Animal Crossing, the game that really kickstarted Nintendo’s increasingly popular sim franchise on GameCube in 2001, could earn a place in The Strong Museum’s World Video Game Hall of Fame.
The Strong is a museum in New York that houses “the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical material related to games,” including a variety of toys and video games. For a title to be included in the Museum’s Hall of Fame, it must “have been popular over a long period of time and influenced the video game industry or popular culture and society in general”.
For 2021, a total of twelve games are listed as potential candidates for a hall of fame induction:
– Animal Crossing
– Duty
– Farm village
– FIFA International Soccer
– Guitar Hero
– Mattel Football
– Microsoft Flight Simulator
– Head position
– Portal
– StarCraft
– Tron
– Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Here’s what The Strong has to say about Animal Crossing:
“Nintendo’s Animal Crossing debuted in 2001 and found wide appeal with its open social simulation and relaxed gameplay. Players took on the role of a human who moved to a village full of anthropomorphic animals. The game had no specific purpose and gave players the freedom to perform activities and collect objects as they pleased. The soft gameplay proved to be a success with casual and advanced gamers alike, spawning numerous sequels.
The game’s latest installment for the Nintendo Switch proved a huge hit during the 2020 pandemic isolation, breaking the record for the most digital downloads of a console game in one month. “
The winners will be announced on May 6, so it remains to be seen if Animal Crossing manages to secure a spot. In recent years, games like Pokémon Red and Green, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. all accepted.
Would you like Animal Crossing to be included in the hall of fame? Do other titles from that list hold a special place in your heart? Let us know in the comments.