At one time the thought of a video game hall of fame seemed absurd. Games were played by young boys as a hobby and their appeal was fairly limited. But the launch of Nintendo combined with rapid innovations in computer chips and the rise of the internet has turned this once niche hobby into a multi-billion dollar a year industry.
There are now professional e-sports leagues, where cyber athletes are paid huge salaries to compete professionally and video game schools, where aspiring young gamers can train and learn from professional gamers.
As the industry grows, it seems natural that it get its own hall of fame, in order to properly celebrate the achievements of the industry and preserve the memories of games gone by.
That dream became a reality Thursday, when the official World Video Game Hall Of Fame launched in Rochester, New York and online via museumofplay.org.
The games in the inaugural class of 2015 span multiple decades, countries of origin, and platforms, but were selected for having “significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general.”
The 2015 class saw the following inductees:
Other finalists that were not selected this year include: Angry Birds, FIFA, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokémon, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders.
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