There are many great video games, but only a few are considered important enough to be included in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Established in 2015 and located within the Strong National Museum of Performing Arts, the Hall of Fame highlights titles that meet four key criteria: iconic status, longevity, international reach and cultural influence.
As of Thursday, five new inductees will officially become the 10th inductee and part of the World Video Game Hall of Fame's permanent exhibit. Without further ado, here are the 2024 award winners:
- asteroid (1979)
- mist (1993)
- resident evil (1996)
- sim city (1989)
- altima (1981)
While anyone can nominate a game for Hall of Fame consideration, the Strong Museum selects those for induction each year after consulting a wide range of video game journalists, academics, and industry experts. This year's finalist list also included the following gems: guitar hero, Tony Hawk's Pro Skaterand metroidbut ultimately the five mentioned above were deemed ready for the Hall of Fame.
asteroid was released in 1979 and quickly became an arcade staple, eventually selling over 70,000 units and becoming Atari's best-selling coin-operated game of all time. In 1981, asteroid It was introduced for the Atari 2600 home game console, and the game became even more popular.
[Related: A 13-year-old wunderkind is the first human to ‘beat’ Tetris.]
“asteroid “We created a simple but rewarding game of infusing rocks into one of the most widely played and influential video games of all time,” said Jeremy Saucier, assistant vice president of interpretation and electronic games. This was stated in the May 9th announcement.
But on the other hand asteroid 1993 was “simple” when it came to things. mist The CD-ROM version confused and captivated players with its interesting story, immersive environments, and downright insane puzzles. People were clearly up for the challenge, but—mist became the best-selling computer release of the 1990s, with over 6 million editions purchased by (easily frustrated) gamers.
where mist confusing fans, resident evil scared them. His 1996 PlayStation title for Capcom helped launch the “survival horror” subgenre by forcing players to conserve scarce ammunition and supplies while battling merciless zombies and terrifying monsters. did. Besides a ton of sequels across various platforms, resident evil It also spawned a $1.2 billion movie franchise that (appropriately) refuses to die.
More strategic and methodical, but sim city Even when there are few zombies, players can still wreak havoc throughout their self-created metropolitan areas. Introduced in 1989, Maxis' top-down city-building was the first of many sequels, offshoots, and copycats; sim city's replayability, complexity, and satisfying mechanics (and natural disaster problem solving) opened up video games to a whole new layer.
“At a time when many people thought of video games in terms of arcade shooters and console platformers, SimCity appealed to players looking for intellectually stimulating fun on their newly purchased personal computers.” cultural research expert Alyol Prater said yesterday.
The last inductee in 2024, Ultima: The First Dark Agenot necessarily immediately recognizable asteroid or resident evil, but that doesn't mean it's less influential. Richard Garriott released his expansive fantasy/sci-fi role-playing game in 1981, giving fans of tabletop exploration a whole new electronic medium. Dungeons & Dragons.Probably not. Final Fantasy, skyrimor Diablo without it Altima—and its eight sequels serve as the basic template.
This year's five Hall of Famers not only showcase the best of video games, but also serve as great reminders to revisit some classic games. at least, mistThe puzzles alone should keep players busy until next year's classes are announced.
