The UK launches the National Videogame Archive

Way back in 1972 when Pong, the world’s first successful video game, hit the market, no one could’ve imagined how huge this medium would become. The industry has evolved from its humble digital-table-tennis roots to raking in money comparable to the film industry. It has become so large, both financially and culturally, that people have started taking steps to ensure the preservation of the medium’s history. On September 19th, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) announced the creation of the UK’s first official National Videogame Archive (NVA), a joint venture between Nottingham Trent University and the National Media Museum in Bradford, which will catalogue gaming’s history “from the humble beginnings of 1972’s ‘Pong,’ to the blockbusters of the 21st Century.”

According to the press release issued by NTU, the Archive will strive to be more than just a collection of consoles and cartridges. On the contrary, the goal of the NVA is to “preserve, analyse and display the products of the global videogame industry by placing games in their historical, social, political and cultural contexts.” The Archive will deal with all aspects of gaming, such as the development process, advertising, box art, and the communities that have arisen and thrive in support of this industry. Furthermore, the preservers at the NVA are actively researching ways to exhibit and analyze video games for researchers, developers, gamers, and the public at large.

While announced in September, the NVA was officially launched at the Gamecity 3 event in Nottingham, which lasted from October 30th to November 1st. More importantly, though, was the launch of the Archive’s related initiative, Save the Videogame, where game developers have already begun making their cases for games they believe are worth preserving. And while the constitution of the NVA currently forbids unsolicited donations, they plan on launching a public appeal for donations soon, giving all gamers an opportunity to contribute to this historic collection.

For more information on the NVA and the Save the Videogame initiative, visit their respective websites here and here.