The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, has announced that it is establishing a Video Game Hall of Fame dedicated to recognizing culturally important video games across all gaming platforms, including arcade systems, home consoles, PCs, mobile devices, and more.

“There is no other video game award and recognition program such as this, which focuses solely on individual game titles across platforms and their impact over time and across international borders,” The Strong Museum’s president and CEO G. Rollie Adams said in a statement. “Electronic games have changed how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of culture and geography.”

For games to qualify for the Strong Museum’s new exhibit, they must meet several requirements:

• Icon-status: “The game is widely recognized and remembered”
• Longevity: “The game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time”
• Geographical reach: “The game meets the above criteria across international boundaries”
• Influence: “The game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general”

The museum notes that games may be inducted into the hall of fame solely for meeting the influence requirement, ensuring that games that had a big impact without selling millions of copies could still be considered.

Who will make the cut?

Nominations for the first round of games admitted into the hall of fame are open until the end of March. So who are some possible contenders?

Super Mario Bros. without a doubt meets each of the above qualifications, and it is hard to imagine that the Italian plumber wouldn’t be first in line for the nominations. Mario has been described as the Mickey Mouse of video games, appearing in dozens of different titles over the last three decades. Other possible titles include early and influential arcade games such as Pong, Asteroids, and Pac-Man.

If you want to help choose a game to be included in the Strong Museum’s exhibit, you can submit your nomination here. The inductees will be chosen by a museum committee based on “the advice of an international selection committee made up of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.”

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