On the 10th annual induction ceremony held last Thursday, the World Video Game Hall of Fame paid tribute to some instrumental video games that have vastly impacted the gaming industry along with mainstream culture. The honorees spread across various decades, showcasing the advancement in technology, enhancing the scope of the player community, and appealing to diverse age groups and interests. This renowned Hall of Fame didn’t limit itself to any specific category, paying homage to a broad spectrum of games, ranging from arcade to console, computer, handheld, and mobile games.
The selected Class of 2024 emerged victorious from a roster of twelve robust finalists including Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and You Don’t Know Jack.
Atari’s brainchild, Asteroids, which debuted in 1979, received acknowledgment forty-five years post its inception. It was this game that became the bestselling coin-operated game by Atari in arcades. The space-themed visuals and sound effects resonated in over 70,000 arcade units before permeating into millions of households through the Atari 2600. Regardless of the platform, its simple yet captivating objective of blasting rocks made it one of the most influential video games of the era, said Jeremy Saucier, the assistant vice president for interpretation and electronic games at The Strong museum, which is home to the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
Following Asteroids, came Ultima, the game that might not ring a bell to most households, but had significantly impacted the computer role-playing genre. Released in 1981 by Richard Garriott, Ultima: The First Age of Darkness was the foundation for eight worthy sequels and the inspiration for popular role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
Maxis’ SimCity, the urban design simulator game, found favor with both adults and children post its 1989 release. This game, stimulating an intellectual challenge, was adopted by many who sought fun from their private computers.
Notably, the 1993 adventure game Myst stood apart for its ability to open imaginative worlds. Released by Broderbund, it maximized the early CD-ROM technology enabling a superior level of player immersion and was tagged as one of the best-selling computer games in the 1990s.
The finale of the honoree list was Resident Evil by Capcom. Its engaging gameplay, cheesy B-movie dialogue, and chilling suspense made it the go-to game in the survival horror genre. Creating a compelling platform for mature entertainment, this game was also the inspiration behind the action-horror film series, grossing more than $1.2 billion up until 2022.
To maintain an inclusive process, the World Video Game Hall of Fame allows anyone to nominate a game. It follows an international selection committee which selects top three games from the finalist list, while fans also have the opportunity to cast their vote online, with the overall public vote treated as a single committee member vote.
