring for inclusion.

  • Interesting list of game choices (Score:3, Insightful)

    by BevanFindlay ( 1636473 ) on Monday June 08, 2015 @12:21AM (#49864637)

    Hmm. That list seems to make sense, though WoW is perhaps the outsider.

    But, what about Asteroids, Space Invaders, even Street Fighter? Civilization or Sim City? No love (yet) for strategy games at all, which should probably start with either those or Dune II, or perhaps something from the Command & Conquer series (either C&C1 or Red Alert 1). Although, maybe I'm a bit too much of a geek - quite likely, Age of Empires would beat some of those to the list.

    However, these, and most of the other suggestions being made, are more about iconic or revolutionary (started a genre) games, as opposed to simply famous. And, they put the requirement of it influencing outside culture (so recognisable by more than gamers). The Sims, Minecraft, Sonic, and yes, as much as we geeks don't want to admit it, Angry Birds (as derivative as that is - i.e. there's no Scorched Earth, a much earlier artillery game) are all legitimate nominations I think. Perhaps they might have had less ire if they kept to solely classic games for the first round, although I do remember hearing something about an unofficial WoW theme park in China... Interesting that WoW gets in before Warcraft though.

    I can see how difficult it would be to be objective on something like this, so I applaud their attempting it, even if I don't entirely agree with the choices. Maybe they included WoW to try and have something relevant to a modern audience? (Although, arguably Minecraft is more recognisable today, if perhaps still a little new. I expect it will get there soon enough though).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cfalcon ( 779563 )

      Street Fighter II (NOT the original Street Fighter, which no one played) should be on that list. Asteroids, I just don't think so. Space Invaders, probably.

      Starcraft would be on the list way before Dune II or C&C. Or Warcraft II.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cfalcon ( 779563 )

      Minecraft will probably hit that list at some point, but WoW is just as "recognizable" today (it had 10 megasubs a few months ago) as it was at its peak of 12. It's not some has-been, though at some point it will be. Minecraft should definitely show up at some point though. It's ludic popular.

  • As the title says: Dungeon Master.

  • No versus fighting games? Blasphemy!

  • Doom may have been more popular but it didn't really develop the genre. It was an incremental improvement hardly revolutionary.

  • Here's my forgotten nominee: Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer [wikipedia.org]. Another game that brought interest in computers to a whole range of old white men who would otherwise have stuck with fly-tying.

  • Is it bad that my first thought was wondering which pack of SJWs was behind this excuse to narrate the history of our "thing" and hand out trophies to their friends?

  • Decent selections... (Score:3)

    by PortHaven ( 242123 ) on Monday June 08, 2015 @08:53AM (#49865963) Homepage

    WoW was not the first, but it did something in the modern era that nothing else really did.

    It pushed it's presence into a household name. It's marketing was huge. People who didn't know the game, knew of the addiction.

    DOOM wasn't the first. I mean Wolfenstein 3D was really more original. But DOOM had a far broader acceptance and influence long term.

    ***

    I could see some others ...

    For this era, I think Angry Birds might be a good candidate. Needs a few more years to see. But it went far beyond video game and became a fad.

    TETRIS...

    Halo Series

  • Usually, I immediately disagree with picks for this sort of thing. Not this time.

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