Video Game Hall of Fame Adds Halo: Combat Evolved and More

Today it was announced that Halo: Combat Evolved has been added to the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Alongside, it, Donkey Kong, Pokemon Red & Green, and Street Fighter II were also added.

All of these games will be on permanent display at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York. The hall was established in 2015 to recognize the industry as the influence that it is.

“Until ‘Halo’s’ launch, the most successful shooters required a personal computer and the precision offered by a high-quality mouse,” said Strong Associate Curator Shannon Symonds. “‘Halo’ proved a console could be just as effective, if not better, than a PC.”

Halo: Combat Evolved initially sold 6 million copies, not to mention the sequels that followed that shared similar success.

Donkey Kong, which debuted twenty years before Halo, was the centerpiece to many arcades beginning in 1981. It still sits today as Nintendo's most profitable game to date. What's interesting is how this is the first appearance of Mario, who's Super Mario Bros. was already in the hall of fame.

To finish out Nintendo's achievements, Pokemon Red & Green were both released in 1996 as "Pocket Monsters" in Japan. Pokemon Red & Green launched the Pokemon franchise into what it is today. Today, the series spans 89 games including spinoffs, 21.5 billion trading cards printed, 800 TV episodes and 17 movies. Its inclusion is no surprise by those numbers alone.

Capcom's Street Fighter II finishes off the list of new titles in the hall of fame, credited as sparking an arcade renaissance in the 1990s. The Strong states that the game, “allowed for head-to-head battles between human opponents, instantly attracting spectators and generating fierce tournament play in arcades across the world.”

Street Fighter II moved arcade game competition from beating high-scores to actually facing your opponent in real time.

Do you agree with these winners?