|
TOMB RAIDER SCORES WORLD VIDEO
GAME HALL OF FAME
[ 04 May 2018 ]
ROCHESTER, New York - The games
in the fourth class of The Strong's World Video Gamed
Hall of Fame battled enemy starships, avoided tackles,
climbed through dark tunnels, and fought off fantastical
creatures to win their esteemed places in the hall.
Spacewar!, John Madden Football, Tomb Raider, and Final
Fantasy VII have been inducted into the World Video
Game Hall of Fame and emerged from a field of 12 finalists
that also included Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance
Revolution, Half-Life, King's Quest, Metroid, Minecraft,
and Ms. Pac-Man.
The four inductees span multiple
decades, countries of origin, and gaming platforms,
but all have significantly affected the video game industry,
popular culture, and society in general.
About Tomb Raider: Combining
the best elements of action-adventure games with platform
games and puzzle-solving, Tomb Raider (1996) provided
gamers with a unique cinematic 3-D universe, leading-edge
graphics, and a female protagonist who remains an iconic
figure in gaming. Largely thanks to the character of
Lara Croft, and Angelina Jolie's theatrical portrayal
of her in a blockbuster movie, Tomb Raider enjoys a
widespread appeal among gamers and non-gamers alike,
and currently heads a franchise that has sold more than
63 million units worldwide. "The Guinness World
Records cites Lara Croft as the 'most recognized female
video game character' of all time," says Curator
Shannon Symonds. "The character is not without
controversy for her early status as a sex symbol, but
she's evolved with the franchise to become the epitome
of a strong female hero."
About Final Fantasy VII:
Square Co.'s Final Fantasy VII took the already popular
Final Fantasy series to new levels of technical achievement
and story development when it debuted in 1997. It introduced
3-D computer graphics; full-motion, video cut-scenes;
and a deep, complex storyline to the franchise. The
game sold more than 10 million units, making it the
second most popular game for the Sony PlayStation. "Final
Fantasy VII is widely acclaimed as the game that broke
Japanese role-playing games into mainstream popularity
across the globe," says Curator Shannon Symonds.
"In addition to its technical achievements, it
also introduced the world to memorable characters -
such as protagonist Cloud and villain Sephiroth - who
have appeared in other game franchises and myriad media."
About John Madden Football:
Electronic Arts redefined the modern sports video game
with its 1990 reboot of John Madden Football. The new
game moved beyond its sports game predecessors that
emphasized statistical modeling, transforming the virtual
gridiron into an action game that thrived on individual
confrontations between virtual players. The game created
a pop cultural phenomenon that has sold more than 100
million copies since its debut. "John Madden Football's
action-oriented game play has changed the way we play
and consume sports video games - and even the way actual
sports games are broadcast," says Jeremy Saucier,
The Strong's assistant vice president for interpretation
and electronic games. "It's yearly, updated release
of the game has modeled the path to success for franchises
in other sports such as soccer, hockey, baseball, and
basketball."
About Spacewar!: Steve
"Slug" Russell, a member of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Tech Model Railroad Club, worked
with others at MIT to create Spacewar! in 1962 on a
PDP-1 minicomputer. The game featured two starships
firing torpedoes at each other, and its competitive
aspects helped it to spread from computer center to
computer center across the globe. This early video game
inspired the first mass-market arcade video game, Atari
founder Nolan Bushnell's Computer Space. "Spacewar!
was not a commercial game but it helped to launch the
multi-billion-dollar video game industry," says
Jon-Paul Dyson, vice president and director of The Strong's
International Center for the History of Electronic Games.
"It also spurred computer users of all types to
think about creative new uses for computers and helped
turn the computer into the most powerful plaything ever
created."
About the World Video Game
Hall of Fame: The World Video Game Hall of Fame
at The Strong was established in 2015 to recognize 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. Inductees were announced at The Strong museum
in Rochester, New York, on May 3, 2018 and are on permanent
view on the museum's second floor. Anyone may nominate
a game to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Final selections
are made on the advice of journalists, scholars, and
other individuals familiar with the history of video
games and their role in society.
About The Strong: The Strong
is a highly interactive, collections-based museum devoted
to the history and exploration of play. It is one of
the largest history museums in the United States and
one of the leading museums serving families. The Strong
houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection
of historical materials related to play and is home
to the International Center for the History of Electronic
Games, the, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian
Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the Woodbury
School, and the American Journal of Play.
Source: The
Strong National Museum of Play
World
Video Game Hall
|
