Poll of the Day > 2024 Video Game Hall of Fame nominees

(+) Yeah! (+)

Of those, SimCity and Ultima are probably the most influential, which I would say is the primary factor that should be considered in putting together a museum of gaming history.

adjl posted...

Of those, SimCity and Ultima are probably the most influential, which I would say is the primary factor that should be considered in putting together a museum of gaming history.

Agreed. As much as I love Metroid I'd probably give the nod to Ultima if I had to pick one.

Worth mentioning that multiple nominees can be inducted. In the past they've had several inducted at once.

https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/inducted-games/

adjl posted...

Of those, SimCity and Ultima are probably the most influential, which I would say is the primary factor that should be considered in putting together a museum of gaming history.

I think SimCity is, not so much Ultima...I think Asteroids is more popular Pop Culture/Mainstream wise.

Me personally it would be either RE or Metroid, but they probably will go with Sims or Asteroids.

Bump

adjl posted...

Of those, SimCity and Ultima are probably the most influential, which I would say is the primary factor that should be considered in putting together a museum of gaming history.

I'd argue Asteroids and Myst would outrank both of them.

Asteroids was a huge facet of both the arcade and console booms, became sort of synonymous with gaming for years, had a huge influence on the development of later games like Defender and Cosmic Avenger (and thus the games that followed them). And it made more money for Atari at the time than any other game. It's probably tied with Pac-Man for pointing to a single game from that era that most represents the era.

Myst basically helped push the adoption of CD-ROM and CD PC gaming as a whole, and had a huge influence on a lot of games that followed.

My grandpa was into Myst and he didn't even know what a video game was.

does anyone have a full list of every game already in there? their website is ass

asteroids, and it's not even close

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'd argue Asteroids and Myst would outrank both of them.

Asteroids was a huge facet of both the arcade and console booms, became sort of synonymous with gaming for years, had a huge influence on the development of later games like Defender and Cosmic Avenger (and thus the games that followed them). And it made more money for Atari at the time than any other game. It's probably tied with Pac-Man for pointing to a single game from that era that most represents the era.

It best represents the era and unarguably played a huge role in the games industry growing as it did, but I'd argue that if we're talking about what's the most influential, it should be a question of which games have elements that have played the largest roles in their respective genres evolving. Granted, Asteroids is effectively the progenitor of twin-stick shooters, even if games that more closely resemble Asteroids itself aren't all that common (whereas games that closely resemble SimCity and Ultima are, which was my logic), so perhaps it deserves more credit than I gave it on the initial pass.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Myst basically helped push the adoption of CD-ROM and CD PC gaming as a whole, and had a huge influence on a lot of games that followed.

That, though, I would say is more a matter of "it popularized the platform" than influencing the market in ways that are felt today. It established a lot of the conventions for point-and-click adventure games, but that genre's heyday has largely passed such that I struggle to say it's been a major influence on gaming as a whole.

Curious if anyone would've voted Neopets, YDKJ, or Tokimeki Memorial... wish they allowed for expanded polls.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

does anyone have a full list of every game already in there? their website is ass

Looking for that info myself, their website is ass

DirtBasedSoap posted...

does anyone have a full list of every game already in there? their website is ass

https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/inducted-games/

Gotta scroll down to the bottom and hit "load more" several times to see the full list.

Metroid inspired a whole genre of games.

At first I thought Resident Evil, but Alone in the Dark came first.

Redfeather posted...

Metroid inspired a whole genre of games.

I was kind of on the fence about Metroid. It inspired the metroidvania genre, obviously, and that's a big deal because of how prominent the genre has become, but it was one of several contemporary games that did (off the top of my head, Kid Icarus was similar in a lot of ways, as was Zelda 2, and I expect I could dig up a few others), and it was Super Metroid (alongside SotN) that really formed the foundation for the genre. It has enough of a legacy to be worth considering, but I don't think it's actually the best game to represent that legacy.

Redfeather posted...

Metroid inspired a whole genre of games.

Ultima essentially created the video game RPG as we know it today.

JRPGs, WRPGs, CRPGs, etc. None of them would have existed without Ultima.

Joke site for adding FF7 before FF6.

I'll go with Guitar Hero. I've had more fun with it than with all of the other nominees combined. Then again, this is just my personal preference.

krazycharlie posted...

I'll go with Guitar Hero. I've had more fun with it than with all of the other nominees combined. Then again, this is just my personal preference.

GH is a weird one to include. It wasn't the first rhythm game, it didn't do anything particularly unique among other rhythm games (it's basically just Beatmania with fewer buttons, stuck on a guitar), and it hasn't really spawned much of a legacy. It's definitely been one of the most popular rhythm game franchises, so it gets some credit for that, but that popularity also got milked to the point of crashing the fad it started, which kind of negates that credit.

I also had a lot of fun with GH (specifically 3 and WT), but I really wouldn't consider it an Important Game in any regard. It was just really popular for a few years, then died out without leaving any lasting impact on the industry. In my mind, that's not the sort of game that a museum exhibit of the most influential games ever should even be considering.

Metroid
RE
&
Tony

DirtBasedSoap posted...

does anyone have a full list of every game already in there? their website is ass

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Video_Game_Hall_of_Fame

Animal Crossing was inducted before Ocarina of Time. That tells you everything you need to know

Why are people voting Resident Evil over Asteroids?

feels like several of these should already be in there. asteroids, myst, and metroid in particular seem weird to have not already been picked.

ECW_Originals12 posted...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Video_Game_Hall_of_Fame

Animal Crossing was inducted before Ocarina of Time. That tells you everything you need to know

yeah this about sums it up.

what even is that list because pokemon red and green are on there like 4 times, and asteroids itself is already on there

White is nominated, blue is inducted. Games that aren't inducted can be nominated again and again. Not sure if there's a limit to how many times they can be nominated like some sports HOFs do

Of that list, Asteroids takes top spot for sure, with runners up to Sim City and Myst, in that order. The rest I'm not sure belong in there - *maybe* Resident Evil and/or Ultima, but I don't see the rest of these as being HoF-worthy (and honestly, even Myst I'd say is borderline).

The original Metroid was fair for its day, but Super Metroid is where the series really took off and set the template for Metroidvania-style games. Guitar Hero was fun and trendy in the mid-2000s, but if we're talking rhythm games DDR really deserves the nod above GH (assuming it isn't in there already).

adjl posted...

https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/inducted-games/

Gotta scroll down to the bottom and hit "load more" several times to see the full list.

Some of these are wild.

WoW being a first-ballot inductee is... odd. I agree it should be in there, but on the first ballot, ahead of fellow nominees Minecraft, Pokemon, and The Legend of Zelda? Even Sonic the Hedgehog probably warrants a higher billing.

Honestly, Minecraft - a.k.a. the best-selling video game in history - taking six attempts to get in is crazy.

Also, WTF is Barbie Fashion Designer doing in there? I can understand pretty much every other inductee except that one.

From that wiki article:

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 inductees each year from a set of twelve.

In the nine years that the hall of fame has been open, 40 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 six, out of a total of nine nominations of seven games. Atari has had three games inducted out of five nominations of four games, and Blizzard Entertainment has had two games inducted, both on their first nomination. Eight 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:

2015 -

DOOM
Pac-Man
Pong
Super Mario Bros.
Tetris
World of Warcraft

2016 -

Grand Theft Auto III
The Legend of Zelda
The Oregon Trail
The Sims
Sonic the Hedgehog
Space Invaders

2017 -

Donkey Kong
Halo: Combat Evolved
Pokmon Red and Green
Street Fighter II

2018 -

Final Fantasy VII
John Madden Football
Spacewar!
Tomb Raider

2019 -

Colossal Cave Adventure
Microsoft Solitaire
Mortal Kombat
Super Mario Kart

2020 -

Bejeweled
Centipede
King's Quest
Minecraft

2021 -

Animal Crossing
Microsoft Flight Simulator
StarCraft
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

2022 -

Dance Dance Revolution
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ms. Pac-Man
Sid Meier's Civilization

2023 -

Barbie Fashion Designer
Computer Space
The Last of Us
Wii Sports

2024 nominees that were nominated in prior years but not inducted:

Elite
Myst
Resident Evil
Asteroids
Metroid
Guitar Hero

darkknight109 posted...

Honestly, Minecraft - a.k.a. the best-selling video game in history - taking six attempts to get in is crazy.

That's pretty ridiculous. I don't really hesitate to call Minecraft the most influential game ever, given that it's possible to credit its success for the entire indie market (also popularizing sandboxes, survival crafting, and procedural generation, all of which have been huge since its launch). It should have been almost automatic.

darkknight109 posted...

Also, WTF is Barbie Fashion Designer doing in there? I can understand pretty much every other inductee except that one.

I balked at that one on the first pass, but looking at the blurb, it made more sense. It was one of the first games to be marketed specifically to girls, after decades of gaming being an overt sausage-fest, and it saw enough success to cement "for girls" as a worthwhile market to invest in. It couldn't possibly matter less for the kinds of games you and I play, but I can understand calling it a significant part of gaming history for the market it opened up.

Revelation34 posted...

Why are people voting Resident Evil over Asteroids?

Millennials and Zoomers probably...most wasn't even born when Asteroids was released...

Colonel_Lingus posted...

Curious if anyone would've voted Neopets, YDKJ, or Tokimeki Memorial... wish they allowed for expanded polls.

i would've voted tokimeki memorial from my personal perspective, as someone huge into visual novels and whatnot

stuff like rance or yu-no were way huger in shaping how things are currently, but american audiences are entirely unfamiliar with them lol. but tokimeki memorial is the foundation of an entire subgenre and we at least had some of them over here

(the anime 16 bit sensation covers why everything I mentioned was important, sort of)

Colonel_Lingus posted...

Curious if anyone would've voted Neopets, YDKJ, or Tokimeki Memorial... wish they allowed for expanded polls.

Neopets is a weird one. Its success paved the way for social media games like Farmville and Words with Friends and ultimately laid the groundwork for most mobile gaming and the whole concept of free-to-play live services (including design elements like rewards for checking in daily, time-gated progression, and social FOMO). It's certainly not the only precursor to that model (WoW's success is probably a larger driver of the live service model in premium games), so exactly how much can be attributed to Neopets is debatable, but that's a massive legacy whose presence is still felt very strongly in the modern industry, such that Neopets can definitely be said to have been a majorly influential game (we'll skip the semantic debate over whether or not calling it a "game" is accurate).

It's not, however, necessarily a *good* legacy. The live service gold rush has been a major driving force behind the trend of predatory monetization and design philosophies that focus more on engagement over fun, detracting considerably from the quality of games and causing no small amount of objective harm. To that end, I don't know if it's a legacy that necessarily needs to be honoured in a showcase of history's most influential games, particularly where Neopets was actually fun in its own right and therefore doesn't necessarily deserve to have such an unfortunate legacy attached to it.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Asteroids

Asteroids is just a mainstream Spacewar! clone though.

pionear posted...

Millennials and Zoomers probably...most wasn't even born when Asteroids was released...

I don't think anybody in this thread except for PO was alive when it was released.

my personal vote would be SimCity but Myst probably deserves it more generally