Pokémon, Portal, and Final Fantasy VII among this year’s Video Game Hall Of Fame nominees

By Matt Gerardi | March 29, 2017 | 8:06pm

Aux Features Games

The Strong National Museum Of Play in Rochester, NY houses the world’s largest publicly viewable collection of electronic games and gaming ephemera, and in 2015, it endeavored to open a hall of fame dedicated to recognizing video gaming’s most loved and influential works. Each year, 12 games get nominated but only six are eventually inducted into what’s been dubbed The World Video Game Hall Of Fame. Current inductees include foundational classics like Doom, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Space Invaders, as well as the more recent innovators The Sims and Grand Theft Auto III. The museum recently announced 2017’s nominees, and it’s a surprisingly eclectic selection. The nominees are:

Donkey Kong
Final Fantasy VII
Halo: Combat Evolved
Microsoft Windows Solitaire
Mortal Kombat
Myst
Pokémon Red and Green
Portal
Resident Evil
Street Fighter II
Tomb Raider
Wii Sports

That’s a stellar field, representing many different eras and achievements in games. The unexpected picks of Windows Solitaire and Wii Sports are especially inspired. Frankly, we wouldn’t want to be among the people responsible for whittling it down. The six lucky inductees will be announced during a ceremony at The Strong on May 4.