Apple II Bits

We could debate endlessly over the best Apple II games — such a list remains one of my most popular blog posts to date. From Adventure to Prince of Persia, Choplifter to Lode Runner, the candidates are endless.

So I don’t envy The Strong Museum of Rochester, New York, home of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. ICHEG recently announced the World Video Game Hall of Fame, into which would be inducted games with an "undeniable impact on popular culture and society in general" and "games [that] have helped shape the way that people across the globe play and relate to one another," wrote ICHEG director Jon-Paul Dyson.

Journalists, scholars, and other industry professionals chose the original list of 15 candidate games. I have bolded the six that were ultimately inducted:

• • Angry Birds (2009)
• • Doom (1993)
• • FIFA (1993)
• • The Legend of Zelda (1986)
• • Minecraft (2009)
• • The Oregon Trail (1971)
• • Pac-Man (1980)
• • Pokemon (1996)
• • Pong (1972)
• • The Sims (2000)
• • Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
• • Space Invaders (1978)
• • Super Mario Bros. (1990)
• • Tetris (1984)
• • World of Warcraft (2004)

It’s regrettable that no native Apple II games made the cut — but we are not entirely without representation: Tetris exists for every platform, including the Apple II; and Doom is the infamous brainchild of John Romero, who got his start on the Apple II and regularly revisits his roots, as he did when he delivered KansasFest 2012’s keynote speech.

You may disagree with the ICHEG’s choices, but it’s important those disagreements be founded not in what were the "best" or most fun games of all time, but which were the most important. In that context, which Apple II games would you have nominated for inclusion n the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s first class?