9 replies to this topic

[Nightmus]

There was some kind of nomination ceremony going on yesterday in New York. Out of 15 finalists 6 games were chosen to enter The Strong museum's Video Game Hall of Fame.

http://www.museumofp...ctees-announced

 

One of the finalists was Sonic the Hedgehog, but he didn't make it. Instead Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., DOOM, and World of Warcraft have been selected.

 

As I see it, the game in question was 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog, the first iteration. Should they have considered the original trilogy of games, I'm sure Sonic would've been chosen. The 2nd and 3rd installments are sigificantly better. Tetris, SMB and WoW have left an impression on me indeed, but I was too young to notice Pong, never really liked Pac-Man and haven't even played Doom once. Sonic 1,2,3/&K on the other hand were a significant part of my childhood. Ii's just some kind of museum's random opinion I guess, but still a bit sad.

[LogiTeeka]

Well, to be fair, Sonic the Hedgehog was never truly a revolutionary series. It basically took the gameplay established by "Super Mario Bros." and tweaked with it a bit. None of the games came close to the success its rival franchise has received.

I do know how it feels to be left out, though. Heck, none of the games from my other favorite franchise, "The Legend of Zelda", made the list either. But not being revolutionary doesn't make it a bad thing, you know.

[furrykef]

My guess is Sonic was left out because the gameplay was too close to Mario, and Mario came first. As a big fan of the Sonic games myself, I think this is fair.

Pong definitely deserves an entry because it was the first commercially viable video arcade game.

I'm a bit of a Pac-Maniac, so I'm a little biased, but I think Pac-Man is definitely worthy. It was one of the first games to feature a character; it was one of the first video games that was neither a ball-and-paddle game nor about shooting; and it was one of the first video games to appeal to women. Case in point: my mother's favorite arcade game? Ms. Pac-Man.

Doom (or its predecessor Wolfenstein 3D) is pretty much a no-brainer for inclusion because it greatly changed the PC gaming landscape, far more than any other PC game in history. Even aside from its historical impact, it was a massive technical achievement as well.

Tetris single-handedly launched the puzzle-action game genre, and helped show us that even the most minimalistic of games can have amazing depth.

The only one that puzzles me a little is WoW. It's the most popular and most enduring MMORPG, but, as far as I know, it didn't break any new ground. I think Ultima Online or EverQuest would be more deserving. Or if we want to consider MMOs as a social phenomenon, then it should go to Second Life.


Yeah, it sucks that Sonic has to be left off, but if I had to pick only six games, I find it hard to quibble with those choices.

[Nightmus]

I understand the significance of these games to their respective genres and don't mean to say that, e.g. Doom wasn't a milestone. It was everywhere and everybody talked about it. Heck, I'd have played it myself at the time if I had a PC. However I'd much prefer for 7th choice to be Sonic the Hedgehog.

 

As for World of Warcraft, I completely agree. It's the most dominant MMORPG there ever was. Sure, it wasn't the first and it wasn't all that revolutionary at its start, yet it has managed to stay popular for over 10 years. It has trumped most of its competition and is still going strong. I have played it on and off for about 7 years. It's not as captivating as it was during Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King, but still, even now I absolutely enjoyed Warlords of Draenor levelling experience and its first raiding tier.

[Uncle Ben]

The only one that puzzles me a little is WoW. It's the most popular and most enduring MMORPG, but, as far as I know, it didn't break any new ground. I think Ultima Online or EverQuest would be more deserving. Or if we want to consider MMOs as a social phenomenon, then it should go to Second Life.
 

 

My guess its because WoW was and still is such a cultural phenomenon that its practically the established ceiling for anyone who wants to make an MMORPG

 

 

I do know how it feels to be left out, though. Heck, none of the games from my other favorite franchise, "The Legend of Zelda", made the list either. But not being revolutionary doesn't make it a bad thing, you know.

 

LoZ shocked me as well. Though i bet Sonic and LoZ will be in next year

[Nightmus]

I've played half of NES and Megadrive/Genesis libraries, but never played any Legend of Zelda games in childhood. I heard they were really good, but never seen them at any rental in my town. None of my friends had them either. What are the chances?!

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., DOOM, and World of Warcraft...
Well. No wonder that sonic lost.  But maybe next time.

Edited by furrykef, 06 June 2015 - 04:58 AM.
Black text is unreadable on some themes

[Uncle Ben]

Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., DOOM, and World of Warcraft...
Well. No wonder that sonic lost.  But maybe next time.

 

To be fair, the only one that didnt deserve to be there was Angry Birds

[furrykef]

FIFA is easily the most questionable nominee, way more than Angry Birds. I can make a good case that Angry Birds belongs; FIFA has done what, exactly, to merit inclusion? I'm guessing it's the overseas equivalent of Madden -- in other words, the game that jocks and wannabe jocks buy every year -- but it can't be anything but a straightforward sports game, which means there isn't a lot of room for innovation. The FIFA series only goes back to 1993; Tecmo Bowl was released in 1987, and Madden goes back to 1988. I know it doesn't have as much international appeal, but if I had to nominate a sports game, it'd probably be Madden. NBA Jam would also be a strong candidate, since it was unusually innovative for a sports game and is fun as hell to play even today.

Meanwhile, Angry Birds is the definitive mobile game. It's the one game everybody has on their smartphone. Hell, I have Angry Birds and I barely even play mobile games! Like it or not, Angry Birds is the Super Mario Bros. of smartphone games, and if that isn't worthy of a Hall of Fame position, I don't know what is.

(Speaking of Mario, I'm surprised Super Mario 64 wasn't nominated. It's not really one of my most favoritest games ever, but its impact is impossible to deny.)

I think Minecraft is also a slightly questionable nominee. Yeah, it's one of the most popular games in the world, but it's too recent. (Angry Birds is recent, too, but it has a landmark status that, as far as I can figure, Minecraft does not.) Lots of games have been among the most popular in the world and later virtually forgotten.

[Nightmus]

Hard for me to evaluate FIFA or Minecraft - I never played them and have no intention to start.

 

I'm not sure how much revolutionary Super Mario 64 was at the time, but I remember seeing it displayed on a TV in a local gaming store. I thought to myself that the graphics were insanely good, realistic and beautiful and whatnot.   Of course I wanted to play it, but my parents wouldn't have bought me N64, so I didn't even ask them, bought Rock'n'Roll Racing for Megadrive that day and enjoyed it for years to come.