The Strong National Museum of Play has just announced the 2023 inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame with four titles making the cut this year:The Last of Us, Wii Sports, Barbie Fashion Designer, andComputer Space. The games are chosen based on their significant popularity and impact over time by the organizers of theWorld Video Game Hall of Fame.
The Strong National Museum of Play was founded in 1969 and has since become one of the largest and most comprehensive museums dedicated to play. The museum boasts a collection of over 550,000 objects, including toys, dolls, games, and other play-related artifacts. The museum is also home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, which houses the largest and most comprehensivecollection of video games, software, and related materials in the world.
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Taking a closer look at each inductee, It’s not hard to see why they are chosen.The Last of Usmakes the top 4 with the game’s popularity being consistently high over the last decade; it even has a hugely successful HBO adaptation. The game was also remade for PS5 and PC, although the latter suffered from a buggy launch.
Video Game Hall of Fame 2023 Inductees
Wii Sports, which was released in 2006, became one of the best-selling games of all time due to its bundling with the Wii console.Nintendo Switch Sports, the latest entry in the series, aimed to recapture the magic of the originalWii Sports, but to this day the original is still preferred by many for its nostalgia, and its collection of classic sport games.
In 1996, Mattel and Digital Domain releasedBarbie Fashion Designer,which allowed players to design clothing that could be printed and used to dress real-life Barbie dolls. The game was a hit, selling half a million copies in just two months. According to Kristy Hisert, collections manager at The Strong, the game was a jumping-off point for the girls' games movement and sparked important questions and debate about theimplications of gendering games.
Finally, the first ever commercially available video game,Computer Space, rounds out this year’s inductees. The arcade game, which was based on the 1962 computer gameSpacewar!, was a success and led to the founding of Atari by creators Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney.
The Strong Museum will open a new space for the Hall of Fame on June 30th, where the 2023 inductees and past inductees will be showcased on a permanent basis. Fans fromThe Last of Us, Wii Sports, Barbie Fashion Designer, andComputer Spacewill be sure to celebrate after hearing their favorite titles being recognized globally.
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