Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima Recognized by World Video Game Hall of Fame

Posted on by

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — Five video games were inducted into the 10th class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame on Thursday for their impacts on the industry and popular culture. They are Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima.

These games debuted across different decades and advanced technologies along the way, expanding not only the number of players but also the ages and interests of those playing, Hall of Fame authorities said. The Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile.

The Class of 2024 was selected from finalists that also included Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and You Don’t Know Jack.

Asteroids, released by Atari in 1979, was Atari’s bestselling coin-operated arcade game due to its glowing space-themed graphics and sound effects. Its home version on the Atari 2600 allowed millions to play it in their living rooms. “Through endless variants and remakes across dozens of arcade, home, handheld, and mobile platforms, Asteroids made a simple, yet challenging game about blasting rocks into one of the most widely played and influential video games of all time,” said Jeremy Saucier, assistant vice president for interpretation and electronic games at The Strong museum.

Ultima: The First Age of Darkness, designed by Richard Garriott and released in 1981, was not necessarily a household name but a force in the development of the computer role-playing genre. It inspired eight sequels and is credited with inspiring later role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

The urban design-inspired SimCity, released by Maxis in 1989, found an audience among adults as well as children challenged to build their own city and respond to problems. Among the sequels and offshoots it inspired was 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductee The Sims. “At a time when many people thought of video games in terms of arcade shooters or console platformers, SimCity appealed to players who wanted intellectually stimulating fun on their newly bought personal computers,” said Aryol Prater, research specialist for Black play and culture.

Myst, released by Broderbund in 1993, used early CD-ROM technology and allowed for a level of player immersion that until then had not been available in computer games. It sold more than 6 million copies, making it a best-selling computer game in the 1990s. “Few other games can match Myst’s ability to open imaginative worlds,” said collections manager Kristy Hisert. “It was a work of artistic genius that captured the imagination of an entire generation of computer game players, and its influence can be seen in many of today’s open-world games.”

Resident Evil’s “cheesy B-movie dialogue, engrossing gameplay, and chilling suspense” helped popularize the “survival horror” genre following its 1996 release by Capcom and offered mature entertainment for older teenagers and adults, said video game curator Lindsey Kurano. Created by game director Shinji Mikami, it also inspired an action horror film series that as of 2022 had grossed more than $1.2 billion.

Anyone can submit nominations to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Members of an international selection advisory committee submit their top three choices from the list of finalists. Fans also are invited to weigh in online. The public as a whole is treated as a single committee member.