The Strongs First Inductees Into World Video Game Hall of Fame Pong Pac-Man And 4 Others

ROCHESTER, NY -- The International Center for the History of Electronic Games, part of The Strong National Museum of Play, has announced the first six inductees into the museum's World Video Game Hall of Fame. Selected from 15 nominees, the inaugural class spans several decades, countries of origin and gaming platforms, and all have significantly affected the videogame industry, popular culture and society in general.

The first inductees are Pong (Atari, 1972); Pac-Man (Namco, 1980); Tetris (Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow and Nintendo, 1984); Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 1985); DOOM (id Software1993); and World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004).

Inductees were announced at The Strong in Rochester, NY, on June 4. They are now on permanent view in the museum's eGameRevolution exhibit. Initial nominations into the World Video Game Hall of Fame were open to the public. The final selection process was determined by an internal advisory committee made up of journalists, scholars and others familiar with the history of videogames. | SEE STORY

The Strong is an interactive, collections-based museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. It established the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2015 to recognize individual electronic games of all types and platforms, including arcade, console, computer, handheld and mobile.

ICHEG preserves and interprets a growing collection of more than 55,000 videogames and related artifacts, along with an extensive array of personal papers and corporate records that document the history of videogames.

Videogame nominations for the Class of 2016 will be accepted through Mar. 31, 2016.

PHOTO:Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of the Center for the History of Electronic Games, announces the first inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame on June 4. [Courtesy: The Strong, Rochester, NY]