Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima included in the World Video Game Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, NY – The World Video Game Hall of Fame introduced its 10th class of inductees on Thursday, recognizing Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima for their impacts on the video game industry and popular culture.

Inductees debuted across decades, advancing technologies along the way and expanding not only the number of players but also the ages and interests of those in control, Hall of Fame officials said in revealing the winners. The Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games of all types – arcade, console, computer, handheld and mobile.

The class of 2024 was selected by experts from a field of 12 finalists that also included Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and You Don’t Know Jack.

The tribute to Atari’s Asteroids comes 45 years after its 1979 debut in arcades, where it was Atari’s best-selling coin-operated game. The game’s brilliant space-themed graphics and sound effects went from over 70,000 arcade units to millions of living rooms when a home version of Asteroids was made available on the Atari 2600.

“Through endless variants and remakes across dozens of arcade, home, handheld and mobile platforms, Asteroids has created a simple yet challenging game about blasting rocks in one of the most played and influential video games of all time,” said Jeremy Saucier, Vice -assistant president of interpretation and electronic games at The Strong museum, where the World Videogames Hall of Fame is located.

The next inductee to debut was Ultima, not necessarily a household name, but a force in the development of the computer RPG genre, director of digital preservation Andrew Borman said in the press release. Designed by Richard Garriott and released in 1981, Utima: The First Age of Darkness inspired eight sequels and is credited with inspiring later role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

The urban design-inspired SimCity was released by Maxis in 1989 and found an audience among adults and children who were challenged to build their own city and respond to problems. Among the sequels and offshoots it inspired was The Sims, a 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductee.

“At a time when many people thought of video games in terms of arcade shooters or console platforms, SimCity attracted gamers who wanted intellectually stimulating fun on their newly acquired personal computers,” said Aryol Prater, a game research and development expert. black culture.

The adventure game Myst sold over 6 million copies, becoming a best-selling computer game of the 1990s. Broderbund’s 1993 release used early CD-ROM technology and allowed a level of player immersion that until then it had not been available in computer games, the Hall of Fame said.

“Few other games can match Myst’s ability to open up imaginative worlds,” said collections manager Kristy Hisert. “It was a work of artistic genius that captured the imagination of an entire generation of computer gamers, and its influence can be seen in many of today’s open-world games.”

The final honoree, Resident Evil’s “cheesy B-movie dialogue, engaging gameplay, and chilling suspense” helped popularize the “survival horror” genre after its release by Capcom in 1996 and offered mature entertainment for older teens and adults, the video game curator Lindsey Kurano said. Created by game director Shinji Mikami, it also inspired a series of action and horror films that as of 2022 have grossed more than $1.2 billion, according to the Hall of Fame.

Anyone can nominate a game for the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Members of an international selection advisory committee present their top three choices from the shortlist. Fans are also invited to review online. The public as a whole is treated as a single member of the committee.