Slashdot Mirror
First Games Inducted Into the World Video Game Hall of Fame
An anonymous reader writes: From 15 finalists, the first inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame were picked for 2015. Only one of the titles added to the list of legends was launched in the last 15 years. The six games inducted this year are: Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Doom, and World of Warcraft. The World Video Game Hall of Fame says it recognizes games across all platforms, and all have the possibility of being included.
Name the single most iconic MMO of all time. WoW. "They have to be iconic, have longevity, have reached across international boundaries and also have exerted influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment or on popular culture and society." Yes it strongly fits in all of those categories. You can't say that for any other MMO.
What about EverQuest? It predates WoW and had quite a following.
EverQuest and Ultima Online have the same problem. Outside of gamers, only in one or two countries do people other than gamers know anything about them. But WoW is culturally pervasive across much of the world. The same logic must have placed Doom over Wolf3D.
Personally I think BattleZone, Tempest or the Star Wars Arcade Game should have been on the list. Vector games never get any love in popularity contests targeted at today's 12 year olds though.
The problem with any of those games is that they don't have cultural influence. Only gamers know about them. (The SW arcade game is still one of my favorites of all time, if I could own just one cabinet...) Space Invaders, on the other hand... that's got some influence, I think it ought to have made the list.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"