Super Mario Bros. inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame

smb 1Nintendo put out a press release yesterday stating that Super Mario Bros., the NES original, had been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame from the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. Along with Super Mario Bros., the other inductees in the inaugural class included Doom, Pong, Pac-Man, Tetris, and World of Warcraft.

Check out the full press release from Nintendo below, and be sure to head on over to the Strong National Museum of Play website for more information on their Video Game Hall of Fame.

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– A committee of journalists, scholars and video game industry members has inductedSuper Mario Bros. into the new World Video Game Hall of Fame in the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. The original game for the Nintendo Entertainment System is one of six inductees in this inaugural class.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games that meet the following criteria: icon-status, longevity, geographical reach and influence. Launching in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario Bros. is one of the most well-known and best-selling games of all time, selling more than 40 million units worldwide and starring instantly recognizable characters like Mario, Luigi and Bowser. This year marks the 30thanniversary of the long-running franchise. To evolve the series like never before, Nintendo is launching Mario Maker, a game for the Wii U console that lets players play, create and share their own Super Mario Bros. levels using four Super Mario Bros. game themes ? from the 8-bit pixel art of the original game to the world and characters of New Super Mario Bros. U.

For more information about the World Video Game Hall of Fame, visit http://www.worldvideogamehalloffame.org/.