Goldeneye 007, Tamagotchi and Quake Blast in the video game Hall of Fame for 2025

If you grew up in the Arcade Aliens, there is a good chance that you will be familiar with at least one of this year's video game Hall of Fame candidates. The World Video Game Hall of Fame announced its 2025 class this week and celebrated four games that contributed to define an era: Goldeneye 007, Tamagotchi, Quake and defender. These titles were selected for their cultural influence, their strength and contributions to the development of play.

From a pioneering multiplayer shooter (Goldeneye 007) to the game that triggered the virtual pet craze (Tamagotchi), these titles have an influence that goes beyond the game industry. The Hall of Fame, which is located in the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, recognizes games that have shaped the game industry and the penetrating pop culture.

This year's introductions are followed by a list of classics, including Tetris, Pac-Man, Minecraft and The Legend of Zelda, which consolidate their place in gaming history.

“This game quartet represents jumps in technology and how people played in the 1980s and 1990s,” said David Lumb, senior reporter and expert from CNET and video games. “With regard to the other nominees, these four deserves their places in the Hall of Fame, each so popular that they were practically inevitable in their time. Ego shooters, side scrollers, couch co-op shooter and digital pocket buddy all are iconic entries in video game history.”

Goldeneye 007 (1997)

Goldeneye 007 revolutionized first-person shooters on consoles. Mestine shooters were largely seen as a PC genre, which was dominated by games like Doom and Quake. The use of the four-player multiplayer mode of Goldeneye 007 was legendary and consolidated local multiplayer as a staple for console games. The video game based on the James Bond film became the third best title of Nintendo 64 with only Super Mario 64 and Mario.

Tamagotchi (1996)

Tamagotchi placed the world into virtual pet care and blurred the border between games and real life. With the device size of the keychain size, players can feed, clean and maintain and maintain a digital pet and transform everyday moments into interactive gameplay. It became a global enthusiasm, especially in girls and younger children, a population group that was often overlooked by game developers in the 90s.

Defender (1981)

Defense lawyer challenged the players with their intensive gameplay and complex controls and found a new standard for Arcade difficulties. It did the side scrolle-shooter pioneer and introduced complex multibutton controls such as thrust, reverse, fire, smart bomb and hyperspace, which makes it one of the most demanding and qualified arcade games in his era. It really helped separate casual players from hardcore players.

Quake (1996)

Quake raised the bar for 3D gaming with its completely 3D graphics and the voice atmospheric design. It has not only changed as games looked, it changed us thanks to the groundbreaking online multiplayer. In addition, his modding tools have contributed to starting a living community and creating everything from new levels to completely new games.

These four titles were selected from a list of 12 finalists, which included remarkable games like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Frogger and NBA 2K. Since its foundation in 2015, the Hall of Fame has recognized almost 50 games that have shaped the Gaming landscape.