In brief: The Strong National Museum of Play has announced 12 finalists for its World Video Game Hall of Fame. Nominees for the 10th annual class include titles from a variety of genres and date back to the 1970s. Ultimately, only a handful of games will make the cut. Who should get in this year? Let's have a look at the nominees.
Finalists for the 2024 class include:
- Asteroids
- Elite
- Guitar Hero
- Metroid
- Myst
- Neopets
- Resident Evil
- SimCity
- Tokimeki Memorial
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
- Ultima
- You Don't Know Jack
As has been the case in previous years, this isn't the first time that some of these games have made it to the finals. Myst, for example, was nominated in 2017 and again in 2019 but came up short both times. Resident Evil was a finalist in 2017 as well, and was one of 12 finalists again in 2022. Guitar Hero made it to the finals in 2020 and 2021.
Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games, said that even 10 years in, there's no shortage of deserving contenders that have had enormous influence on pop culture and the game industry itself.
Four games typically make it into the Hall of Fame each year. If it were up to me, Myst and Resident Evil would get in with no questions asked. Myst was jaw-droppingly gorgeous when it arrived on the Macintosh in 1993 – truly unlike anything before. Resident Evil seemingly came out of nowhere and was scary good in all the right ways.
The other two spots would probably go to Guitar Hero and Metroid. I have fond memories of playing Guitar Hero (and Rock Band) with friends into the early hours of the morning. I didn't play the original Metroid much, but fell in love with Super Metroid for the SNES.
From now through March 21, you have the opportunity to cast your vote for your favorite through the Player's Choice Ballot. What game gets your vote?
Inductees will be announced on May 9.