The Strong National Museum Of Play has announced this year’s inductees into the World Video Game Hall Of Fame, with the likes of Barbie Fashion Designer and The Last Of Us making the cut.
This year, four titles were inducted into the World Video Game Hall Of Fame: The Last Of Us, Barbie Fashion Designer, Computer Space, and Wii Sports (via Gamesradar).
The games will be displayed when the hall opens on June 30, as part of an expansion to New York-based museum The Strong. The museum has been inducting games since 2015, and this year’s entrees join the likes of Sid Meier’s Civilisation, Ms. Pac-Man, Sonic The Hedgehog, and The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.
Though each of 2023’s inductees are vastly different, The Strong has praised each for their wide reach — from the mainstream appeal of The Last Of Us and Wii Sports, to the cultural impact of Barbie Fashion Designer and Computer Space.
Kristy Hisert, collections manager, described the 1996 CD-ROM Barbie Fashion Designer as a “jumping-off point for the girls’ games movement” that sparked debate over “the consequences of gendering games”.
Meanwhile, The Strong’s Jeremy Saucier praised 1971 arcade game Computer Space for laying “the foundations for the game industry” by showing games “could reach paying audiences outside of computer labs”.
As for The Last Of Us, video game curator Lindsey Kurano said it remains “popular because of its quality of gameplay and strength of story,” and noted that HBO’s recent TV adaptation was “one of the best video game adaptations ever made”.
Finally, Wii Sports was inducted based on its “true influence” beyond high sales, which Aryol Prater, research specialist for Black play and culture, said is “the fact it made gamers out of millions of people around the world who’d never thought about playing one before”.
“It became a gaming phenomenon as news stories proliferated about the game getting diverse groups of people — including those at many senior centers — off their couches and breaking a sweat with virtual bowling, tennis, and more,” continued Prater.
Speaking of which, last month a clip of a 96-year-old woman winning a Wii Bowling tournament went viral.