'Pong,' 'Tetris' Make Video Game Hall of Fame's First Class

The first inductees into the new World Video Game Hall of Fame include "Pong," the game that introduced millions to electronic play, "Doom," which triggered a debate over the role of games and violence in society, and "Super Mario Bros.," whose mustachioed hero has migrated to everything from fruit snacks to sneakers. The first six games to enter the hall of fame cross decades and platforms, but all have impacted the video game industry, popular culture and society in general, according to the new hall at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, where the games were enshrined Thursday.
Joining "Pong," launched in 1972, "Doom," from 1993, and 1985's "Super Mario Bros." are arcade draw "Pac-Man" (1980); Russian import "Tetris" (1984); and "World of Warcraft" (2004), which has swallowed millions of players into its online virtual universe.