National Museum of Play, The Strong, sounds like a fun place to visit. Presently with the current pandemic they are unfortunately closed but you can still visit their website here. From there you can see they’ve just announced their 2020 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists. Before jumping to this years finalists it is worth noting who the past inductees are as many will recognize at least a few. They have been inducting games into the museum since 2015.
Past Inductees
- 2015 : Doom, Pac-Man, Pong, Super Mario Bros. , Tetris, World of Warcraft
- 2016 : Grand Theft Auto III, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Invaders, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, The Sims
- 2017 : Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokemon Red and Green, Street Fighter II
- 2018 : Final Fantasy VII, John Madden Football, Spacewar!, Tomb Raider
- 2019 : Colossal Cave Adventure, Microsoft Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Kart
Criteria
They have four criteria for game consideration. Firstly is Icon-Status which examines how widely recognized and remembered a game may be. Then, rightly so, is Longevity. We all know how some games are essentially here today and then gone tomorrow, or at least gone once the marketing hype dissipates. Next comes Geographical reach. Did the game manage to maintain its popularity across international boundaries? Streaming providers such as Netflix have seen that their shows do not have the same level popularity in all regions and this can apply to games as well. Finally they look at the Influence of game. A game’s influence can be on other games to other forms of entertainment, pop culture, or society in general. Lastly they state that a game may be inducted solely on its influence.
The 2020 Finalists
Bejeweled, Centipede, Frogger, GoldenEye007, Guitar Hero, King’s Quest, Minecraft, NBA Jam, Nokia Snake, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?