The Strong Museum To Launch Video Game Hall Of Fame Fans Can Nominate Their Favorites

ROCHESTER, NY -- The Strong, a.k.a. the National Museum of Play, said it has established the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The museum addition pays tribute to electronic games of all types: arcade, console, computer, handheld and mobile.

"There is no other videogame award and recognition program such as this, which focuses solely on individual game titles across platforms and their impact over time and across international borders," says Strong president and chief executive G. Rollie Adams.

The Strong, based here, is also home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the National Toy Hall of Fame.

"Our experience with the museum's National Toy Hall of Fame, which receives widespread international attention each year, provides both a proven model for such a hall of fame and evidence that it can advance understanding and appreciation of the impact of videogames on culture and society," Adams added. "Electronic games have changed how people play, learn and connect with each other, including across boundaries of culture and geography."

As might be expected, games nominated for entrance into the World Video Game Hall of Fame will be judged on such criteria as icon status and longevity. A game's geographical reach and how it influenced the design and development of other games and entertainment will also play a role.

ICHEG preserves and interprets a growing collection of more than 55,000 videogames and related artifacts, plus an extensive array of personal papers and corporate records that document the history of videogames. "These unparalleled resources uniquely qualify the Strong to create a World Video Game Hall of Fame that identifies and celebrates the most important games of all time," said ICHEG director Jon-Paul Dyson.

Anyone can nominate a game to the World Video Game Hall of Fame at worldvideogamehallofame.org. Nominations for the inaugural class will be accepted through March 31, 2015. An internal advisory committee will determine finalists, and inductees will be made on the advice of an international selection committee made up of journalists, scholars and others familiar with the history of videogames.

Inductees will be announced in June during a special ceremony at the Strong in Rochester, New York. Initially the inductees will be displayed and interpreted in a section of the museum's eGamesRevolution exhibit.

PLAY THE EXHIBITS:The Strong's arcade room allows museum patrons to try their hands at some of the classic coin-op games of yesteryear. Now videogame enthusiasts will have a chance to nominate their favorite games into the museum's Hall of Fame.