The finalists of the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame have been announced, with classics such as Resident Evil, Asteroid, and Guitar Hero — making the cut.
Hosted by The Strong National Museum of Play, based in Rochester, New York, it is said to be the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play. The World Video Game Hall of Fame is an international hall of fame that exhibits video games at the venue.
The Strong is excited to announce the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists! Fans can vote for Asteroids, Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Myst, Neopets, Resident Evil, SimCity, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Ultima, or You Don’t Know Jack.🕹️https://t.co/hMkxaNcJ6e pic.twitter.com/bkHYw12IE2
— The Strong Museum (@museumofplay) March 14, 2024
The public will vote for their favorites on the World Video Game Hall of Fame website, and the three top games will be added to a ballot.
The final inductees will be revealed on Thursday, May 9.
Polygon cited Jon-Paul C. Dyson, the director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, saying, “Even 10 years in, there’s no shortage of deserving contenders that have had enormous influence on pop culture or the game industry itself. These games span decades.
“Asteroids is an icon of the late 70s arcade. Myst showed the potential of CD-ROM technology in the 90s. Neopets became a staple of browser-based, free games as we entered the 2000s. And Guitar Hero, which is less than 20 years old, has already proven its staying power,” he added.
Who are the finalists of the World Video Game Hall of Fame?
This year’s competition finalists include games spanning across the decades, from Asteroids, released by Atari in 1979, to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, published by Activision in 1999.
It also includes the 1993 adventure video game Myst, the open-ended city-building franchise SimCity, as well as Pocket Neopets, which was a handheld electronic game.
According to Softonic, since the introduction of the series in 1996, the Resident Evil series has sold 150 million units as of 2023, making it Capcom’s best-selling franchise in terms of software sales.
While at the height of its popularity, a song featured in a Guitar Hero game could boost its downloads by as much as 843%.
Space trading game Elite introduced three major foundations of contemporary game development: the open-world format, wire-frame 3D graphics, and procedurally generated levels.
In March 2008, popular video game magazine Next Generation reportedly declared it the number one best game of the 1980s, calling it “the spiritual predecessor of everything from Wing Commander to the Grand Theft Auto series.”
Nintendo’s action-adventure franchise Metroid made the list, alongside the dating simulation series Tokimeki Memorial from fellow Japanese developer Konami.
The final two selected were Open World Fantasy role-playing experience, Ultima, and game-turned-film series You Don’t Know Jack.
Which games are in the Hall of Fame?
These games will join icons such as Pong, Super Mario Bros., and Legend of Zelda in the World.
Classic games, including DOOM, Pac-Man, Tetris, World of Warcraft, and more recently, The Last of Us, have already been inducted.
Featured image: The Strong National Museum of Play / Canva