Tamagotchi named as a contender for World Video Game Hall of Fame recognition.

Tamagotchi, otherwise known as the toy that got me so stressed out as a child that my mother had to sit me down and explain to me that it was actually okay to stop playing it if I wasn’t having fun anymore, has just been announced as one of 2025’s nominees for induction into the Video Game Hall of Fame. As for whether or not that time-consuming little “pet” is going to make the final cut, we’ll just have to wait and see if it can beat out some of the other nominees. (Usually, about four games out of the nominees get selected every year, although in 2024, five games made the final cut.)

There’s some stiff competition for the ol’ Tamagotchi this year. The list of potential inductees also includes Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Defender, Frogger, Goldeneye 007, Golden Tee, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football, NBA 2K, and Quake. The nominees are judged on four different metrics: icon status, longevity, geographical reach, and influence. And every single one of these games has an argument to make in each category.

Journalists and scholars make up part of the voting body, but fans also get a say in the voting process as well, which starts today and lasts until March 13. If you want to vote on the nominees, navigate to worldvideogamehalloffame.org and scroll down until you see the block that says “Player’s Choice Ballot” (or just use Ctrl+F on the page to find it). You’ll get one vote per day, but you can only vote on one game at a time, so choose carefully.