2021 World Video Game Hall Of Fame Finalists Have Been Announced
Movies have the Academy Awards, music has the Grammys, and video games have the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Away from the Game Awards and the Golden Joystick Awards, being entered into the Video Game Hall of Fame is arguably an even bigger honour. Since 2015, 28 famous games have been inducted into these hallowed halls, and with 2021 putting another crop of legends on their pedestals, it's time to decide who will be joining the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon Red and Blue, and Tomb Raider.
The Hall of Fame is designed to recognise “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". With this in mind, you have to be more than just a throwaway title to make the lucrative finalist stage. The International Hall of Fame is in New York's National Museum of Play and overseen by The Strong - an educational institute "devoted to the study and exploration of play - and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. With 2021's finalists announced, let's see who's up for a place.
Who is in the 2021 World Video Game Hall Of Fame?
Drumroll please, the 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame nominees are as follows:
- Animal Crossing
- Call of Duty
- FarmVille
- FIFA International Soccer
- Guitar Hero
- Mattel Football
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Pole Position
- Portal
- StarCraft
- Tron
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
It's a who's who of famous faces that includes some big hitters. Alongside the string-strumming madness of 2005's Guitar Hero, we've got Valve's 2007 puzzler that was Portal, the Old McDonald-inspired FarmVille, and the legendary skills on the pitch of Mattel Football from all the way back in 1977. We're not quite sure how Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? fits into things, but for those of us who are a certain age, you might remember the catchy theme tune of the cartoon series of the same name.
Looking at the bigger picture, the World Video Game Hall of Fame looks at factors like the cultural impact of the game. Considering most of these were franchise starters, you also have to look at where these games are now. In particular, it's hard to imagine a world where Call of Duty doesn't land a place in the Hall of Fame. The 2003 first-person shooter is a legend in its own right, and that's before we even get to the ongoing success of the series in 2021 with the likes of Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.
Elsewhere, is Nintendo looking at a win this year with Animal Crossing? Even though the first game released in Japan in 2001, the social sim has grown exponentially and is now one of Nintendo's flagships alongside Mario and Zelda. With both of those franchises being honoured in the Hall of Fame, we think it's about time Animal Crossing also joins them. Ultimately, the final decision is out of our hands, and it could be anyone's game.
When will the 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame winners be decided?
Despite Animal Crossing and CoD looking like they have the competition licked, let's not discount any of the other contenders. At the end of the day, they're all here for a reason. As the judges remind us, FIFA International Soccer was the "most popular sports game franchise of all time", Microsoft Flight Simulator is the "most popular, longest-lasting, and most influential flying sim of all time", and StarCraft was "the largest esports title of its day".
When it comes to the hard decision of which games make the cut, a select group of gaming journalists and scholars will decide the winners. The Strong confirmed there's also your chance to give an opinion with the Player's Choice vote that will run until March 25. In the past, four to six games have been added to the World Video Game Hall of Fame, but just which titles will be joining last year's winners of Minecraft, Bejeweled, Centipede, and King’s Quest? To be honest, we'd happily put all 12 in the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
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