On May 3 The Strong Museum an the World Video Game Hall of Fame released the games that are the newest members to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Of the 12 video games that were nominated, “John Madden Football”, “Spacewar!”, “Tomb Raider”, and Final Fantasy VII” become the fourth class of games to be inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
While the games selected span the video game age, all of the new inductees have not only had an impact on the video game industry; but also on society and pop culture.
Originally created at MIT in 1962, “Spacewar!” is one of the earliest video games created and became the inspiration for the arcade game revolution and later computer video games.
The creation of the video football game by John Madden revolutionized fantasy sports and allowed armchair quarterbacks to challenge their inner football star. The pop culture phenomenon has sold over 100 million copies and has allowed generations of players to get in on the action.
Before she was an action movie star, Lara Croft provided millions of video game fans to embark on adventures and solve puzzles via the 3-D universe with “Tomb Raider”. The Guinness Book of World Records has named Croft as the most recognizable female video game character of all time.
“Final Fantasy VII” hit the video game market in 1997 and helped to bring Japanese role playing games into the mainstream market across the planet.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame recognizes all manner of video games from arcade to mobile. Established in 2015, the Hall of Fame is housed on the second floor of The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.
The Strong is an interactive based museum dedicated to education through play that contains nearly 500,000 items. It is the home of The World Video Game Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and the National Toy Hall of Fame.
One of the top 10 museums in the country, The Strong has over half a million people visit The Strong each year.
photos are courtesy of The Strong in Rochester, New York