One of the most influential video games ever made is finally making its way into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, and I think I speak for everyone when I say “deserved”.
You know, this is gonna sound like rubbish, but I was scrolling through The Strong's World Video Game Hall of Fame list a week ago and my first thought was “hey, where the hell is GoldenEye 007?”
I know there are a million games everyone and their mother thinks should be included, but Rare’s Nintendo 64 classic just felt like such a huge omission to me.
In the same way that Super Mario 64 pioneered and perfected 3D movement and platforming mechanics, GoldenEye 007 was THE blueprint for first-person shooters.
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For decades after the game’s release, other developers were looking over Rare’s shoulders and copying their homework. It quite literally launched a genre of video games.
That’s why its inclusion as a finalist in the 2025 World Video Game Hall of Fame list feels like a foregone outcome, but I’m still kind of surprised it took this long to make it on the list.
Speaking of other influential titles, it's also being inducted alongside some other massive titles, including id Software's Quake, Williams Electronics' Defender, and the... Tamagotchi. I’m not mad about that last one, just surprised.
All four titles beat out some serious competition too, including Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Frogger, Harvest Moon, Age of Empires, and Angry Birds.
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Well, hard to say I’d have chosen any of the other nominees over the resulting four that won. Better luck next year.
At least GoldenEye 007 takes its place among some of the greats, alongside other massive pioneers of video game genres… wait, what do you mean Super Mario 64 isn’t on the list? What do you MEAN it hasn’t even been nominated before?
Topics: Nintendo, James Bond