If I had known back when I had that little chicken Tamagotchi that always 'needed resetting' when I forgot to feed it that one day it would be in the running as a World Video Game Hall of Fame inductee, I might have taken a little more care of it. To be honest, as one of the most iconic 90s collectibles known to humankind, I'm surprised that it's not already in there as it's such a recognisable toy and one that sums up a generation perfectly.
The Tamagotchi is up against some strong competition, however, with one of my favourite N64 games, GoldenEye 007 going up against it for a place in the history books, as well as Frogger and titles like Harvest Moon, Quake, Age of Empires, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Golden Tee, NBA 2k, Mattel Football, and Defender are also finalists, as is Angry Birds. I'm sorry, but if Angry Birds beats the Tamagotchi I will head to the event myself and demand some sort of recount!
According to Polygon, the panel of journalists and scholars (my invite must have gotten lost in the post) judge each game on 'influence, icon status, longevity, and geographical reach'. So, GoldeneEye and the Tamagotchi definitely score highly on all of those, which means we could be in with a chance of seeing them both win the top prize this year!
Fans do get a say too, however. Votes are open now, and you've got until March 13th to have your say! Head to the Player's Choice Ballet to cast your vote and make history!
