Welcome to the Video Games wing of the Shacknews 2024 Hall of Fame class. This category celebrates the games that have shaped the industry and the lives of millions of players.
When you're finished, use the Table of Contents at the bottom of the page to visit other areas of the Shacknews Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Zombo.com
Zombo.com is a product of the wackiest era of the Internet. An autoplaying pinwheel with a voice sample saying “this is zombo.com” and “anything is possible at zombo.com” repeatedly might be worthless in the modern era, but this website went viral before online virality was even a common Internet occurrence. Zombo.com is actually still running at the time of its induction into the Shacknews Hall of Fame as part of our induction class of 2024, proving that anything is possible when you put your mind to it.
Blue's News
Bluesnews.com was founded in the same year as Shacknews, making its induction into our hall of fame a bit overdue. The site started as a source of PC gaming news and has since pivoted to covering broader gaming and technology news. Blue’s News is still running today, and has kept a lot of the retro 1990s Web 1.0 vibe with its iconic blue design with yellow text as well as the option for a lovely black background. We are honored to welcome Blue’s News to the Shacknews Hall of Fame. Welcome to Canton, Blue.
Investopedia
Founded in 1999, Investopedia has been one of the best sources of educational financial information on the Internet. The website provides dictionary-style definitions of complex stock market terms to help novice investors gain knowledge. Many of the site’s entries are written in a way that can explain even the most complicated finance terms to someone with no investing or trading experience. The site has been owned by several parent companies, but it is currently part of IAC’s Dotdash Meredith family of brands.
Serebii
Serebii has served as an online encyclopedia for Pokemon Games for a quarter of a century. The website’s comprehensive library of Pokemon moves, abilities, and stats across every generation has been a godsend for trainers in need. The site also features the full parties for Gym Leaders, Elite 4 members, and Rivals for the mainline series.
When it comes to news, Serebii is one of the best in the business. Joe Merrick and his team are always quick on the draw, delivering high-quality images and write-ups for new announcements in the world of Pokemon.
With Serebii celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, there’s no doubt in our minds that this Pokemon news and guide website deserves a place in the Shacknews Hall of Fame.
GamesRadar
In a growing landscape of video game websites, British site GamesRadar added its voice to the chorus. Offering news, previews, and reviews for games across the Nintendo 64/Sony PlayStation/Sega Dreamcast generation, GamesRadar would continue to grow over the years. Over time, readers would recognize some of the site's signatures, such as their Top 7 lists, their features examining the state of the gaming industry, and their TalkRadar podcast.
GamesRadar would expand in 2014 under owner Future Publishing. Future would consolidate Edge, Computer and Video Games, Total Film, and SFX into the GamesRadar umbrella. Now expanding into multiple forms of entertainment, the site would become GamesRadar+ and remains active today. Of course, GamesRadar+ is still primarily focused on games and has even used its platform to help indie developers promote their upcoming titles through the annual Future Games Show.
Something Awful
As forums gained popularity over the turn of the century, one of the biggest go-to sites for game and pop culture enthusiasts became Something Awful. Founded by Richard 'Lowtax' Kyanka, Something Awful became a destination for internet users to congregate with a one-time registration fee put in place in hopes of attracting a higher-end user base.
Something Awful soon proved to be an influential corner of the internet, helping originate famous internet memes, as well as internet meme creators like dril. One of its recurring features, Golan the Insatiable, was even adapted for television.
Something Awful's forums remain active today and, in many ways, look like a throwback to the classic internet of yesteryear. With over 3.7 million total threads and 268 million total posts over its lifetime, there have been few places on the internet like it, though its old-school spirit lives on through certain channels like NeoGAF, ResetEra, and Shacknews' own Chatty.
Mobygames
You could consider Mobygames.com the Wikipedia of video game data. Cataloging everything from cover artwork and advertisements to development credits and trivia, the website uses crowdsourcing to gather its information, with support coming from banner ads and a small but dedicated group of patrons. To date, there are over 300,000 entries on Mobygames.
Mobygames was founded by two high school friends, Brian Hirt and Jim Leonard, who were then joined by David Berk, another high school chum. The site went through a number of acquisitions but remains standing as an excellent repository of information and video game history.
Eurogamer
Launched in 1999, Eurogamer has become one of the leading destinations for video game news, reviews, and myriad other journalistic endeavors. Known as a source of in-depth critiques and top-notch writing, Eurogamer has also challenged elements of video game journalism such as scores. The outlet initially used a 10-point scale before switching to a three-pronged model of Essential, Recommended, or Avoid as a means of testing whether traditional scoring was a useful metric of evaluating games; it also eschewed a traditional scoring system to be delisted from Metacritic, whose score aggregation often determines whether game studios remain open or whether developers receive bonuses for meeting or exceeding a certain aggregate number.
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Eurogamer continues its tradition of insightful commentary through celebratory features such as a top 100 list of the 100 best video games to play “right now.”
