kids encyclopedia robot

World Video Game Hall of Fame facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
World Video Game Hall of Fame
Rochester Play Museum Atrium at Night.jpg
Formation June 4, 2015
Purpose To highlight the video games that have made an impact on the world
Location
Parent organization
The Strong
World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play
In June 2023, The Strong National Museum of Play debuted ESL Digital Worlds, a 24,000-square foot gallery that houses the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame is an international hall of fame for video games. The hall's administration is overseen by The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and is located at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, United States. The museum began the International Center for the History of Electronic Games in 2009, announced the formation of the hall of fame in February 2015, and opened it on June 4, 2015. It is located in a dedicated part of the "ESL Digital Worlds: High Score" exhibit at the National Museum of Play; prior to an expansion of the museum in 2023 it was located in the museum's "eGameRevolution" exhibit. The Strong has also run the National Toy Hall of Fame since 2002.

Video games become eligible for the World Video Game Hall of Fame by meeting four criteria:

  • Icon Status – is widely recognized and remembered
  • Longevity – is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time
  • Geographical Reach – meets the above criteria across international boundaries
  • Influence – has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general

Initial nominations are made each year by a staff committee at The Strong, which takes into account the four criteria, with influence considered the most important. Members of the public can submit games for consideration by the committee as well. The nominees are then voted on by a panel of around 30 "scholars and journalists from around the world", with each panel member ranking their top three choices. A public poll is also included, with the results counting as equivalent to a member of the panel. Afterwards, the staff committee reviews the votes and makes the final selection. While generally there is a clear difference in vote counts for the highest-scoring games, if there are multiple games with similar vote counts near the cutoff point, the committee decides by emphasizing a variety of game types or platforms in any given induction year. Video games that have not been inducted may be nominated in multiple years. The set of final nominees is typically announced each year in March, and the inductees in May. In its first two years of operation, the hall named six inductees from fifteen finalists; since then, it has named four or five inductees each year from a set of twelve.

In the ten years that the hall of fame has been open, 45 games have been inducted out of 81 nominated. Many of those games have been nominated multiple times. In some cases, the hall may list the first game in a series of similar titles as a proxy for the entire series, such as with The Oregon Trail series or the FIFA International Soccer/FIFA series. Nintendo has been the developer of the most games inducted with seven, out of a total of eleven nominations of eight games. Atari has had three games inducted out of six nominations of those three games, and Blizzard Entertainment, Capcom, and Maxis have had two games inducted. Seven other developers have had more than one game nominated. Minecraft has had the most nominations of any game at four and was then inducted, while FIFA International Soccer has had the most nominations without being inducted at three. The earliest game to be nominated is Spacewar! from 1962, while the latest is The Last of Us from 2013, both of which have been inducted.

Inductees and finalists

Release years of inductees
1962 Spacewar!
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971 Computer Space
The Oregon Trail
1972 Pong
1973
1974
1975
1976 Colossal Cave Adventure
1977
1978 Space Invaders
1979 Asteroids
1980 Pac-Man
1981 Centipede
Ultima
Donkey Kong
1982 Ms. Pac-Man
Microsoft Flight Simulator
1983
1984 King's Quest
1985 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Super Mario Bros.
Tetris
1986 The Legend of Zelda
1987
1988
1989 SimCity
1990 Microsoft Solitaire
John Madden Football
1991 Street Fighter II
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sid Meier's Civilization
1992 Super Mario Kart
Mortal Kombat
1993 Myst
DOOM
1994
1995
1996 Pokémon Red and Green
Resident Evil
Tomb Raider
Barbie Fashion Designer
1997 Final Fantasy VII
1998 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
StarCraft
Dance Dance Revolution
1999
2000 The Sims
2001 Animal Crossing
Bejeweled
Grand Theft Auto III
Halo: Combat Evolved
2002
2003
2004 World of Warcraft
2005
2006 Wii Sports
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 Minecraft
2012
2013 The Last of Us

  *   Inductees

  **   Inductees at a later date

Winners and nominees
Year Game Developer Year released Ref
2015 DOOM* id Software 1993
Pac-Man* Namco 1980
Pong* Atari 1972
Super Mario Bros.* Nintendo 1985
Tetris* Alexey Pajitnov 1985
World of Warcraft* Blizzard Entertainment 2004
Angry Birds Rovio Entertainment 2009
FIFA International Soccer EA Canada 1993
The Legend of Zelda** Nintendo 1986
Minecraft** Mojang Studios 2011
The Oregon Trail** Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger 1971
Pokémon Red and Green** Game Freak 1996
The Sims** Maxis 2000
Sonic the Hedgehog** Sonic Team 1991
Space Invaders** Taito 1978
2016 Grand Theft Auto III* DMA Design 2001
The Legend of Zelda* Nintendo 1986
The Oregon Trail* Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger 1971
The Sims* Maxis 2000
Sonic the Hedgehog* Sonic Team 1991
Space Invaders* Taito 1978
Elite David Braben, Ian Bell 1984
Final Fantasy Square 1987
John Madden Football** Park Place Productions 1990
Minecraft** Mojang Studios 2011
Nürburgring Reiner Foerst 1976
Pokémon Red and Green** Game Freak 1996
Sid Meier's Civilization** MicroProse 1991
Street Fighter II** Capcom 1991
Tomb Raider** Core Design 1996
2017 Donkey Kong* Nintendo 1981
Halo: Combat Evolved* Bungie 2001
Pokémon Red and Green* Game Freak 1996
Street Fighter II* Capcom 1991
Final Fantasy VII** Square 1997
Microsoft Solitaire** Wes Cherry (Microsoft) 1990
Mortal Kombat** Midway Games 1992
Myst** Cyan 1993
Portal Valve Corporation 2007
Resident Evil** Capcom 1996
Tomb Raider** Core Design 1996
Wii Sports** Nintendo 2006
2018 Final Fantasy VII* Square 1997
John Madden Football* Park Place Productions 1990
Spacewar!* Steve Russell and others 1962
Tomb Raider* Core Design 1996
Asteroids** Atari 1979
Call of Duty Infinity Ward 2003
Dance Dance Revolution** Konami 1998
Half-Life Valve Corporation 1998
King's Quest** Sierra On-Line 1984
Metroid Nintendo 1986
Minecraft** Mojang Studios 2011
Ms. Pac-Man** General Computer Corporation 1982
2019 Colossal Cave Adventure* William Crowther, Don Woods 1976
Microsoft Solitaire* Wes Cherry (Microsoft) 1990
Mortal Kombat* Midway Games 1992
Super Mario Kart* Nintendo 1992
Candy Crush Saga King 2012
Centipede** Atari 1981
Dance Dance Revolution** Konami 1998
Half-Life Valve Corporation 1998
Myst** Cyan 1993
NBA 2K Visual Concepts 1999
Sid Meier's Civilization** MicroProse 1991
Super Smash Bros. Melee HAL Laboratory 2001
2020 Bejeweled* PopCap Games 2001
Centipede* Atari 1981
King's Quest* Sierra On-Line 1984
Minecraft* Mojang Studios 2011
Frogger Konami 1981
GoldenEye 007 Rare 1997
Guitar Hero Harmonix 2005
NBA Jam Midway Games 1993
Nokia Snake Nokia 1997
Super Smash Bros. Melee HAL Laboratory 2001
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Naughty Dog 2009
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?** Broderbund 1985
2021 Animal Crossing* Nintendo 2001
Microsoft Flight Simulator* Sublogic 1982
StarCraft* Blizzard Entertainment 1998
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?* Broderbund 1985
Call of Duty Infinity Ward 2003
FarmVille Zynga 2009
FIFA International Soccer EA Canada 1993
Guitar Hero Harmonix 2005
Mattel Football Mattel 1977
Pole Position Namco 1982
Portal Valve Corporation 2007
Tron Bally Midway 1982
2022 Dance Dance Revolution* Konami 1998
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time* Nintendo 1998
Ms. Pac-Man* General Computer Corporation 1982
Sid Meier's Civilization* MicroProse 1991
Assassin's Creed Ubisoft Montreal 2007
Candy Crush Saga King 2012
Minesweeper Curt Johnson (Microsoft) 1990
NBA Jam Midway Games 1993
PaRappa the Rapper NanaOn-Sha 1996
Resident Evil** Capcom 1996
Rogue A.I. Design 1980
Words with Friends Zynga 2009
2023 Barbie Fashion Designer* Digital Domain 1996
Computer Space* Syzygy Engineering 1971
The Last of Us* Naughty Dog 2013
Wii Sports* Nintendo 2006
Age of Empires Ensemble Studios 1997
Angry Birds Rovio Entertainment 2009
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Infinity Ward 2007
FIFA International Soccer EA Canada 1993
GoldenEye 007 Rare 1997
NBA 2K Visual Concepts 1999
Quake id Software 1996
Wizardry Sir-Tech 1981
2024 Asteroids* Atari 1979
Myst* Cyan 1993
Resident Evil* Capcom 1996
SimCity* Maxis 1989
Ultima* Richard Garriott, Origin Systems 1981
Elite David Braben, Ian Bell 1984
Guitar Hero Harmonix 2005
Metroid Nintendo 1986
Neopets Adam Powell, Donna Powell 1999
Tokimeki Memorial Konami 1994
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Neversoft 1999
You Don't Know Jack Jellyvision 1995

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Salón de la Fama del Videojuego para niños

kids search engine
World Video Game Hall of Fame Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.