Wizardry, warfare, Wii on ballot for World Video Game HOF

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – Wizardry, warfare and Wii are on the ballot as the World Video Game Hall of Fame narrows down its contenders for the Class of 2023.

The Hall of Fame on Wednesday announced the 12 finalists being considered for induction in May. Games being considered include Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Barbie Fashion Designer, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Computer Space, FIFA International Soccer, GoldenEye 007, The Last of Us, NBA 2K, Quake, Wii Sports and wizardry are included.

A panel of experts and the public will vote on the winners.

John-Paul C. Dyson said, “It is always difficult to narrow down the World Video Game Hall of Fame nominations to just 12 finalists because there are so many games that have had a huge impact on popular culture or the video game industry.” director of The Strong’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games in Rochester, where Hall is located.

“There are some heavy hitters in this year’s finals,” he said.

The Hall of Fame recognizes arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile games whose popularity has been far-reaching and has influenced other games or society at large.

The finalist is the most popular sports game franchise of all time, according to the FIFA International Soccer Hall of Fame, and is a worldwide best-seller with updates every year from publisher Electronic Arts. And then there’s Rovio’s Angry Birds, with 2 billion downloads, which has been credited with turning millions of smartphone users into gamers.

The 1996 Barbie Fashion Designer game broke with the industry’s pattern of marketing to male players; Wii Sports became a hit among older adults; According to Hall, Nutting Associate’s coin-operated Computer Space from 1971 proved that video games could exist outside computer labs as the first commercial video games.

The post-apocalyptic The Last of Us, released by Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2013, is now a hit TV show for HBO.

Any sport can nominate for the Hall. The Strong Muse said that thousands of nominations were considered for this year’s class.

Fan voting has been running online since March 22, called the “Players’ Choice” ballot. The three games that receive the most public votes will make up a ballot, which will be counted along with ballots submitted by members of an international committee of experts.

The winners will be inducted in a virtual ceremony on May 4.