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The International Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Induction Ceremony will be held at Free Play Florida!

Inductees and Date and Time of ceremony will be announced soon.

November 18 – 20, 2022

Caribe Royale Orlando

8101 World Center Drive

Orlando, Florida 32821

The 2017 class of inductees were selected by accomplished gamers, journalists and video game industry executives who have extensive knowledge of the achievements in gaming.
There were three phases in the decision process: Open nomination, public and board input for narrowing down of the ballot and a final voting pool which decided which gamers, games, developers and industry leader would be inducted. The Community Action Award and Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award were determined by open nominations and a final vote by the IVGHOF Board of Directors. Two categories had ties this year and it was decided to induct both winners instead of narrowing it down to one person as both individuals are very deserving of being inducted.

We are pleased to announce the following individuals and video games are being inducted:

Golden Age Gamers

Rebecca Heineman won the National Space Invaders Championship, sponsored by Atari, in November 1980. She was the first person to ever win a national video game contest. In addition, Heineman is a video game programmer who was the founding member of Interplay Productions, Logicware and Contraband Entertainment. She has been affiliated with a number of other game companies and is currently CEO of Olde Sküül in Seattle.

Michael Klug, a Quality Assurance Manager, has worked for Atari, Konami and Namco.
After seeing his name in the Guinness World Records book for Pole Position 2, Atari called and offered him a job. Klug held the world record on Pole Position 2 – Fuji Track for 25 years. He achievement is listed as one of six “Records that may never be broken” for achieving a score of more than 60,000 points while playing Pole Position with his feet at the Twin Galaxies arcade in Ottumwa, IA. In addition, Klug has been named one of the top 100 players in North America by the Amusement Players Association.

Joel West was featured in the Chasing Ghosts Documentary and is a world record gamer who has a number of world records on games including Berzerk, Frenzy, Pole Position, Propcycle and more.

90’s eSports Competitor

Chris Ayra was a gaming legend long before most of today’s gamers were even born. As one of the original pillars of arcade gaming, Chris Ayra was the Guinness World Records Ms. Pac-Man champion for nearly 20 years. Good at nearly every game in the arcade, Chris led a core group of gamers who studied the dynamics of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man and created the “grouping techniques” that were used to get to the final screens on these maze games. On February 16, 2000, Chris used these techniques to achieve a “perfect” Pac-Man score of 3,333,360 points. 

2000’s eSports Competitor

Carrie Swidecki is a teacher from Bakersfield, California, who holds various dance game world records and encourages students to exercise through video games like Just Dance and in general. She holds multiple Guinness World Records, including “Longest marathon on a dance/ rhythm game” on Dance Dance Revolution, “longest marathon on a motion sensing dance game” on Dance Central 2, and in 2013 set records simultaneously for “longest marathon on a dance or rhythm game” and “longest marathon on a dance/rhythm game” by playing Just Dance for 49 hours, 3 minutes and 22 seconds. She is the only person in the world to hold a world record for marathon play on all three major dance games.

Justin Wong is a professional fighting game player who has won more Evolution Championship Series titles than anyone else and has eight titles in the Marvel vs. Capcom series as well as 1st place rankings in several other games through the years.

Golden Age Game – Donkey Kong

90s Era Game – Sonic the Hedgehog

2000s Era Game – Halo

Modern Age Game – Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild

Game Developer – Warren Davis

Warren Davis

Warren Davis is best known for developing Q*bert, a classic arcade game. Other arcade games he worked on include, but aren’t limited to, Joust 2, Lotto Fun, Exterminator, Terminator 2 and Revolution X. He developed the video digitization system used in Williams/Midway video games starting in the late 1980s. For More on Warren click here!

Industry Leader – Howard Phillips

Howard Phillips is an American video game producer and consultant. He is best known as being the spokesperson for Nintendo of America in the 80s. Phillips career at Nintendo started out in the warehouse and he climbed the ladder becoming a Game Master, then the creator of the Nintendo Fan Club News and Nintendo Power. After leaving Nintendo, he worked for LucasArts, THQ and Microsoft before launching Howard Phillips Consulting and becoming a studio director of Chair Entertainment Group.

Community Action Award – ExtraLife

ExtraLife is an annual fundraising event, launched in 2008, which raises funds which go to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Each year gamers stream video games both as individuals and teams as part of a telethon-like event to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2017, 50,000 gamers participated and raised more than 11 million dollars. 100% of all donations go directly to the hospitals.

Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

David Crane

David Crane is one of the most experienced creators of video games in the world, with over 30 years of experience in video game creation, development, and
publishing. As an early Atari employee and founder of Activision, David was instrumental in launching the multi-billion dollar third-party video game software
industry. Since 2009 he has concentrated on publishing mobile games for the smartphone market, including the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

David is best known for his whimsical game play: finding amusing and compelling ways for the game player in all of us to interact with on-screen characters. Through boundless creativity, David’s characters are brought to life; from Pitfall Harry (in Pitfall!™ – the world’s first side-view Adventure game), or the chicken who crossed the road in Freeway!™, to the shape-changing, jellybean-eating blob from the vitamin-deficient planet of Blobolonia in A Boy and His Blob™.

Audiences continue to clamor for games from this legendary game creator. David’s games, regardless of platform, are magical, always challenging but never overtly violent, and the perfect combination of technical prowess and creative genius. As Tom Clancy pointed out in one of his Op-Center books, “you could always tell a David Crane game.”

David has published over 80 commercial products with revenues of over $400 million. Selected industry Awards include the 2010 Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Pioneer Award, the 2009 IGN.COM “Top 100 Game Creators of All Time”, the 2003 Game Developers Choice “First Penguin Award”, and the 1990 Parent’s Choice Award for A Boy and His Blob. – For More on David click here!

 


The induction ceremony for the class of 2017 will be held October 4-6 in Ottumwa, IA.

For more information: http://www.ivghof.info/

About the International Video Game Hall of Fame

Located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the International Video Game Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring excellence in the field of electronic gaming by recognizing the champions, industries and professionals related to this popular activity. We will build and maintain a state-of-the art interactive facility containing historical archive exhibits describing the historic milestones of the video game industry, and preserve significant video gaming relics, memorabilia and artifacts of the times past and present.

On October 8, 1983, Walter Day of Twin Galaxies had a vision. He dreamt of having a Video Game Hall of Fame in Ottumwa, Iowa.   He knew this would be the perfect place to host the event being that Ottumwa, Iowa was crowned the Video Game Capital of the world one year before.  Unfortunately, the arcade business took a crash.   Arcade gaming and the recognition of gaming would falter.  Therefore, the Hall of Fame would not take off. Fast forward 27 years where the vision became reality at the Hall of Fame award ceremony in Ottumwa, Iowa.  In 2010, Walter Day and a crew of gamers and volunteers pulled off the very first International Video Game Hall of Fame (IVGHOF) award ceremony.  It was a huge success and turned out to be a very memorable weekend for all who attended, including me.   There would be another Hall of Fame in 2015, during the ICON event in Ottumwa, Iowa.  This was such a success that the IVGHOF Board of Directors made sure that this event continued to grow year after year. This past weekend the IVGHOF was just as exciting, if not better.  It was a weekend of gaming, tournaments, raffles, special guests, autograph sessions, the Time Life Photo recreation on Main Street and an all-around great event to mingle with past, present and future gamers around the world.  On November 9-12, 2017, the Ottumwa’s Old School Pinball & Arcade presented the “Galaxies of Gaming.”  

Ottumwa’s Old School Arcade Committee consists of Jerry Byrum, Bill Hoffman, Terry Burtlow, Ginny Burtlow, Michael Dudley, Katie Bride, Dennis Bartlet and Anita Carver. The Hall of Fame Committee is made up of Julie Barwick, Marcus Bennett, Raymond Cover and Angela Hoffman.  The Committee tells me,  “With the help of others, eveyone’s goal and mission is to continue the legacy of gaming, Walter Day and of Twin Galaxies arcade in Ottumwa. With your help, we will do just that.”

The weekend event started early on Thursday as the arcade opened, and registration began for all the tournaments that were being held all weekend.  Tournaments included such console games as Madden ’18 for the PlayStation 4 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch.   There were arcade tournaments as well such as Ms. Pac Man and Guitar Hero.   If arcades are not your thing, there was also a pinball tournament on the new Star Wars pinball machine.   Ottumwa’s Old School Pinball and Arcade is a new arcade located in the Quincy Place Mall.   They hold up to 80 arcade and pinball machines, past and present for example: classics such as Frogger and Pac-Man and newer games like Guitar Hero and Final Lap 3.  All Games are on free play so after you pay your entry fee you can come and go and play all the games you like for the entire day.  

Not only was there the arcade open to the public, but there were vendors invited to setup items they could sell.    From cartoon caricature drawers, to retro gaming vendors, there was a wide range of items to look through and purchase.  Chris Foster of Brooklyn, Iowa tells me, “I was thrilled to be involved in the event as a vendor. I attended the event with my brother Jeremy Foster and son Jax Foster, yes, he was named after a character from Mortal Kombat.  We packed our inventory the previous night and left early in the morning for the two-hour trip to Ottumwa. We were so excited to attend none of us got much sleep.  We had a great day of toy and video game sales and left with something more valuable than money, memories made between a father and son that will last a long time for these gamers.”

Saturday morning started out with a possible world record attempt by Paul Zimmerman of Deerfield, Illinois.   Paul drove about 5 hours to attend the event to try and break the Atari 2600 record on Berzerk.    The record currently stood at 1,057,940.   For Paul to break this record, he would have to start playing at 9:30 AM until around 11:00 PM.   I sat down with Paul before he started his run to ask him how he was feeling and what it took to break the record. “I have been playing video games since I got my first Atari 2600 in 1980.”   Paul explained how going for the world record is very important to him.  “I got the record back in 2010, at the Midwest Gaming Classic, and it was beaten in 2015.   I actually almost beat the record a year later, but the game froze a half hour before I could beat the score.”  Paul knew he could beat the record again, he just needed video proof, an event and to make sure the game did not freeze.   This year he made sure he had a different game cartridge and a different system, so the freeze issue would not happen.    Unfortunately, at 6:45 PM after playing for 9 ½ hours the game indeed froze again with a score of 666,040.   Billy Mitchell joked that everyone needed to stay away from Paul as his game froze on 666.   Perhaps a bad luck number to freeze up on.    Personally, knowing Paul and how he is determined to beat a record, I know he will go to the next event and get his high score. It’s his world record to take back.  

Throughout the weekend, there was a space where memorabilia from the history of gaming was on display.   Ottumwa is in the process of creating a home for the Video Game Museum.  A place where you can go to see the history of arcade, console, and pinball gaming from the beginning until the present.   Items such as T-shirts, posters, games and systems were on display in this mini version of what will come for the Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa.   In the same room of the museum was an autograph table signing session.   Current and past Hall of Famers as well as current gamers were gracious enough to spend some time with the fans and sign cards, magazines and whatever fans brought for them.  Some of the people in the signing room were old school gamers: Todd Rogers, Mark Robichek and Sam Blackburn.  The Class of 2016 attendees such as Lonnie McDonald and Chris Tang were happy to sign items for fans.    Of course, an autograph session would not be complete without Walter Day and Billy Mitchell.  They were on hand to sign and talk with the gamers about the history of gaming and Twin Galaxies.  I spoke with Mark Robicheck, one of the original Time Life Photo members back in 1982, from the original Twin Galaxies arcade.  “I really enjoyed my weekend in Ottumwa. I really felt like a celebrity, especially while signing autographs and seeing the joyous looks on the faces of both the adults and the kids in attendance.”   Mark goes on to add, “Just prior to the IVGHOF induction ceremony, I was approached by Walter Day and others to see if I’d be willing to be a presenter and I jumped at the opportunity. Before my turn at the mic, I got to hear Isaiah ‘Triforce’ Johnson pay tribute to some of the original game players (such as me) and he even described us in a way that will stick with me forever. He called us the ‘Elder Gods.’ I like that term! In fact, when Walter Day asked me whether I’d wear an ‘Elder God’ T-shirt, I said, Absolutely!”

Saturday afternoon was the historical recreation of the Time Life photograph that was taken on Main Street in Ottumwa back in 1982.   The goal has always been to get as many gamers from the original picture as well as the five cheerleaders that pose in front of the arcade games.  This year we had the privilege of three of the members as well as two of the original cheerleaders take part in the photograph.   Billy Mitchell, Sam Blackburn and Mark Robichek stood high above the gaming machines as they did 35 years before.    April Lewis and Tracy Groy were gracious enough to come back all these years later as two of the original cheerleaders from the early 80s.  April told everyone, “My goal is to get the other three here and have all five cheerleaders represent Ottumwa again.”    Once the photograph was finished, locals and attendees of the weekend event took a group picture with everyone including Walter Day who was there for the original shoot outside his arcade in 1982. 

Saturday night was the Hall of Fame Ceremony and it did not disappoint.   It was a perfectly organized event that brought together some of the top gaming figures in the world to celebrate the Inductees and be a part of history with the Class of 2016.    Before the ceremony started, fans and residents had the pleasure of hearing from Jerry Parker, the former Mayor of Ottumwa and the person who proclaimed Ottumwa as the Video Game Capital of the World.  Other speakers included the current mayor of Ottumwa, Tom Lazio and the State Senator Mary Gaskill.    

Additionally, it was the awarding of the Ottumwa’s Old School Pinball & Arcade Gamer of the Year awards.   This all-year event started in January and ended the night of November 11, 2017.   Gamers of all ages battled in a world series of gaming on multiple platforms to determine the world champion for kids and adults.  Games included were Ms. Pac Man Arcade, Mario Kart 64 for the N64, Family Guy Pinball, Tetris for the Gameboy and Metal Slug for the PS2 among many other games.    The finals of the yearly tournament were held this weekend and the top 3 winners received an award along with a certificate.    In the adult division, 3rd Place went Kevin Archer, 2nd Place went to Ed Burtlow and 1st Place was Wyatt Barwick.  For the kid’s event, 3rd Place went to Brandon Burtlow, 2nd Place went to Caleb Burtlow and the 1st Place gamer of the year went to Isabella Hoffman.

This year’s class included different eras of games, players and Industry legends.   The game inducted this year from the 1980’s era was Super Mario Bros., with over 40 million units sold, it is considered one of the greatest games of all time.   From the 1990’s era, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of the biggest selling Super Nintendo Games ever.   The game of the 2000’s that was voted on was the World of Warcraft, with over 11 million paid subscribers, this is easily the most popular MMORGP of all time.   The current era game that was inducted into the Hall of Fame was Minecraft, with over 60 million copies sold and over 1.75 billion hours of gameplay worldwide, Minecraft will always be a true iconic game for years to come.  

One of the Inductees able to attend the presentation was Isaiah “TriForce” Johnson, who also accepted the awards on behalf of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Nintendo Industry Leader, Sotoru Iwata.  TriForce Johnson has become a familiar face when it comes to Nintendo products and Esports Competition. Was inducted in the category of 2000’s ESports Competitor.   He is the creator and organizer of Empire Arcadia and a true pioneer for competitive gaming.   TriForce tells me, “The Video Game Capital of the World weekend event was one of the most important moments for me in my career in the eSports industry. My induction into the International Video Game Hall of Fame has put me in a unique position with a hand full of people who are entrusted to carry on a tradition and preserve a history that is the corner stone for the very eSports industry that my team and I are a part of. Every time I go to Ottumwa Iowa, I learn so much about the origins of eSports and I meet someone new who has a story that would be lost to time if I don’t speak with them. Now that I’m inducted, I’m obligated to do what I can to document these stories and share them with the modern scene of eSports. The flame that represents the classic age of eSports is sputtering and if extinguished it may never be rekindled. Industrial eSports Revolution is complete, and a new age is upon us. I will do all I can to protect the history and traditions from any revisionist.”

Another one of the Inductees able to attend the weekend event was Lonnie McDonald.  Without doubt one of, if not the best Joust Player in the world.    He has been playing arcade games since the early 1980s and even played Joust for a record 24 hours straight back in 1982.   He is the first person to hit the max score of 9,999,999 on a joust machine in all 50 states.    While attending the festivities he decided to go for this 175th joust machine of hitting that max score, another world record.   Lonnie told me, “I was honored to make the site of the event also a stop on Joust Tour, turning the 175th Joust machine to 9,999,999”.   Lonnie had a moving acceptance speech and was very honored to be a part of this Hall of Fame Class.  “It’s always a pleasure to visit gaming venues in Ottumwa Iowa”, Lonnie explains.  “As an Inductee into the International Video Game Hall of Fame and a person born and raised in Iowa, it was even more of an honor to be included”.  Lonnie goes on to say, “Ottumwa’s gaming legacy should make it a destination, a Mecca if you will, for all gamers.”  

Chris Tang was inducted as the 1990s Esports Competitor and graciously accepted his award with a moving speech about his gaming experiences, being a leader in the industry and thanking a lot of gamers who paved the way for his career.  “Growing up, I had read about Ottumwa while its history was unfolding, which inspired me and had a definite impact on my future as a competitive gamer.  To finally visit the historic site of the Twin Galaxies arcade and scoreboard, and take part in the LIFE magazine photo re-creation was a huge honor.  I very much look forward to when the new permanent arcade and museum on Main Street will be opening and hope to come back for that!  Getting to meet some of the other fellow and previous inductees and get to know them better was another highlight that I wish I had more time to do.  The inductions themselves are now one of the most memorable moments in my life.”  Chris was inducted by friend and arcade owner, Doc Mack, of Galloping Ghosts arcade in Brookfield, Illinois.   Doc owns one of the largest arcades in the country with almost 650 arcade games in his store.  Chris added, “I was also honored that Doc Mack, the owner of the Galloping Ghost Arcade, was able to be the one to induct and present me; he’s probably the one who best understands my videogame-centric life as a champion, game developer, eSports commentator and lifelong enthusiast.  Doc is someone I have so much respect for through his efforts to preserve and respect gaming history for all to enjoy – which is very much in line with what the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum and historic efforts in Ottumwa are all about.”

The final inductee able to attend the weekend festivities was Patrick O’ Malley of Star Words Arcade.  Located in Dekalb, IL., Star Worlds has been fully operational since 1985. One of the only remaining token based arcades in the country.   Patrick accepted his Community Action Award with honor and respect for others in the industry.  He knows more than anyone how hard it is to keep an arcade business going and keep gamers happy.   “It was truly an honor being inducted into the international video game hall of fame class of 2016 for my community action award. It’s an important role in the community and I look forward to others joining me in that category in years to come. Glenn and I are often displaying and working many of the gaming events. It was nice being honored and having the time to spend enjoying the event and spending time with our family and friends.”  Patrick was inducted by Twin Galaxies founder and longtime gaming historian, Walter Day.  Patrick added, “When I was asked who I wanted to present my induction I didn’t think twice. Walter day is a longtime friend and it was an honor having him present the award.  Many people over the weekend asked me why I’m still doing coin drop play at Star Worlds Arcade. It’s simple. Token play has become as classic as the games themselves. Dropping a coin into the slot is a vote for your favorite game. It’s how we know just what games are the most popular with our customers.”

This event was covered by local media from all over Iowa.   Some of the media members I spoke with were Ottumwa’s Radio News, KTVO, KYOU, The Ottumwa Courier and the Des Moines Register.   It was truly the talk of the town for that weekend.   Talking with Jerry Byram, Arcade Committee member, he estimated between 1200-1500 attendees throughout the weekend.    Terry Burtlow of Ottumwa, Iowa, organizer and committee member says, “Watching all the smiling faces makes it worth it and makes us want to be here every year moving forward.”   Co-Chairman Bill Hoffman explains “We have a lot of professional gamers that came to celebrate with us, to celebrate with this community. So, you know, Ottumwa being the Video Game Capital of the World, they’ve all come to celebrate Ottumwa, and we just want to give Ottumwa what it deserves to be the Video Game Capital of the World. No other town in the U.S. can claim that, so we’re just happy to celebrate it and bring it to Ottumwa.”  I personally had a great weekend with a lot of good memories and stories to talk about as well as being part of gaming history.  I hope and plan to attend this event each year for years to come.   

Follow the Old School Arcade on their Facebook page “OtownOldSchoolArcade” and at #videogamecapital on Instagram. 

Check out the full issue of Old School Gamer by clicking here.

We are pleased to announce the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum Class of 2016 Induction Ceremony is scheduled to take place in conjunction with an event hosted by the Ottumwa Gaming Community the weekend of November 10-12, 2017.

Details for the Induction Ceremony itself will be forthcoming in the next month, but it is scheduled to take place in the evening Nov. 11, 2017.

We will be opening up sponsorships for this years trophies and possibly other items in the coming weeks. If you are interested in sponsoring the trophies, please contact us at contactus@ivghof.info.

We look forward to celebrating the induction ceremonies with everyone.

The public is invited to submit names of individuals and games in a variety of categories for the 2016 Class of Inductees.
ivghof-2016-processOTTUMWA, Iowa – March 21, 2016 – The International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum would like to remind the voting public that time is still available to submit nominations for the 2016 Class of Inductees.
Gamers, industry professionals, developers and the voting public are invited, and encouraged, to submit names for the following categories:
  • Video Game Competitors
  • Games
  • Game Designers
  • Industry Leader
  • IVGHOF Community Action Award
  • Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

Participants are also invited to provide information as to why the individual, game or company should be inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

The public nomination process is the first of three steps in deciding who is inducted into the 2016 IVGHOF Class.

After the public nomination process is completed, a selection committee will narrow down the names for each category to present to a final voting pool which will then determine the final list of inductees.

Nominations are open until 11:59 p.m. March 31.

Interested individuals can read about the Nomination and Induction Process here: http://www.ivghof.info/news/2016-nomination-and-induction-process/

Nominations can be made here: http://www.ivghof.info/2016-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form/

The IVGHOF Board of Directors would like to thank everyone, in advance, for their submissions.

ivghof-2016-processThank you to everyone who has submitted their nominations for the 2016 International Video Game Hall of Fame Class. We appreciate the time and effort everyone has taken thus far to submit names of individuals and games as well as reasons these should be inducted.

Since nominations are still coming in, we are extending the submission period until 11:59 p.m. March 31, 2016.

We appreciate any sharing of this announcement with others to encourage them to submit their answers.

We would also like to note, if you do not have an answer to some of the required blanks, please put an answer of “No response” or “n/a” in the field and submit as normal.

You can view previous induction classes at the links below:

Class of 2010: http://www.ivghof.info/classes-of-inductees/class-of-2010/

Class of 2015: http://www.ivghof.info/classes-of-inductees/class-of-2015/

Individuals who were inducted in previous years are not eligible for induction a second time unless they qualify for the Community Action Award or Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations can be made here: http://www.ivghof.info/2016-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form/

ivghof-2016-process

As mentioned in the 2016 Nomination and Induction Process article, nominations are now open for four weeks, closing at 11:59 p.m. on March 7, 2016.

Instructions on how many nominations for each category is available within the form. If you provide more than the number requested, we will select the first 2-4 (depending on the amount limited to) from the names provided.

Users are encouraged to provide information as to why they feel an individual or game should be inducted, but are not required to do so.

Nominations can be made here: http://www.ivghof.info/2016-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form/

ivghof-2016-processThe International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum are pleased to announce that we will be opening up nominations to the public as part of the 2016 Nomination Process.

On Feb. 8 we will post a link to a form for nominations. Nominations will be open for a month before moving on in the process outlined below.

The information below covers the categories and number of inductees for each category as well as the process for this year’s class of inductees.


Categories, Criteria and Number of Recipients

Video Game Competitors

Individuals nominated should exemplify the best characteristics in gaming, including but not limited to:

  • Convey sportsmanship in the community
  • Made significant contributions to the community or industry
  • Strong consideration given based on world records earned, significant achievements and promotion of the positive aspects of playing and/or creating games.

Subcategories include:

  • Golden Age Competitors (2 inductees between 1970s – 1989)
  • The 90’s (90 – 99) (1 inductee)
  • The 2000’s (2000-2011) (1 inductee)

Games

  • Golden Age Games (1 inductee 1970s – 1990)
  • The 90’s (90 – 99) (1 inductee)
  • The 2000’s (2000-2009) (1 inductee)
  • The 2010 to present (1 inductee)

Game Designer

Honoring individuals, companies, or organizations who have shaped the history of the global electronic gaming industry through their historic game creations or technological innovations. (1 Inductee)

Industry Leaders

Honoring individuals, companies, or organizations who have inspired the growth, vitality, and prosperity of the global electronic gaming industry through their business wisdom and creative vision. (1 Inductee)

IVGHOF Community Action Award

Presented to individuals who selflessly serve the global gaming industry through charitable activities while inspiring others to participate in harmonious community-building enterprises. (1 Inductee)

Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

Honoring individuals or organizations who have served the electronic gaming industry over the course of a long career, enriching the industry with their selfless contributions, strong leadership, and creative vision. The point of this award is that they have served for a long time, whereas the Community Action Award is directed at people who performed benevolent and charitable tasks during a recent small time period. (1 Inductee)


Nomination Process

It has been suggested that we open the nominations for the IVGHOF to the public via this website. The public will be provided with a form where they may suggest two names per category. This nomination process would run for four(4) weeks. Once the names are collected, the selection committee will compile and count entries for each name to narrow it down for the final voting pool.

Selection Process

The selection process is a two part process.
The first part would be the selection committee narrowing down the nominations to a set number of individuals per category.

This narrowed down list would be posted to the website with a bio for each nominee.

The second part is where a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) would be sent to potential voters who are selected by the IVGHOF selection committee to place their vote on who gets inducted for each year.  Voters will be selected each year by the selection committee and are subject to change.  Voters are not allowed to disclose that they participated in voting on who is inducted into the IVGHOF. Any revelation they were involved would remove them from future opportunities. Numbers of voting groups may vary from year to year and those in the pool may change from year to year and will include, but are not limited to, past inductees of the IVGHOF, video game journalists, and gaming professionals. They would have 2 weeks to vote.

Once the votes are in, the majority vote (or two majority votes) wins for the categories depending on the number of inductees for each category.

ivghof-2015-class-3

In 2010, the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the Video Game Capital of the World, announced and inducted its first class. At that time, 29 individuals and one video game were inducted into the IVGHOF. Now, five years later, the IVGHOF is pleased to announce the members of the 2015 class to be inducted at an event in 2016.

The 2015 class of inductees was selected by accomplished gamers, journalists and video game industry executives who have extensive knowledge of the achievements in gaming. We are pleased to announce the following individuals and video games are being inducted:

Gamers

Tim Balderramos, author of “The Perfect Game: Confessions of a Pac-Man Junkie,” holds the Pac-Man World Title, several other world records and is one of the top five Pac-Man players in the world. He retired from competitive gaming June 19, 2008.

Eric Ginner worked on a number of classic games for the Lynx. He also holds a handful of world records on different games

Steve Harris holds world records in Bega’s Battle, Red Alert and Wacko. He was the founding editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine.

Josh Jones is a notable gamer who was a consummate fundraiser for various causes who passed away unexpectedly this year

Tim McVey, subject of the Man vs. Snake documentary on Nibbler, was the first gamer to achieve a billion points on Nibbler and holder of several Nibbler world records

Thor Aackerland was the winner of the Nintendo World Championships in 1990. He holds two world records on Tetris.

Kat “Mystik” Gunn is a professional gamer and cosplayer who is  known for winning the second season of WCG Ultimate Gamer on the SyFy Channel. She has been named the highest earning female gamer in the upcoming Guinness World Records Book Gamer’s Edition.

Game

Defender – Defender was one of the most important titles of the Golden Age, selling over 55,000 units and becoming one of Williams Electronics best selling game and highest grossing arcade game. Game development was led by Eugene Jarvis and was his first video game project.

Game Designer

Eugene Jarvis is a well known game designer and programmer who produced games for Atari, Williams Electronics and Midway Games. He co-founded Vid Kidz and currently runs his own development studio, Raw Thrills Inc. Jarvis was named the first Game Designer in Residence by DePaul University’s Game Development program in 2008.

Industry Leader

Gary Stern, CEO and founder of Stern Pinball, Inc., has grown up with the gaming industry. Stern Electronics was created by his father in 1977 and they created games Stampede and Rawhide. Stern Electronics created both video arcade and pinball machines. Their most popular game, Bezerk, was created in 1980. Stern worked at Stern Electronics before moving on to Data East/Sega before creating Stern Pinball, INc., in 1994. Stern has been a leader in the gaming industry through its ups and downs and his company continues to appeal to gamers worldwide.

Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

David Bishop, Executive Vice President of NAMCO, has been involved in the video game industry since 1981 when he joined Barrel of Fun, Inc. as Vice President Technical Services. He moved on to Atari Operations Inc., as Director Operations in 1987. In 1990 he joined NAMCO’s team and has served in a variety of positions in his tenure there. David has been an industry leader, helping to advance NAMCO and gaming with his skills. His most recent project, Level 257, is a prototype arcade featuring a unique dining, entertainment and social experience inspired by PAC-Man.

The induction ceremony will coincide with the annual ICON Trading Card Event to be held in Ottumwa, Iowa, in Summer 2016 with a date to be announced in the near future.

For more information: http://www.ivghof.info/

About The International Video Game Hall of Fame
Located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated to honoring excellence in the field of electronic gaming by recognizing the champions, industries and professionals related to this popular activity. We will build and maintain a state-of-the art interactive facility containing historical archive exhibits describing the historic milestones of the video game industry, and preserve significant video gaming relics, memorabilia and artifacts of the times past and present.