Frogger Leaps To Video Game Hall of Fame Finals—Will It Make the Jump?

I can’t believe my pixelated eyes—Frogger is just now a finalist for the World Video Game Hall of Fame. I could’ve sworn this game had already hopped in ages ago! This arcade classic has been leaping through pop culture for decades, most famously in that Seinfeld episode where George Costanza tries to save his legendary high score from a doomed pizzeria. Spoiler alert: much like an unlucky frog on a busy highway, it didn’t end well.

Yet somehow, Frogger has remained the underdog (or underfrog?) of arcade royalty, never quite getting the recognition it deserves. This 1981 masterpiece was not only one of the greatest video games ever made—it inspired countless clones, sequels, and that one friend who insists they can beat your score but never does.

Let’s talk tunes—Frogger’s opening jingle is a snippet of the Japanese children’s song Inu No Omawarisan (“The Dog Policeman”), with a few other throwback melodies thrown in. The American release kept the same opener but added “Yankee Doodle” because, well, America.

And let’s not forget Frogger’s (play online)brutal difficulty. Back in 1982, Softline magazine crowned it the arcade game with the most ways to die. Whether it’s getting squashed by traffic, drowning in the river (because apparently, some frogs forgot how to swim), or being eaten by an alligator lurking in a log, Frogger is the Dark Souls of the 8-bit era.

Now, if anyone needs proof of Frogger’s legacy, look no further than the high-score leaderboards. In the fictional world of Seinfeld, George Costanza proudly held 860,630 points—but in reality, Pat Laffaye of Westport, Connecticut, shattered that record in 2009 with 896,980 points. He didn’t stop there—on August 15, 2017, he officially became the first player ever to break 1 million points on an original Frogger arcade machine. Somebody get this man a medal (or at least a turtle to ride safely across the river).

So why isn’t Frogger already in the Hall of Fame? Did the nomination committee miss a log and plunge into the water? With 2025’s other nominees including Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Defender, GoldenEye, Harvest Moon, Quake, NBA 2K, and Tamagotchi, the competition is fierce. But let’s be real—if there’s one game that deserves to hop across the finish line, it’s Frogger. From here, it is a hop, skip and jump to get into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Jason Alexander (George Costanza himself) should accept the award. Somebody get him on the phone—just make sure he doesn’t try to move the arcade cabinet across a busy New York street. Game over!