Besides the marketing gimmick and promotional skills to make the game lasting forever. I think there are several specific factors and elements of a game to make it get into Hall of Fame of All-time.

Action/ Arcade game: require player to control the unit (usually one) in real time consistently. Like jumping away from traps, hitting / throwing object to enemies, pick up object, moving any direction.

e.g. Mario Brothers

Racing game: player control the unit competing with other players or computer. Player are more awaring of the background (track) rather than the unit itself.

e.g. Mario Kart

Shooting game: like a combination of Action and Racing game, player need to aware of the control unit itself as well as the whole background (shooting and escaping from the bullets)

e.g. 1942

Role Play game: as RPG let player acts as a role adventuring the game world - usually more stronger story background as many text are presented to the player. RPG is also playing progressively which demands user longerinvovling time.

e.g. Final Fantasy

Fighting game: player control a unit, different to the action game, the game content are more based on "controlled unit" rather than the stage background. Player learns through different combination of commands to make special moves attack to opponent.

e.g. Street Fighter

Strategy game: there are Real-time / Round STG. Real time STG is like Age-of-Empire, that players are less time allowed for planning and setting tactics, Rounded STG is like Chessing game, opponnent will not move until you moved.

Puzzle game: player needs to solved the predefined problems.

1. Great Story Background - a good story background can much benefit the game for making sequel and further extension. Usually, a character with tragic story background and making "impossible" revenge is more likely to attracts game players.

2. Consistent Interaction - a real good example from World of Warcraft. This game provide update patch periodically to change the gameplay. Further more, they separate the game players into 2 opposing group. Players are enjoy killing real players rather than pc unit. Thus the game world encourage the compete with players, hence the race for stronger weapons, armors and leveling are unstoppable.

3. Uniqueness / Pride - players within the community has the chance to show off with their skill, uniqueness. Like the batch for top kill in Counter-Strike, Warlord title for pvp ranking...etc

4. Collection sets - list of cards/ items for players to collect retain player for longer time in the game and create higher satisfaction feeling when sets collection completed.

5. Non-traditional - story or game play different to traditional perception. for example the Dungeon Keeper first introduces "Evil is Good" which the player controls dungeon lord eliminating the intruding Heros.

6. Easy come - Easy go - a game can start anytime easily and players are not necessarily learning too many commands in order to play and stopping the game won't causing big problem. Most RPG game is particular weak in this point and games like Puzzle, Action game, Shooting, Racing are Easy come - Easy go.