As I mentioned back in February 2011 here, the Smithsonian American Art Museum held an online vote for video games to be included in their upcoming exhibit, “The Art of Video Games.” Now, they have announced the winning video games to be included as well as a number of titles that will be playable at the exhibit, too. The games to be shown at the exhibit are (you should also read the linked PDF below for more description and screenshots of the included games):
Winning Games
The following games topped the public vote and will be featured in The Art of Video Games in 2012. A PDF with more information is available here. In addition to the 80 games below, five playable games will be included in the exhibition: Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and World of Warcraft.
1943: The Battle of Midway
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
After Burner
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Bioshock
Boom Blox
Brütal Legend
ChuChu Rocket!
Combat®
Desert Commander
Diablo II
Donkey Kong™
DOOM II
Dune II: Battle for Arrakis
Earthworm Jim
Einhander
Fable
Fallout
Fallout 3
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy VII
flOw
Flower
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Goldeneye 007
Gradius V
Gunstar Heroes
Halo 2
Heavy Rain
Jumpman
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II
Marble Madness
MassEffect 2
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metroid Prime 2: Echos
Minecraft
Okami
Pac-Man
Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star IV
Pikmin 2
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
Pitfall!
Portal
Rez
Shadow of Colossus
Shenmue
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
SimCity
SimCity 2000
Sonic Adventure
Space Invaders
Spy vs Spy
Star Fox™
Star Fox™: Assault
Star Strike
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
StarCraft
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Brothers 3
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario World
The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Tomb Raider
TRON: Maze-Atron
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Utopia
Worms Armageddon
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Zaxxon
I am very happy to see many of my favorite all-time games on the list including Super Mario Brothers 3, Star Fox, and Final Fantasy VII. Also, the curators’ decision to include playable games is absolutely important for uninitiated game players to see and experience the art of video games. The Art of Video Games exhibit will run from March 16, 2012 – September 30, 2012 in the 3rd floor North, American Art Museum in Washington, DC. I can’t wait to be there next year!
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