March 29, 2016 For Immediate Release

World Video Game Hall of Fame®

Reveals 15 Finalists

(Inductees to be Announced May 5)

ROCHESTER, New York—Which video games will make it into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this May? Will the Legend of Zelda fight through the competition? Will Sonic the Hedgehog roll across the finish line? Or will John Madden Football make a play for a place in the Hall?

The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, today announced the 15 finalists for indu ction: Elite, Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto III, John Madden Football, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, Nürburgring, The Oregon Trail, Pokemon Red and Green, Sid Meier’s Civilization, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Invaders, Street Fighter II, and Tomb Raider.

“These 15 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists span decades, gaming platforms, and countries of origin—but what they all have in common is their undeniable impact on the world of gaming and popular culture,” says Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games. “Whether it’s an iconic game like The Legend of Zelda, a pioneering educational title like The Oregon Trail, or an innovator like Elite, which forever changed the design and development of other games, they’re among the most influential games of all time.”

The World Video Game Hall of Fame received thousands of nominations from more than 100 countries for consideration for the 2016 class. The final inductees—chosen with guidance from an international selection advisory committee made up of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society—will be announced during a special ceremony at The Strong museum on Thursday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games that meet the following criteria: icon-status, the game is widely recognized and remembered; longevity, the game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time; geographical reach, the game meets the above criteria across international boundaries; and influence, the game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. (A game may be inducted on the basis of the last criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.)

Anyone can nominate a game to the World Video Game Hall of Fame online at worldvideogamehalloffame.org. Inductees to the first class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame—DOOM, Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and World of Warcraft—are displayed on permanent view at The Strong in Rochester, New York.

About the World Video Game Hall of Fame

The World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong recognizes individual electronic games of all types—arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile—that have enjoyed popularity over a sustained period and have exerted influence on the video game industry or on popular culture and society in general.

About The Strong®

The Strong is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to play. It is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the National Toy Hall of Fame®, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play®, the Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play® and houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of video games and other historical materials related to play. Known widely as the nation’s museum of play, The Strong blends the best features of both history museums (extensive collections) and family-friendly museums (high interactivity) to explore the ways in which play encourages learning, creativity, and discovery and illuminates cultural history.