Yesterday, the Strong Museum and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games announced this year’s inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The Class of 2018 includes Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix’s beloved RPG; Tomb Raider, Eidos Interactive’s 1996 introduction to Lara Croft; John Madden Football, EA Sports’s first football simulation; and Spacewar!, an early game created by the Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT in 1962.
“Spacewar! was not a commercial game, but it helped to launch the multi-billion-dollar video game industry,” said Jon-Paul Dyson, the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. “It also spurred computer users of all types to think about creative new uses for computers and helped turn the computer into the most powerful plaything ever created.”
“John Madden Football’s action-oriented gameplay has changed the way we play and consume sports video games… and even the way actual sports games are broadcast,” said Jeremy Saucier, The Strong’s Assistant Vice President for Interpretation and Electronic Games. “It’s yearly, updated release of the game has modeled the path to success for franchises in other sports such as soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball.”
“The Guinness Book of World Records cites Lara Croft as the ‘Most Recognizable Female in a Video Game’ of all time,” said Curator Shannon Symonds. “The character is not without controversy for her early status as a sex symbol, but she’s evolved with the franchise to become the epitome of a strong female hero.”
“Final Fantasy VII is widely acclaimed as the game that broke Japanese role-playing games into mainstream popularity across the globe,” Symonds added. “In addition to its technical achievements, it also introduced the world to memorable characters… such as protagonist Cloud and villain Sephiroth… who have appeared in other game franchises and myriad media.”
Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Minecraft, and Ms. Pac-Man were on the shortlist for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, and I’m sure they’ll all get another chance next year, as Public Nominations for the Class of 2019 are already open.