Strong Museum adds video games
By Staff -- Playthings, 3/18/2009 6:37:00 AM
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Strong National Museum of Play has established the National Center for the History of Electronic Games, dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting electronic games and game forms.
The National Center for the History of Electronic Games already houses what Strong says is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of electronic game platforms and games in the United States, with nearly 15,000 items. The Center’s collections are broadly inclusive and also encompass packaging, advertising, publications, electronic-game-inspired consumer products, literary and popular inspirations of electronic-games imagery, historical records, personal and business papers, and other associated artifacts.
The Center’s holdings include examples of every major home video-game console manufactured since 1972, from Magnavox Odyssey and Atari 2600 through Nintendo Wii; more than 10,000 individual video game titles; more than 100 examples of all major handheld games systems; more than 2,000 children’s educational games; and an extensive collection of children’s toys, such as Simon, Tamogotchi and Webkinz, that combine digital and traditional play.
“Electronic games are not only changing the way we play; they are having a profound effect on the way we learn and the way we interact with each other. Because Strong National Museum of Play is dedicated to exploring the role of play in American life, we are especially interested in the growing impact that electronic games have on it,” said G. Rollie Adams, president and CEO of Strong National Museum of Play.
All the collections in the NCHEG at Strong are accessible to researchers on site. Many examples are on view in museum displays and exhibits, and some are available for museum guests to play. In development is an expansive, long-term, interactive exhibit tentatively titled “The Revolutionary World of Electronic Games” that will interpret the impact of electronic games on the way people play, learn, and connect with each other.
The museum is currently cataloging its entire collection of video games and electronic-games-related toy catalogs with the goal of making information about them accessible online.
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