The World Video Game Hall of Fame has announced its four inductees for 2020, which will be hosted at The Strong Museum National Museum of Play. The collection, which is made up of historically significant and high-quality games, added two 1980s classics and two games from the 2000s this year.
The four inductees were picked from a list of 12 finalists:
- Bejeweled
- Centipede
- Frogger
- GoldenEye 007
- Guitar Hero
- King’s Quest
- Minecraft
- NBA Jam
- Nokia Snake
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
You can watch the full ceremony below, performed remotely for the first time due to COVID-19, or you can keep scrolling to find out which titles made the cut for 2020.
The first game chosen was Bejeweled, which is praised for popularizing the match-3 mechanic. Part of the reasoning was that its gameplay style is so widespread now, and that the game can be enjoyed by everyone. It was also very important for early mobile gaming.
Next up is Centipede, the Atari arcade classic from 1981, which is noted as being “one of the most commercially successful titles of the arcade’s golden age”. From the same time period, King’s Quest also makes the cut. The game, first released in 1984, is considered a landmark title for narrative and storytelling in games.
The final addition is Minecraft, for numerous reasons–it’s been a huge and very important game over the last decade. The video above contains reactions from many of the developers behind these games, as well as the full reasoning for each title’s inclusion.
In 2019, the four inductees were Windows Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Kart, and Colossal Cave Adventure. They joined such previous inductees as The Legend of Zelda, Halo: Combat Evolved, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Sims.
You can nominate for future inductions, if there’s a game you desperately believe deserves to be added to this list.
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