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| Strong Museum's World Video Games Hall Of Fame Class Of 2021 (L-R): Microsoft Flight Simulator, StarCraft, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Animal Crossing (Image Source: Toybook.com) |
The Rochester, New York based Strong Museum has officially announced its official inductees in the World Video Games Hall of Fame Class of 2021 which recognizes video games that have a significant impact on gaming and pop culture. In a virtual ceremony held last May 6, 2021, the inductees include Animal Crossing, StarCraft, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Since its inception in 2015, the Strong Museum's World Video Games Hall of Fame has been recognizing individual electronic games of all types - arcade, console, computer, handheld, mobile - that had have a significant impact and enjoyed popularity across international boundaries. Submissions to the WVGHOF were open to the public, with nominations carefully reviewed and selected by a panel of journalists and game historians. The WVGHOF Class of 2021 inductees were chosen from a list of previously selected nominees which comprise of Call Of Duty, Farmville, FIFA International Soccer, Guitar Hero, Mattel Football, Pole Position, Portal and Tron. Here is a closer look at the four titles chosen and inducted by the Strong Museum and their contributions to the gaming world.
Animal Crossing, Nintendo
A player assumes the role of a human who moves to a new, randomly generated town inhabited by sentient, anthropomorphic animals. The social simulation game first debuted in 2001 in Japan on the Nintendo 64 and two years later around the world on the Nintendo GameCube. Its latest installment, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, became a breakout hit during the global pandemic as it broke the console game record for most number of digital copies sold, selling more than 31 million copies worldwide, with the virtual version of neighborly sociability engaged players isolated amidst the pandemic game.
StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment's immersive science-fiction marvel StarCraft took the real-time strategy (RTS) genre to new heights when it debuted in 1998 with its single-player version becoming popular and its multiplayer, which features a ladder ranking system, would eventually become the largest eSports title of its time. StarCraft is highly regarded as one of the best RTS games of all time with its expansions, sequels and licensed merchandise as strong testament to its global popularity.
Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft
For nearly four decades, Microsoft Flight Simulator provides players endless hours of gameplay through highly realistic but intuitive recreations of real-life airplanes. Its simple premise and accessible content disguises the advanced programming that made the series so successful. Since its debut in 1982, Microsoft Flight Simulator has been regularly updated and remains the most popular, longest lasting and most influential flight simulation game of all time. In 2020, a spectacular updated version of the simulator was released that used real-life images to give players the experience of soaring over their hometowns or visiting exotic locales, proving once again that the joy of flight is universal.
Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Broderbund
Released in 1985, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? spawned one of the all-time best "edutainment" franchises, combining the elements of education and entertainment. Designed for the first generation of graphic-enabled personal computers, the game made learning world geography fun for millions of students as they searched for the whereabouts of the mysterious Carmen Sandiego. The game, which has inspired various geography-based video games and sequels, also inspired a hit show in the US in the 1990s on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and, recently, an animated series on Netflix, making Carmen Sandiego a recognizable name until today.
These four new inductees comprising the Class of 2021 join last year's inductees Bejeweled, Centipede, King's Quest and Minecraft. Congratulations to the Strong Museum's World Video Game Hall Of Fame (WVGHOF) Class of 2021!! You can watch the entire video presentation on the WVGHOF Class Of 2021 with remarks from representatives of publishers and game developers below.
