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International Video Game Hall of Fame facts for kids

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International Video Game Hall of Fame
Established July 2010 (2010-07)
Location Ottumwa, Iowa

The International Video Game Hall of Fame (IVGHoF) is a planned museum to be operated in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States.

Ottumwa considers itself as the "Video Game Capital of the World" as the city was home to the Twin Galaxies arcade which became the epicenter for numerous competitions in arcade games. The museum's organization is operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit by Ottumwa business leaders and other residents, designed to recognize "the champions, industries, and professionals" of the video game industry. While the museum has not been constructed, the IVGHoF continues to induct new members into its Hall of Fame.

History

The idea of the museum was conceived around 2009. The city laid claim that they were the Video Game Capital of the World in 1982, following the recognition that Twin Galaxies had received for being the authoritative source for high scores in arcade games, a point that had not been challenged since. Around 2009, community leaders started speculating on the possibility of a museum, recognizing that previous efforts to establish a United States video game museum had all failed and that this was potentially a way to capitalize on the city's claim to fame. Leaders recognized that since 1982, the video game industry had significantly changed, with arcade games having waned in favor of consoles and computers, but felt they could still be a proper home to this museum due to the town's history as Cooperstown, New York serves for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The city leaders also saw the opportunity to help the financially struggling city to bring in more revenues from tourism to the primarily farming community.

The city's council and chamber of commerce authorized a steering committee to organize and plan out the museum. The museum's organizers aimed to collect donations to build a modern facility, estimated to cost between $30 to $50 million, with interactive displays to celebrate its inductees, and to acquire at least one working version of each of the estimated 100,000 coin-operated and home video game systems that have been produced to date. Their initial goal was to start construction within five years from its onset.

The museum inducted its first class during its multiday "Big Bang 2010" event on August 7, 2010. Inducted into the Hall of Fame during this initial ceremony included Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, Namco's Masaya Nakamura, home video game system pioneers Ralph H. Baer and Nolan Bushnell, game designer Steve Ritchie, members of the original Xbox design team including Seamus Blackley, and several arcade game high-score champions including Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. The event also honored Pac-Man on the 30th anniversary of the arcade game's release through induction into the Hall of Fame. The initial events drew in at least 3,500 visitors to the town. In subsequent years, due to low donations, the IVGHoF has scaled back these events, still holding ceremonies for honoring inductees, as to be able to better met their target goals.

In 2016, the IVGHoF and the town established the "Video Game Walk of Fame" along the town's main street, believed to be the first of its kind. While the IVGHoF itself focuses more on the people and organizations of the video game industry, the Video Game Walk of Fame was designed to commemorate key video games. In its inaugural year, the IVGHoF selected Pac-Man for the first "star" on this, and put into display on August 7, 2016, alongside the events to induct new members into the Hall of Fame.

Inductees

The IVGHoF selects inductees from both the industry and from players, as well as select video games. Selections are made first through an open nomination process, public input to narrow down the electees, and then voting among a set of video game journalists, executives, and gamers for final inductees.

Developers and industry leaders

Year Name Description
2010 Kevin Bachus Member of the Xbox design team
2010 Ralph H. Baer "Father of Video Games", inventor of the first home video game console
2010 Otto Berkes Member of the Xbox design team
2010 Seamus Blackley Member of the Xbox design team
2010 Nolan Bushnell Founder of Atari
2019 Brian Colin Developer of Rampage and Arch Rivals
2017 Warren Davis Developer of Q*bert
2019 Richard Garriott "Lord British", and developer of the Ultima series
2010 Ted Hase Member of the Xbox design team
2016 Satoru Iwata Former president of Nintendo
2015 Eugene Jarvis Developer of Defender and Robotron: 2084
2016 Hideo Kojima Developer of the Metal Gear series
2010 Shigeru Miyamoto Developer of Donkey Kong
2010 Masaya Nakamura Founder of Namco
2017 Howard Phillips Spokesperson for Nintendo of America
2010 Steve Ritchie Pinball game designer
2019 Bonnie Ross Head of 343 Industries, the studio managing the Halo franchise
2015 Gary Stern President of Stern Electronics and Stern Pinball

Competitive gamers

Year Name Description
2015 Thor Aackerland Competitive Gamer
2017 Chris Ayra 90's eSports Competitor
2015 Tim Balderramos Competitive Gamer
2010 Rob Barrett Competitive Gamer
2010 Dennis Fong Competitive Gamer
2015 Eric Ginner Competitive Gamer
2015 Katherine "Mystik" Gunn Competitive Gamer
2010 Ike Hall Competitive Gamer
2015 Steve Harris Competitive Gamer
2019 Ryan Hart 90's Gamer
2019 Donald Hayes 2000's Gamer
2017 Michael Klug Golden Age Gamer
2010 Andrew Laidlaw Competitive Gamer
2010 John McAllister Competitive Gamer
2019 David Palmer Golden Age Gamer
2019 Jeff Peters Golden Age Gamer
2010 Perry Rodgers Competitive Gamer
2010 Scott Safran Competitive Gamer
2016 Chris Tang 90's eSports Competitor
2010 Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel Competitive Gamer
2010 Phil Younger Competitive Gamer

Games

Year Name Description
2019 Assassin's Creed series 2000's Era Game
2019 Computer Space Golden Age Game
2015 Defender Legendary Arcade Game
2019 Doom 90's Era Game
2017 Donkey Kong Golden Arcade Game
2019 Fortnite 2000's Era Game
2019 Galaga Golden Age Game
2017 Halo 2000's Era Game
2016 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 90's Era Game
2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Modern Age Game
2016 Minecraft Current Era Game
2019 Ms. Pac-Man Golden Age Game
2010 Pac-Man Legendary Arcade Game
2017 Sonic the Hedgehog 90's Era Game
2019 Street Fighter series 90's Era Game
2019 Super Mario 64 90's Era Game
2016 Super Mario Bros. Golden Age Game
2019 Super Smash Bros. Melee 2000's Era Game
2019 Tetris Golden Age Game
2016 World of Warcraft 2000's Era Game

Community Action Award

Year Name Description
2016 Patrick O'Malley Community Action Award
2017 Extra Life Fundraising organization
2019 Doc Mack Founder of Galloping Ghost, arcade game collection
2019 Video Game Palooza Video game STEM-based charity

Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

Year Name Description
2015 David Bishop Programmer and Vice-president of Namco America
2017 David Crane Programmer and co-founder of Activision
2019 Reggie Fils-Aimé President of Nintendo of America
2016 Steve Wozniak Co-founder of Apple Inc.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Salón Internacional de la Fama de los Videojuegos para niños

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