Video Game Hall Of Fame Inducts First Class: Six Classic Video Games Enter Hall

The inaugural Video Game Hall of Fame inductees have finally been announced. Six classic video games made the cut in the first class to be inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. As reported by USA Today on Thursday (June 4), 15 finalists had advanced to a final vote to determine which games would become the inaugural members of the Hall of Fame. Now video game fans can begin debating the choices that were made.

The first class of inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame are Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Pong, Tetris, Doom, and World of Warcraft. Pac-Man got the nod as one of the most recognizable arcade games, Pong helped bring home video consoles to the masses, and then Super Mario Bros. helped revitalize the industry. Tetris was a Russian import, Doom used gaming engines for the first time, and World of Warcraft has become the most popular online game of all time.

There were 15 other nominees that made it to the final vote and they were Angry Birds, FIFA, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokémon, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders. Any of the games that made it to the group of finalists could get inducted in future votes of the World Video Game Hall of Fame, but new nominees could also join the vote. One game that didn’t make the cut (yet) was Goldeneye from the Nintendo 64 gaming system.

A website has been set up by the World Video Game Hall of Fame to provide additional information on the entire first class of inductees. Information found there includes Pac-Man celebrating a 35th anniversary, World of Warcraft setting records for becoming the largest multi-player online role-playing game, and how Super Mario Bros. jump-started a franchise that has sold more than 260 million games worldwide. Since its creation, more than 100 million accounts have been created in World of Warcraft.

Though not every game could make the cut in the first year of this honor, it is clear that the support for video games around the world will create a lot of interest in future induction classes. As previously reported on the Inquisitr, games like Madden NFL have been extremely popular for some time. The 2013 version of the game sold nearly a million copies in just the first day of release. Releases like that one and many more could soon become nominees for the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Gamers can even take it upon themselves to nominate a favorite that might have been overlooked.

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