Smithsonian Announces Art of Games Lineup

Several months ago, the Smithsonian Institute announced that a new exhibit called The Art of Video Games would pay homage to the classic pixels of our age. Seeking to present a comprehensive list of significant games, they invited people to vote on what should be included. Those votes have been counted, and the Smithsonian has presented the final list which covers many big titles and nearly four decades.

Among those listed, five special games were selected to be playable by the visitors to the exhibit. For a few minutes, patrons can enjoy Pac-Man (arcade), Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, or World of Warcraft. The exhibits designers hope that giving people some hands-on experience with a sampling of games from different genres and time periods will help them to better understand the rest of the show.

When it opens in March of next year, it will include such classics as Space Invaders, Attack of the Mutant Camels, Earthworm Jim, Super Mario World, Goldeneye 007, Diablo II, Shenmue, Halo 2, Portal, Boom Blox, Shadow of the Colossus, and Brütal Legend. Frequent readers will also be pleased to note that Minecraft made the final cut as well. The full list is available as a PDF, but will surely strike some as incomplete. What titles do you think were unjustly ignored?

(The Smithsonian American Art Museum via Engadget)

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Max Eddy