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World Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2016 announced: Legend of Zelda, GTA3, Sonic, Space Invaders, Oregon Trail, The Sims
The votes have been tallied and the results are in, the Strong Museum is ready to announce the induction committee’s selections for the World Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2016.
This year’s shortlist includes many well-known names, but only six were able to secure the support of the committee, which weighed each title on its ability to appeal to an international cross-section of players, longevity in the eyes of the public, iconic status, and influence on the industry as a whole.
After much thought and deliberation, the committee chose to honor the following games with induction into the the World Video Game Hall of Fame:
- Grand Theft Auto III, Rockstar’s operatic open world crime saga.
- The Legend of Zelda, Link’s inaugural adventure and one of the first open world RPGs.
- The Oregon Trail, a revolutionary educational game that also taught a whole generation of kids about dysentery and cholera.
- The Sims, Will Wright’s “virtual dollhouse” is one of the most popular PC games of all time.
- Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega’s blue blur starred in several classic side-scrollers and served as a foil to Mario in the 90s.
- Space Invaders, the originator of the iconic “Invader” design and one of the first space shooters.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame was established in 2015, and this year’s class will stand alongside last year’s class, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Pong, Doom, World of Warcraft, and Pac-Man, as some of the best that video gaming has to offer.
A few days ago, I attempted to play oddsmaker for this year’s finalists, and I’m happy to say that I pegged three of this year’s inductees as “Sure Things” and two more as “Coin Flips.”
Nine other games, Elite, Final Fantasy, John Madden Football, Minecraft, Nurburgring, Pokemon Red/Blue, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Street Fighter II, and Tomb Raider, came up short during the induction process. But all of them will get another chance next year, and the Hall of Fame is already accepting nominations for their Class of 2017.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 will be on permanent view in the Strong Museum’s “eGameRevolution” exhibit. And congratulations to all designers and developers who helped bring each of them to life.
Posted in News, PS2, Retro
Tagged Grand Theft Auto III, Space Invaders, The Legend of Zelda, World Video Game Hall of Fame
Handicapping the 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists
We’re just a few days away from learning which games will be inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this year. In 2015, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Pong, Doom, World of Warcraft, and Pac-Man were selected as the inaugural class by the institution’s induction committee. The Hall’s Class of 2016 will be announced on Thursday, May 5, and five or six games are once again expected to rise above the other finalists.
But which of the 15 finalists will be honored this year? Using the Hall’s induction criteria as a guide, I can think we can determine the odds of which games will make it in and which will have to wait until next year. (more…)
Insert Quarter: What Makes the Final Fantasy Franchise Tick?
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
After more than a decade in development, Final Fantasy XV will finally make its PS4 and Xbox One debut this September. But how did we get to this point? More specifically, how did the Final Fantasy franchise grow from its humble beginnings on the NES to become the juggernaut that it is today?
Kotaku’s Jason Schreier wants to answer those questions too, so between now and September, he has vowed to replay and reexamine every mainline entry in the Final Fantasy franchise. Is there a certain “feel” to a Final Fantasy game? And do these RPGs still hold up today? Schreier is sure going to find out:
To prepare for FFXV, I’m starting a new project here at Kotaku. For the next five months, I’ll be digging into every mainline Final Fantasy game, in order, and taking a look at how the series has evolved over the past 30 years. Why has Final Fantasy resonated with so many people? What makes it so special? What exactly does it mean for a game to feel like a Final Fantasy?
The full article is available for your perusal at Kotaku.
Posted in Insert Quarter, Retro
You’re Out! Nintendo plans to sell their majority stake in the Seattle Mariners
Back in 1992, the Seattle Mariners were in trouble. While they weren’t quite as bad as the fictional Cleveland Indians team from Major League, Seattle’s dismal performance on the field caused a similar meltdown from their ownership. Mariners owner Jeff Smulyan constantly threatened to relocate the franchise, but he relented in the middle of the season, ultimately selling the team to Nintendo. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo’s Chairman and President, wasn’t a fan of the sport, but he made sure the team stayed in Seattle to thank the city for their years-long support of Nintendo’s North American headquarters.
Today, Nintendo decided to walk off the field by selling the majority of their stake in the Mariners to the other members of First Avenue Entertainment, the team’s minority ownership group. Famed bowtie enthusiast Howard Lincoln will be replaced as the team’s CEO by John Stanton, though Lincoln will continue to have a seat on the team’s Board of Directors.
“From the first day of our involvement nearly 24 years ago, Nintendo has had two goals for its investment in the Mariners,” said Howard Lincoln. “First, we wanted to assure the permanence of the team in this great city. And on that count, I am proud and gratified that this agreement further solidifies that goal. On the other hand, I’m equally disappointed that we have not been able to host a World Series game for our fans.”
A rather unique entity among Major League Baseball’s 32 owners, Nintendo leveraged their position as a video game producer to develop a series of games starring Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle’s Hall of Fame outfielder, in the 90s. The last game in the series, Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest, was released in 1999 and helped put developer Angel Studios on the map. You might know them better as Rockstar San Diego, the creators of Red Dead Redemption.
The sale of the Mariners likely has something to do with Nintendo’s gloomy financial outlook. But their investment in Seattle baseball will pay off handsomely. The consolemaker reportedly purchased the Mariners for $100 million back in 1992 and the team is worth $1.4 billion today.
Dear Diary: Saturday and Sunday at PAX East 2016 I Played…
Another PAX East has come to an end, but Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, and game developers from around the world will return to Boston next year for more shenanigans. In the meantime, I’ve got an overflowing notebook and thoughts on more than a dozen titles from the final days of the expo. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Cuphead, Flinthook, Just Shapes and Beats, Knee Deep, Mages of Mystralia, Metrico+, PAX East 2016, Perception, Rogue Stormers, Streamline, Tooth and Tail, Umbrella Corps
Rumor: The Pokemon Company is holding a “secret auction” for the rights to a live-action movie
Hold on to your Pokeballs, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, The Pokemon Company is currently holding a “top-secret auction” for the rights to create a live-action film based on the beloved game series.
As of now, the bidders are said to include Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Legendary Entertainment, with a source saying that Legendary, which will release Warcraft this Summer, is the current frontrunner. However, Warner Bros. is also heavily involved in the competition as they released the animated Pokemon: The First Movie way back in 1999.
All three companies declined The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment, but I’m sure we can all guess what Pikachu would have to say about this news.
The Super Mario Bros. “Any Percentage” record has fallen again
Last October, “Darbian” platformed his way into the record books by completing an “Any Percentage” run of Super Mario Bros. in four minutes and 57.627 seconds. This ridiculous feat managed to squeak in underneath the old record time for an “Any Percentage” run by just 0.063 seconds.
But earlier this week, “Darbian” managed to top himself.
Using both warp zones and barely stopping to take a breath, the speedrunner managed to complete Super Mario Bros. in four minutes and 57.26 seconds. In case you were curious, the 367 milliseconds separating the new record from his old one is about the same amount of time that it takes the average person to blink.
After his epic run, “Darbian” announced his retirement from Super Mario Bros. speedrunning, saying, “I have reached my potential in this category.” And in true Mario fashion, he added, “I’m done! My quest is over.”
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Insert Quarter: What Does the Return of Nintendo’s Red Logo Mean?
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
During the Wii’s heyday, Nintendo dropped the iconic red coloring from their logo and switched to a sleek silver shade. Combined with the smooth white of the Wii chassis, the rebranding gave Nintendo an air of cool that is typically reserved for the design-obsessed Apple. But after a while, many fans began to feel that draining the color out of the logo drained some of the fun out of Nintendo.
Nintendo Enthusiast’s A.K. Rahming is one of those fans and he argues that Nintendo’s red resurrection might be a signal that the company is getting ready to bring back that fun-loving spirit with the upcoming launch of the NX:
Nintendo is known for dropping major surprises, but the company’s latest surprise has a lot of folks in the gaming community quite pleased. Nintendo of America has recently done a full re-branding of their logo back to the classic red and white. The whole company transformed to the minimalist gray-white color scheme with the dawn of the Wii and DS era, and this branding went on to continue for the current Wii U and 3DS era (albeit with a little hint of color provided from the logos of both systems).
The full article is available for your perusal at Nintendo Enthusiast.