First Six Games Inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame!

The Strong Museum of Play is Rochester, NY just announced the first six inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame!

Those six inductees were chosen from a field of 15 nominees that included games like Angry Birds, Oregon Trail, and FIFA Soccer.

The first class of inductees includes:

• Pong
• Pac-Man
• Tetris
• Super Mario Bros.
• DOOM
• World of Warcraft

When I started writing this article I was hoping to be able to choose one the definitive champion, but after a lot of hand-wringing I surrendered. Each one of these games was a game changer in their own right and did a lot to move the video game industry closer to its present greatness.

Pong helped to popularize the arcade cabinet that _pretty much_ started it all.

Pac-Man was the first true mascot. It was a game with someone to root for, even if it was a weird cheese wheel looking thing.

Tetris was the first true endless puzzle game and without it we likely would not have had Bejeweled, Candy Crush Saga, Threes, or any of the other myriad puzzle games over the years.

Super Mario Bros. needs no introduction. They took the platforming genre and put it right into our living rooms and has helped keep it there for decades.

DOOM may not be a favorite among parents of the day, but it was the first game to feature online multiplayer servers and bring them to the masses. Online infrastructure is a very big deal for so many games now that I am hard pressed to imagine a world without it.

World of Warcraft took the EverQuest model and made it accessible to the masses. At one point the collective WoW population was so large it could apply for recognition with the UN.

Did your favorite make the cut? Sound off in the comments below!