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[krae_man]

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Mission Statement

The Video Game History Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to cataloging, digitizing, and preserving the history of video games.

Why Video Game Preservation Matters

Video game preservation matters because video games matter. Games are deeply ingrained in our culture, and they're here to stay. They generated an unprecedented $91 billion dollars in revenue in 2016. They're being collected by the Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Library of Congress. They've inspired dozens of feature films and even more books. They're used as a medium of personal expression, as the means for raising money for charity, as educational tools, and in therapy.

And yet, despite all this, video game history is disappearing. The majority of games that have been created throughout history are no longer easily accessible to study and play. And even when we can play games, that playable code is only a part of the story.

In order to know how and why games were made, how they were advertised and sold, and even how they were seen by players of their time, historians and researchers rely on ephemeral materials - artwork, interviews, reviews, packaging, advertising, internal documentation, and more - to tell a complete story. And without an organized effort to collect, document, and preserve these materials, there is a very real danger of losing them forever.

You can donate via their website, or through Patreon.

IGN is hosting a launch live stream that is live now:

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2017/02/21/how-to-watch-igns-save-point-live-stream

During the five-hour stream, we'll be playing a slew of rare things, including canceled games, unreleased consoles, forgotten preview builds, and much more. In addition to IGN hosts and editors, we'll be joined by co-founders of the Video Game History Foundation, Frank Cifaldi and Steve Lin, as well as pals from around the industry including Jared Petty, Mary Kish, Andrea Rene, Mike Mahardy, Peter Brown, Chris Kohler, Alexa Ray Corriea, and more.

Watch Stream on Youtube

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

This is so cool.

 

[Ithil]

A huge amount of film and TV history was lost because people didn't give much thought to preservation in their early years, best to avoid that happening to video games.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Nice! I know one of the struggles Cifaldi and the likes have had over the years is preservation takes a lot of time, money, and effort. Hope this improves things for all involved.

Can't watch the stream at the moment, but will definitely go back to it.

 

[LinkSlayer64]

Oh my god, finally. Take my money.

 

[Nyoro SF]

I wish them all the success in the world... I love video game history.

 

[rottendevice]

This is great. I'd donate if I had the money.

 

[mentallyinept]

In at the $10\Month level on Patreon.

It cannot be overstated how important this effort is to our community.

Unfortunately, this will largely go unnoticed in the wake of the Switch launch. They might want to consider another media push a few months down the line to get some better exposure.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Unfortunately, this will largely go unnoticed in the wake of the Switch launch. They might want to consider another media push a few months down the line to get some better exposure.

Looks like Gerstmann is throwing in his support. Nice to see. Would be cool if Giant Bomb did a stream as well. Seems like a no brainer, maybe once Switch coverage dies down and their schedule opens up a little more.

 

[Phu]

Not sure I can do the monthly but I'll definitely donate something.

 

[exmachina64]

Cifaldi's doing great work, glad to see this.

 

[Spladam]

I will donate funds. This GDC presentation sums up my feelings on the entire matter:
"It's Just Emulation!" - The Challenge of Selling Old Games

Thank you Frank Cifaldi for what you have done.

 

[ponpo]

https://gamehistory.org/nes-launch-collection-1985/

In developing the Foundation’s Digital Library, one need we identified early on was the ability to house special collections – that is, groups of related media, typically all tied together by one subject matter. One of our core beliefs is that historians are missing many of the tools needed to tell the stories of video games, so we felt that collecting an extensive group of digital artifacts related to one subject matter might go far in “open sourcing” telling that subject’s story.

Our collection focuses mainly on 1985, a tumultuous year to have been one of the handful of employees of Nintendo’s relatively new American division. Its Japanese parent company had launched its Family Computer console two years earlier and seen tremendous success – in January 1985, the company reported the “Famicom” had sold 2.5 million units in its first 18 months, commanding 90 percent of the home video game market. Despite this, it was an uphill battle for Nintendo of America to convince retailers to stock the unit, and as a result, the very nature of the product evolved rapidly throughout the year.

Our collection features materials surrounding these events, sourced from private collections (including our own), the internet, and the generosity of friends and supporters. Some personal highlights include:

• All of the press coverage of the AVS we’ve ever located, most of it scanned in high resolution. We’ve been digging for AVS-related materials for years, and thought it was impossible to find one article – let alone the six currently in the archive. Remember, there were no video game magazines left in 1985!
• Incredibly rare trade advertisements that ran in magazines aimed specifically at toy and electronics retailers. These magazines are difficult to locate, as there wasn’t much reason to keep back issues.
• The actual script that Nintendo’s Howard Phillips wrote and memorized when demonstrating the NES and the R.O.B. accessory to consumers during a mall tour in New York, with his handwritten notes.
• Photographs of the AVS booth at CES, and of Nintendo’s early retail displays, courtesy of scans from a Japanese video game magazine.
• Actual swag from the NES launch party, October 9, 1985.
• A reconstruction of a Nintendo.com article from approximately 1997, showing design work on the AVS and the NES that have never been seen before or since.

Google Drive link to the collection

 

[Drayco21]

Can't donate right now, but I'm earmarking this for later; games preservation is important, and I'm really glad there are so many people so passionate about keeping the history of the industry alive before we lose too much.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

While I've not been paying full attention I didn't know the Superman version of Sunman was discovered (I know that was like an hour ago).

Seeing this Steven Seagal game makes me wonder how many other canceled motion captured games there are out there from that period of time (like Tattoo Assassins) and also was there ever a good non-fighting game one. It seems whenever you try to add scrolling or platforming the flaws of so few animation frames become apparent.

 

[krae_man]

Oh my god, this Dino Hockey game.

Disappointed they didn't have an Albertosaurus. You'd think they would have at least one Canadian hockey playing dinosaur.

 

[Borman]

Frank is one of the people that inspired me to do what I do. Ive been pushing for a legitimate institution to aid in preservation for the past couple years, and seeing Frank start that process is amazing.

I wish the whole crew nothing but the best in achieving what many of us tracking down these games hope to do: being able to dedicate our full time to the preservation of gaming history.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

Oh man, this hits my inner Museum Studies student right in the heart (though reading on twitter they're looking more to be a pure archive).

Pledged at the five dollar tier. Definitely going to keep a close eye on this one.

 

[PillarEN]

Awesome. This is super important.

 

[Spladam]

Frank is one of the people that inspired me to do what I do. Ive been pushing for a legitimate institution to aid in preservation for the past couple years, and seeing Frank start that process is amazing.

I wish the whole crew nothing but the best in achieving what many of us tracking down these games hope to do: being able to dedicate our full time to the preservation of gaming history.

We appreciate all of you guys sincere work and effort in doing what you do. Especially appreciative for the awareness you guys have created in the mainstream over the years with regards to archiving this part of our culture and history. We know you donate your free time and finances to making this a thing. We look to curators like yourself to one day be able to share the fascinating history of video game media with our grand kids. Thanks.

 

[Borman]

One of the last commercial NES games, Dooly Bravo Land, a Korean exclusive, has been backed up and preserved.

https://gamehistory.org/dooly-bravo-land/

 

[ponpo]

https://gamehistory.org/gallery/tony-hawks-pro-skater-character-art/

Character renders from the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Neversoft, 1999)