Six classic video games have now achieved immortality with their induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
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Other games added as part of the 2016 inductees are “Space Invaders”, “Grand Theft Auto III”, “The Legend of Zelda”, and “The Sims”.
Ask video gamers or programmers today what a teletype printer is and you’re sure to get blank stares in a time when games are created on super computers that can be played on vibrant color monitors that can cover entire walls, or on mobile devices that can fit in the palm of your hand.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 will be on permanent view in the Strong Museum’s “eGameRevolution” exhibit.
The Legend of Zelda, Grand Theft Auto III made it in too.
This is the second year that the Hall of Fame has added titles to its list of games that have “significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general”. A game’s qualifications is based on Icon-Status, how recognized and remembered a game is; Longevity, how well the game holds up over time; Geographical Reach, the impact the game has across the globe; and Influence, or how game’s design and development influenced other works of art in pop-culture and society.
“Inspired by creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood expeditions through woods and caves, The Legend of Zelda popularized non-linear, open-world exploration games and paved the way for some of the industry’s most famous role-playing and action-adventure games”.
The hall of fame inductees were chosen from among 15 finalists culled from thousands of nominations from around the world.
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“The Oregon Trail” was developed by three student teachers in 1971 and gave many players their first introduction to computers. “Sonic was even introduced as the first video game-inspired balloon in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade”. Originally released in 1986 as a flagship game for the Famicom Disk System, Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy – known worldwide as The Legend of Zelda — became one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. The series has sold more than 220 million copies as of 2015.
