Nominations are now open for four weeks, closing at 11:59 p.m. CST on Sept. 18, 2017.
Like last year, this is a three part process launching with the public nomination process. It will then be narrowed down by a private selection committee then a voting poll sent out to a larger voting group for final votes. This group will include individuals who submitted nominations from this year and last year, previous inductees, video game journalists, and gaming professionals.
Instructions on how many nominations for each category is available within the forms. 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.
Please note, unlike last year, this year there are three forms. We understand some people feel overwhelmed by the large form or that some people only want to submit for gamers or industry professionals or games because they feel they aren’t knowledgeable enough to submit for the other categories. The forms are broken down into the following categories – the pages are linked afterwards for ease of use.
- Video Game/eSports Competitors: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-video-gameesports-competitors/
- Video Games: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-video-games/
- Industry Professionals and Community Awards: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-industry-professionals-and-community-awards/
Additionally, unlike last year, a valid email address is required and you will receive a reply with your answers for who you nominated. If you do not provide a valid email address, you will not receive a final voting ballot as part of the third phase of deciding who is part of the Class of 2017.
If you would like to be considered for the private selection committee, please check yes and provide reasons, including industry accolades, to be considered. Not everyone who checks yes will be on the committee.
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
The 90’s (90 – 99)
The 2000’s (2000-2011)
Games
Golden Age Games
The 90’s (90 – 99)
The 2000’s (2000-2009) (1 inductee)
The 2010 to present (1 inductee)
Industry Professionals and Community Awards
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)
We look forward to receiving your nominations.
- Video Game/eSports Competitors: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-video-gameesports-competitors/
- Video Games: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-video-games/
- Industry Professionals and Community Awards: http://www.ivghof.info/2017-international-video-game-hall-of-fame-nomination-form-for-industry-professionals-and-community-awards/
**Note: an announcement regarding the 2016 Induction Ceremony will be made later this week.
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 gameplay: 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.
Professional Achievement Summary
- 35 years of experience in video game hardware and software design
- Designed or co-designed more than 80 entertainment products.
- Product revenues in excess of $400 million retail.
- Dozens of industry awards, including Designer of the Year, Parent’s Choice, and prestigious 2003 Game Developer Choice Award for contribution to the field.
- Recipient of the inaugural AIAS Pioneer Award.
- Several games with unit sales over 1,000,000.
- Profiled in national press, including Forbes and Newsweek.
- Pitfall! game was so popular that it spawned a Saturday morning cartoon show.
- Produced hit products with sales throughout the US, Europe, and Japan.
- Author of US Patent #4,644,495 for an improved Video Memory System.
- Appeared in multiple volumes of Who’s Who in Consumer Electronics.
Game Publisher Affiliations
- Atari, Inc.
- Activision, Inc.
- Hasbro Toys
- Absolute Entertainment, Inc.
- Skyworks Interactive, Inc.
- App Star Games, Inc.
- MTV / Nickelodeon Kids and Family
- J ungle V enture I nc.
Selected Awards
2010 Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Pioneer Award – At the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards held on February 18, 2010 Activision co-founder David Crane was presented with the Academy’s first ever Pioneer Award, celebrating his contribution to the creation of the Video Game Industry.
2009 IGN.COM “The Top 100 Game Creators of All Time” – In 2009 IGN.COM ran a feature called “The Top 100 Game Creators of All Time.” David Crane was featured at #12.
2003 Game Developers Choice “First Penguin Award” – “The IGDA’s First Penguin award celebrates the courage and bravery of a developer who is the first to test the proverbial waters, in the face of uncertainty of success or failure. Receiving a “penguin” serves as an inspiration and lesson to the community.”
1990 Parent’s Choice Award, A Boy and His Blob
1989 Video Games and Computer Entertainment, Best Strategy, A Boy and His Blob
1989 Video Games and Computer Entertainment, Most Innovative, A Boy and His Blob
1983 Video Games Magazine, Player’s Choice Award, Pitfall!
1982 VIRA Award, Video Game Designer of the Year
1982 Video Game Update, Designer of the Year
1982 Freeway Gold Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 500,000 Units
1982 Grand Prix Gold Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 500,000 Units
1982 Pitfall! Gold Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 500,000 Units
1982 Freeway Platinum Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 1,000,000 Units
1982 Laser Blast Platinum Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 1,000,000 Units
1982 Pitfall! Platinum Cartridge, In Recognition of Sales in Excess of 1,000,000 Units
1981 Best Audio and Visual Effects, Fishing Derby
Published Products
iPhone publications: Catopult (Part of AG Mobile), Arcade Bowling™, Ten Pin Championship Bowling®, Boardwalk Games™, Arcade Hoops Basketball™, 3 Point Hoops®, Arcade QB Pass Attack™, Field Goal Frenzy™, Stellar Blast!™, 2600 Magic, Dragster Magic, The Iron Horse
Console Games: Pitfall!™, Pitfall II, Lost Caverns™, Freeway™, Laser Blast™, Fishing Derby™, Dragster™, Grand Prix™, A Boy and His Blob™, The Rescue of Princess Blobette™, Little Computer People™, Ghostbusters™, Skateboardin’™, Super Skateboardin’™, The Activision Decathlon™, T*O*Y*S™, Home Improvement: Power Tool Persuit, Transformers®, the computer game, David Crane’s Amazing Tennis™, Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly™, March of the Penguins™, CHOMP™, Canyon Bomber™, Outlaw™, Slot Machine™
Online Casual Games: Lotto Letters®, Super Swish, Stellar Blast!™, Mercury® Mariner® Hybrid Infomercial, Lacrosse Shootout, Beach Volleyball, Spiderman® Climbing game, Miller® Seat Salsa*, Super Cocoa Man, Break the Rules Hoops, Downfield Strike, Mini Motocross, Pebbles® Robopup Run, Toyota® 4runner® Challenge, Tyco® RC Speed Wrench, Vertical Jam, E.T.’s Adventure, Bubble Yum® Home Run Derby, Bubble Yum® Bullpen Blast, Gummi Bunnies® Egg Hunt, Foul Shot Shootout, LifeSavers® Water Park Pinball, Field Goal Challenge, Creme Savers® Bowling, Golf Solitaire, Skyworks Lanes Bowling, Carefree® on Ice, Gummi Savers® Rock-N-Skate, YIPES!® Photo Safari, Ice Breakers® Slap Shot Shootout, Southpark® Pinball, Breath Savers® Road Rally, Ford® NASCAR® racing challenge, MTv® Cranks Dirt Bike Game, Ice Breakers® Ultimate Bobsled, Breath Savers® Billiards, Snackwells® Chocolate Factory Pinball, Snowboard Big Air, Skate Rage Inline Skating, Candystand™ Miniature Golf, LifeSavers® Word Challenge, Candystand™ Tennis Open, Mountain Climbing, 3 Point Shootout, Grand Slam Pinball, Nabisco World™ Team Racing, Soccer Shootout, LifeSavers® Treasure Hunt, Oreo® Adventure, LifeSavers® Roll-A-ball, Air Crisps® Slam Dunk, Fruit Chews® BMX, Postopia™ Bowling, Technical Expertise
In addition to being one of the most successful video game software designers in the world, David is an accomplished electronic engineer with experience in Hardware Design in the fields of Analog Circuitry, Digital Circuitry, Semiconductor Design, Computer Architecture, and Circuit Layout. This expertise in Hardware Design provides the foundation for his work in the highly technical field of Video Game Design.
As the video game has evolved throughout his 30+ year career, so has the technology. To create the diverse assortment of games he has published, David has mastered at least 24 Computer Languages, including those required by More than 20 Video Game Consoles.
Warren Davis began his career in video games in 1982 working for Gottlieb Amusement Games outside Chicago. He got his feet wet as a supplemental programmer on an unreleased super-hero game which went by many names, then went on to design and program the wildly popular Q*bert. He followed that up with Faster Harder More Challenging Q*bert, which was never officially released, but is now available through MAME. His next game, Us. Vs. Them, was an innovative laserdisc game in which filmed scenes featuring live actors advanced a sci-fi invasion story amidst aerial combat gameplay between computer generated jet fighters and UFOs composited over flying 
sequences filmed all over the country. When Gottlieb closed its doors, Warren left the industry for a short time, only to return to Williams where he co-programmed Joust 2 and, as a consultant on loan to H.A.R. Management, Lotto Fun, a redemption game. He coded the display system for Williams’ new 256 color system, first used on the game Narc, and began exploring the use of digitized images – incorporating videotaped elements into a game with near photo quality. He left Williams to become a consultant for Premier Technologies where he helped develop an arcade system and created the game, Exterminator, a surreal bug killing game which was critically acclaimed, but never went into full production. Then he returned to Williams/Bally/Midway, where he joined the team working on T2:Judgement Day, a first person shooter based on the hit movie. He upgraded his video digitization system (called WTARG) to allow live action in front of a blue screen to be instantly imported into development hardware. This system was integral to the development of the Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam series of games, and was used on virtually all of Midway’s games in the early 1990’s. (Warren is one of a number of Williams/Bally/Midway employees whose name and head can be played in the arcade version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition.) Warren’s last game at Williams/Bally/Midway was Revolution X featuring Aerosmith. That game used Warren’s pseudo 3D display engine which allowed a first person viewpoint with forward, backward and side-to-side motion, without using 3D hardware. In 1995, Warren moved to Los Angeles to work for Disney Interactive on a variety of home titles. For a short time, he was an Imagineer with Walt Disney Imagineering. After Disney, he worked as a senior programmer on the console game Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, followed by an edutainment title, The Lunar Explorer, which allows users to interactively explore any part of the moon either from space or on the ground using actual topographic data. He spent some time as an R&D Engineer at Industrial Light and Magic working on previsualization software for movies, and is currently a software consultant.
Ottumwa leads to Twin Galaxies and Walter Day leads to the birth of competitive gaming leads to King of Kong…..
Twin Galaxies is the world authority on player rankings, gaming statistics, and championship tournaments, with pinball statistics dating from the 1930s and video game statistics from the early 1980s.
As the electronic gaming industry’s premiere statistician, Twin Galaxies preserves the history of gaming in a historical database, which documents the historical milestones of the electronic gaming hobby as it evolves into a professional sport.
Founded in 1981, Twin Galaxies grew from modest origins as an arcade chain operator to gain recognition as the “official scorekeeper for the world of video game & pinball playing,” vested with the authority to verify “official” world record high-scores and crown new world champions.
The Twin Galaxies scoreboard was the creation of Walter Day, Twin Galaxies founder, who, on June 6, 1981, embarked on a series of business trips that took him through 15 U.S. states in 4 months. Though his role as a traveling salesman was the focus of his trip, Day’s real passion was to visit as many video game arcades as possible and record the high scores he found on each game.
Thousand of miles later — and after visiting approximately one hundred arcades, Day, on November 10, 1981, opened his own arcade in the sleepy Midwestern town of Ottumwa, Iowa. It was called Twin Galaxies and its tranquil existence was altered when, on February 9, 1982, Day’s growing database of high score statistics were made available to the public as the Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard. As the organizational center of competitive video game playing, Twin Galaxies received immediate recognition from the major game manufacturers of the day: Atari, Midway, Williams Electronics, Universal, Stern, Nintendo, and Exidy, in addition to recognition from RePlay Magazine and Playmeter Magazine — the two premier coin-op publications of that era.
Twin Galaxies’ role as the scorekeeper grew in importance as “player-rankings” became a major focus of the media. As the pioneer in ranking the top players, Twin Galaxies was called upon to bring the superstar players together for many well-publicized contests and media events. For example, on November 7, 1982, LIFE Magazine visited Twin Galaxies to capture sixteen of North America’s best players in a group photograph. Two months later, on January 9, 1983, ABC-TV’s “That’s Incredible” came to Ottumwa, Iowa, to film nineteen of the world’s best players competing in the first-ever video game world championship.
As Twin Galaxies’ fame spread further, Walter Day was designated an assistant editor in charge of video game scores for the the 1984-1986 editions of the U.S. edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Under Day’s direction, Twin Galaxies wrote the first official rulebook for playing electronic games and established the rules and standardized settings for each game. Today, this rulebook has evolved into Twin Galaxies’ most well known product: Twin Galaxies’ Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records (ISBN 1887472-25-8), a 984-page book containing scores from players in 31 different countries compiled since 1981. A second edition, totaling approximately 800 pages that focused exclusively on high-score records achieved on coin-op arcade games, was released on June 1, 2007. A third edition of the arcade volume, filled with hundreds of updated world records on arcade coin-op games, was released in June, 2009.
Today, Twin Galaxies is recognized as the world’s premiere electronic games referee, having judged contests and high scores submitted by console gamers, arcades aficionados, and PC gamers worldwide.
On February 14, 2014, ownership of Twin Galaxies was transferred to Jace Hall, of HD Films, in Hollywood, California. Walter Day now spends his time producing collectible trading cards while working on a musical.
Then on October 19th, 2017, The Yankees, owned by Yankeee Global Enterprises (Steinbrenner family controlled) became the largest stockholder in Twin Galaxies and related E-sports businesses, Echo Fox and Vision Entertainment.
The International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the Video Game Capital of the World, is pleased to announce the Class of 2016.
The 2016 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 input from attendees of the Class of 2015 induction with the board selecting the inductees.
We are pleased to announce the following individuals and video games are being inducted:
Golden Age Gamers
Lonnie McDonald has a number of world records on Joust, was a U.S National Videogame Team member and has rolled over the score on a Joust machine in all 50 states.
90’s eSports Competitor
Chris Tang is an accomplished gaming tournament champion and game designer who is best known for winning the Sega World Champion competition on MTV and as a Nintendo World Championship City Champion. He was a designer and consultant for Sony and eBay in the past and is currently a Senior Game Designer on the “Stroke Harbringer” project.
2000’s eSports Competitor
Isaiah “TriForce” Johnson is an accomplished, record holding gamer and founder of Empire Arcadia, which holds the record for “most documented tournament wins for a gaming team.” Johnson has been a part of several gaming documentaries and recently retired from competitive gaming.
Golden Age Game
Super Mario Bros.
90’s Era Game
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2000’s Era Game
World of Warcraft
Current Era Game
Minecraft
Game Developer
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer, director and producer who is best known for the Metal Gear series. He is the director of Kojima Productions and former vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment. He also directed or produced games in other series, including Zone of the Enders, Boktai, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
Industry Leader
Satoru Iwata was the fourth president and CEO of Nintendo and broadened the appeal of video games to a larger audience with the types of games he developed. He is most well known for working on the development of Pokemon and the Super Smash Bros. series. Satoru passed away July 11, 2015.
Community Action Award
Patrick O’Malley has been a force in planning gaming events, both large and small, which contribute to his local community and the gaming community as a whole. He has sponsored numerous events and fundraisers in support of gamers, industry pioneers and his community.
Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award
Steve Wozniak has an incredible history as a competitive gamer, game designer and developer of the Apple computer which was a driving force in early gaming. Steve’s contributions as a competitive player, game developer and system designer set him apart as one of the most accomplished people in the history of gaming.
The induction ceremony will coincide with the annual ICON Trading Card Event to be held in Ottumwa, Iowa, in August 2017 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.
Best selling Indie game of all time – 60 million copies sold
First Release to public as a beta in 2009
Minecraft’s music and sound effects were produced by Daniel “C418” Rosenfeld
Mojang, Created by Markus “Notch” Persson
Microsoft bought Mojang for 2.5 billion dollars
Available on PC and all modern day consoles
As of 2014, Xbox 360 users spent 1.75 billion hours playing
–First released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment
–The most popular MMORPG of all time
–World record for longest marathon play is 29 Hours 31 Minutes.
–Over 11 Million subscriptions to date play online.
–6 expansions released for this game to date
Release in North America in 1992
This is the third installment of the Zelda Franchise
The music was composed and produced by Koji Kondo
One of the best selling SNES games – 1.41 million copies (2006)
First game to begin the Zelda trademark of “Parallel Worlds”
- Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka
- Released in North America in 1985
- 40 Million units sold
- 2005 – IGN named Super Mario “Greatest Game off all time”
- Re-Released numerous times on multiple platforms.
- Inspired cartoons and a live action film based on game.
– Co-Founder of Apple Computers
– Developed the ‘Apple I’ in 1976
– Received National Medal of Technology
– Created the first Universal Remote
– Founded Wheels Of Zeus in 2001
– Founded Acquicor Technology in 2006
– Was chief scientist at Fusion-io in 2009
– Chief scientist at Primary Data in 2014
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