Strong establishes Video Game Hall of Fame

In an acknowledgment of the shift toward technology in toys, The Strong Museum of Play has established the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The first inductions are set for June.

Already home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, The Strong will have more than four decades of video game history to sift through. The Babe Ruths of that first class, speculated ICHEP assistant director Jeremy Saucier, could include, "Everything from Pong, the game that popularized video games, which was 1972, up through the '80s with Pac Man, to today and Call of Duty, even Angry Birds and World of Warcraft."

Nominations for the first group of inductees will be accepted through March 31 based on one or more of three criteria:

• Iconic: The game is widely recognized and remembered.

• Longevity: The game is more than a passing fad.

• Geographical reach: The game meets the first two criteria across international boundaries.

• Influence: The game has influenced the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment or on popular culture and society.

"We've been talking about it for some time," Saucier said. "It really is something that we believe we're well positioned to do at the moment, given we already have the National Toy Hall of Fame and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and we're already dedicated to the history and preservation of video games. It seems like a natural outgrowth from our other activities."

The nomination process for the World Video Game Hall of Fame is open to anyone through worldvideogamehalloffame.org. A Strong advisory committee will select the finalists, with inductees approved by an international committee of journalists, scholars and game geeks familiar with the industry.

The museum's International Center for the History of Electronic Games already features more than 55,000 video games, artifacts, personal papers and corporate records tracing the growth of video games. "We have the world's largest and most comprehensive public collection of electronic games and related materials," Saucier said.

Game consoles such as the Atari 2600 and Nintendo's Gameboy are already in the Toy Hall of Fame. But no actual games have been inducted.

The Video Game Hall of Fame will be displayed in the 5,000-square foot "eGamesRevolution" exhibit on the second floor of The Strong, One Manhattan Square. It will also share space with a separate partnership announced earlier this month between The Strong and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

"We'll be creating an exhibit based on the games they recognize and the individuals they recognize with their pioneer awards," Saucier said.

JSPEVAK@DemocratandChronicle.com

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