The 15 finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame

Space Invaders AP Photo

Pac-Man. AP

Angry Birds

Minecraft. Courtesy Minecraft

Fifa Football. Courtesy Fifa 12

The Sims 4. AP Photo / Electronic Arts / Maxis

Ascene from World of Warcraft. AP

Pokeomon. Courtesy Nintendo

Pong. Courtesy Atari

Oregon Trail. Courtesy MECC

Sonic the Hedgehog. Courtesy Sega

Super Mario Bros. Courtesy Nintendo

Tetris. Courtesy Nintendo

Doom. Courtesy ID Software

Fifteen video games that have engrossed gamers for untold hours have been announced as the finalists for the new World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The list includes arcade trailblazers Pong, Space Invaders and Pac-Man, smartphone favourites Angry Birds and Minecraft, and an array of others for consoles and computers: Doom, Fifa football, The Legend of Zelda, The Oregon Trail, Pokémon, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros, Tetris and World of Warcraft.

Only a handful will make up the hall of fame’s inaugural class, which will be chosen by an international selection committee of journalists, scholars and other videogame experts.

The induction ceremony will be held on June 4 at The Strong museum in Rochester, upstate New York, which also houses the National Toy Hall of Fame. "The 15 finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame span decades, gaming platforms and geographies," says Jon-Paul Dyson, director of The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games. "Whether it's the groundbreaking game Pong or a more recent viral sensation such as Minecraft, all of these games have helped shape the way that people across the globe play and relate to one another."

To make it into the hall of fame, games must have iconic status, proven to be more than just a passing fad and left a mark on other games or forms of entertainment, pop culture or society in general.

The Strong said it had received thousands of nominations for the hall of fame since February, when it announced its creation to recognise the impact of electronic games through the years. Anyone can nominate a game online.

The Strong’s electronic games centre has more than 55,000 videogames and related artefacts in its collection, along with personal­ papers and corporate records that document the history of video­games.