New York opens videogaming museum
Ageing relics preserved, playable.
The National Center for the History of Electronic Games has opened in New York, and claims to be "the only museum anywhere devoted solely to the study and interpretation of play".
The exhibition, housed at the Strong National Museum of Play, boasts over 15,000 items. These include games and hardware as well as materials providing evidence of videogames' impact on American life: advertising, publications, toys, books and so on. Those attending will apparently be able to play many of the relics on display, too.
The Strong National Center has further plans for a major, long-term exhibit tentatively titled The Revolutionary World of Electronic Play, which it hopes to open in 2012.
A similar initiative to preserve the early examples of our booming industry has begun here in the UK, called the National Videogame Archive. This collects any and all related paraphernalia for future generations to admire, and aims to prevent repeating mistakes made by the film and music industries that lead to early works being lost forever.
