Every Gamer and Many Non-Gamers Have Felt the Impact of These Games
Five new names have been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame, and everyone should know them. Who are they? Well, let’s start this off by congratulating Nintendo, Capcom, and Bungie. Today, Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Pokémon Red and Green, and Street Fighter II have joined the all-time greats.
The new inductees were announced at a huge ceremony in Rochester, N.Y., by The Strong National Museum of Play. This is the third such event ever hosted by the museum, so you know it’s a very exclusive deal. These particular titles were recognized for their huge impact on gaming culture, each with its own merits.
Donkey Kong, as many may know, launched the Super Mario franchise back in 1981. Well, Super Mario was a side-effect of Donkey Kong’s popularity, so you can say we got two major franchises out of the mix.
Hallo: Combat Evolved pretty much evolved first-person shooters. Since its debut with the Xbox, we have had countless hours of Master Chief in video games, books–just about every medium. We even received Red vs Blue, the offshoot series that built off of and expanded the Halo fandom. It’s hard trying to explain just how big an impact this game has made.
Then there’s Pokémon Red and Green. In case you’re confused, Red and Green came over to North America as Red and Blue. As the first Pokemon games released for the Game Boy, their importance cannot be overstated. Pokemon’s evolution is visible today in mainstream culture, so it’s no wonder these two names are now in the Video Game Hall of Fame.
And as we see in eSports today, nothing attracts attention like strong competitive play. That’s the ultimate legacy of Street Fighter II. By introducing us to memorable characters with unique move sets, Capcom reached legendary status. Not only was the gameplay fun, we got our earliest taste of multiplayer beyond leaderboards. Epic.
The five games winners came from a pool of 12 finalists. Here are the games that almost made the cut: Final Fantasy VII, Microsoft Windows Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Myst, Portal, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Wii Sports. Just making it into the top 12 is a major accomplishment, so they deserve their own round of applause.
What are your thoughts on these new Hall of Famers? What might you have changed, if anything? Let us know in the comments down below. Until next time.
Happy gaming.