At its 10th annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony held last Thursday, the World Video Game Hall of Fame honored several instrumental video games that have had a tremendous impact on the gaming industry as well as mainstream culture. The winners spanned several decades, showcasing advancements in technology, expanding the reach of the player community, and appealing to different age groups and interests. This prestigious hall of fame honored a wide range of games, from arcade games to console games, computer, handheld and mobile games, without being limited to any particular category.
The selected Class of 2024 emerged victorious from a strong field of 12 finalists, including Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and You Don't Know Jack.
A brainchild of Atari that debuted in 1979, Asteroids was recognized 45 years after its inception. The game became Atari's best-selling coin-operated game in arcades. The space-themed visuals and sound effects resonated in his more than 70,000 arcade units through the Atari 2600, and then penetrated into millions of households through the Atari 2600. Regardless of the platform, the simple yet appealing objective of blasting rocks made this game one of the most influential video games of its time. said Jeremy Saucier, vice president of interpretation and electronic games at the Strong Museum, home of the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
Asteroids was followed by Ultima, a game that may not have clicked in most households but had a huge impact on the computer role-playing genre. His 1981 release Ultima: The First Age of Darkness by Richard Garriott became the basis for eight worthy sequels and the inspiration for popular role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
Maxis' urban design simulator game, SimCity, has been a hit with both adults and children since its release in 1989. This intellectually challenging game has been adopted by many people looking for fun on their personal computers.
In particular, the 1993 adventure game Myst stood out for its ability to open up imaginative worlds. The game, released by Broderbund, takes full advantage of early CD-ROM technology to achieve an excellent level of player immersion, and is one of the best-selling computer games of the 1990s. It was rated as one.
Rounding out the list of winners was Capcom's Resident Evil. Its engaging gameplay, cheesy B-movie dialogue, and chilling suspense have made it a popular game in the survival horror genre. The game, which created an attractive platform for mature entertainment, also became the inspiration for a series of action-horror films that by 2022 had grossed more than $1.2 billion at the box office.
To maintain an inclusive process, the World Video Game Hall of Fame allows anyone to nominate a game. This follows an international selection committee that selects the top three games from a shortlist, with fans also having the opportunity to vote online, with the overall public vote treated as one committee member's vote.
