Bejeweled
“Players from around the world have devoted tens of billions of hours to playing Bejeweled and the games that it inspired…now, Bejeweled and its successor puzzle games seem commonplace—a regular part of all our lives—and it’s that reach, influence, and icon status that make Bejeweled so deserving of being the very first mobile game added to the World Video Game Hall of Fame.” – Curator Shannon Symonds.
The first mobile game inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame, Bejeweled, is now a household name across the world. Popularizing the simple “match three” strategy into a whole genre of games, Bejeweled and similar games became the go-to for casual, time passing entertainment. The Strong pointed out the game had been downloaded 500 million times in 2013 alone.
Centipede
An 80’s arcade staple, Centipede, was a simple yet challenging game where players blasted away at a bug as it zoomed across the screen. Beyond the arcade, the game also had massive popularity when re-released on consoles and portable game systems. Even a board game was based off of it. And was still popular when turned into a mobile app decades later. Also, Centipede reeled in a female audience for the mostly male-dominated gaming player-base. This was mostly due to the influence of Dona Bailey, one of the few female programmers working during this time.
King’s Quest
“It’s difficult to overstate King’s Quest’s influence on adventure games. More than any other game of its type, King’s Quest established or reinforced many of the conventions of the adventure games that followed it…Many games still today can trace their lineage back to King’s Quest.” – Archivist Julia Novakovic.
Setting the path for future fantasy adventure games, King’s Quest charmed players with its unique storytelling and visuals. After the game’s success, developers at Sierra On-line made seven sequels to the game. The original King’s Quest was made by female game designer Roberta Williams, who then became one of the most well-known game designers between the 80s and 90s.
Minecraft
A much, much newer title, Minecraft has revolutionized sandbox-type games where players almost literally have limitless creative freedom. Released in 2009, Minecraft has become much more than a popular game. It is truly a cultural phenomenon that continues to grow every year. As of 2019, the game sold more than 176 million copies across all platforms. It will only continue to entertain fans as Mojang continues to add new and exciting content.
Some of the non-winning finalists included Frogger, GoldenEye007, Guitar Hero, NBA Jam, Nokia Snake, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?