The First Inductees into the Video Game Hall of Fame

The World Video Game Hall of Fame is a new hall of fame that will be part of the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, which also houses the National Toy Hall Of Fame. The first round of classic video games were inducted last Thursday, selected down from a field of fifteen.

Joining "Pong," launched in 1972, "Doom," from 1993, and 1985's "Super Mario Bros." are arcade draw "Pac-Man" (1980); Russian import "Tetris" (1984); and "World of Warcraft" (2004), which has swallowed millions of players into its online virtual universe.

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The inaugural hall of fame class was recommended by a panel of judges made up of journalists, scholars and other experts on the history and impact of video games. They chose from among 15 finalists that also included: "Angry Birds," "FIFA," "The Legend of Zelda," "Minecraft," "The Oregon Trail," "Pokemon," "The Sims," "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Space Invaders."

The Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the class of 2016 until next March.  -via the A.V. Club, where you’ll find delightfully eccentric descriptions of each Hall of Fame game.