The Strong Museum has revealed its newest set of nominees for theVideo Game Hall of Fame.
2025's candidates for industry-shaping giants are the originalAngry Birds,2007'sCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,1997'sAge of Empires,1981'sDefenderandFrogger, 007: GoldenEye, Harvest Moon, Golden Tee Golf, the Tamagotchi, the firstQuake,Mattel Football,and the very firstNBA 2K.
Do several of these look familiar? It wasn't that long ago thatQuake, NBA 2K, Angry Birds, GoldenEye,Call of Duty 4andAge of Empireswere part of the2023 finalists. That year, they alllost to Naughty Dog'sThe Last of Us(the original PlayStation 3 release from 2013) andBarbie Fashion Designer.
Froggerwas previously nominated in 2020, andMattell Footballin 2021.
New contenders for the Video Game Hall of Fame
As for the newer candidates, the Strong Museum recognized each of them for their impact on the game industry.Defenderwas lauded as a title which proved "players would embrace more complex and challenging games in the arcade. [...] It sold more than 55,000 units—high figures for an arcade machine—and helped create a new market for more difficult games."
Meanwhile, Amccus'Harvest Moon's"innovative blend of life simulation, community-building, and in-game time management established the farming sim genre, influencing countless games such asAnimal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Farmville,and many others."Tamagotchi was similarly praised for starting the pet simulation genre, "yielding popular games such asNeopets, Nintendogs,and many other social media and app-based games."
Players canvote for their favorite game from now until next Thursday, March 13. The Strong will announce the inductees on Thursday, May 8.