The Strong Museum has announced that their 2017 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists include Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and more. The final inductees will be revealed on Thursday, May 4 during a special ceremony at the museum, which is located in Rochester, New York.
The Strong Museum received thousands of nominations for the 2017 class (anyone can nominate a game), and these are the 12 finalists:

Donkey Kong
Final Fantasy VII
Halo: Combat Evolved
Microsoft Windows Solitaire
Mortal Kombat
Myst
Pokemon Red and Green
Portal
Resident Evil
Street Fighter II
Tomb Raider
Wii Sports

Jon-Paul C. Dyson, director of The Strong?s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, said: These 12 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists span decades, gaming platforms, and countries of origin – but what they all have in common is their undeniable impact on the world of gaming and popular culture. Whether it?s a pop culture icon like Donkey Kong, an innovator and true original like Portal, or a game like Wii Sports that transformed millions of living rooms into interactive zones for all ages, they?re among the most influential games of all time.
The final inductees are “chosen with guidance from an international selection advisory committee made up of journalists and scholars familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.” The biggest criteria an inductee has to meet is influence, but icon-status, longevity, and ...