Video Game History Museum - location found?

[badinsults]

http://friscoblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/videogame-history-museum-makes-pitch-to-locate-permanent-site-in-frisco.html/

It sounds like the Video Game History Museum may have finally found a permanent (or perhaps semi-permanent as per the article) location. Looks like it will be in Frisco, Texas, a part of the Dallas area. The demographics of the area makes it look like a pretty nice spot for the museum, and they are being backed by Gearbox Software.

However, it appears there is a competing Arts group that has been using the space where the proposed museum will be located. I doubt they are going to give it up without a fight.

http://lifestylefrisco.com/feature-articles/frisco-arts-vs-video-game-museum/

If the museum does get up an running, colour me surprised. It will be about 3 years ahead of plan.

[8-Bit Archeology]

I want to do one here. But the location isnt the best for people to take a trip to. Its my family's old furniture store. Its 65,000 sqft for $4,000 a month.

Its not a bad price and has plenty of room with a warehouse big enough for repair shops and more.

I since childhood have wanted a game store with an arcade attached to a museum.

Sadly finances are slim.

Hopefully someone gets a good interactive museum up that is successful. I will definately make the trip. As big as the gaming industry is now theres no reason to not have a museum or even themed stores with retro stuff everywhere.

Hopefully I can someday just get a little store. I am still sittin on an entire Funcoland worth of metal shelves and gondolas. I just cant get myself to sell my personal collection to get there.

I wish them luck and hope that gearbox gives them freedom to make it right. The gaming community needs this.

[badinsults]

There is already a major video game museum at the Strong Museum of Play, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (http://www.museumofplay.org/about/icheg). They apparently have a massive collection, including complete game sets for most of the major video game systems and a library of video game magazines. It is an academic institution, so parts of the museum are probably only accessible to researchers.

[Greg2600]

Yes, they're up against some type of sculpture museum. Location-wise it is more or less "central" to the nation. The original hope was something in California, but the rents are astronomical, and what remains of the video game industry there doesn't have much of a link to the past (no pun intended). The backing of Gearbox is really the catalyst, because if there are periods of time without high visiting traffic, you aren't in fear of being closed down.

As for the Strong Museum, 90% of what they have will never be seen. They don't have a lot of space at the toy museum, and many people have donated to them quite possibly without realizing how much of a backlog there is. There's also not a lot of interactivity there. Sadly far too much space in The Museum of Play is devoted to dolls, and not DOOM!

In any case, one of the main reasons to have a VGHM, is to have another game museum. More are needed still. There's just so little museum space dedicated to video games right now.

[Steve W]

I'm happy to know that the museum (that I've never gotten a chance to see as it's travelled around) might find a permanent home here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and Frisco is a good town for it. I hope they can hammer out a deal for the space and set up shop sometime soon!

[Bojay1997]

Looks like today might be the day where everything falls into place. Kind of bummed that this won't be in California, but it sounds like the financial terms are probably better in Frisco than any local government in California would ever offer.

http://impactnews.com/dfw-metro/frisco/frisco-cdc-expected-to-agree-to-terms-with-videogame-history/

[Bojay1997]

Congratulations!

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/09/18/3382629/frisco-pledges-1m-to-bring-video.html?sp=/99/109/

[Niku-Sama]

this was related apparently
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/09/17/3380189/burned-armpit-hair-leads-to-crash.html?rh=1

[Greg2600]

Definitely an incredible development! On the one hand I will miss Joe around the Digital Press store but this has been his dream for many years and it's about to come through. Obviously congrats to Sean Kelly and John Hardie as well, who have put so much time and effort into this.

At least the Dallas paper got the museum's name right!

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20140918-panel-oks-deal-to-bring-videogame-history-museum-to-frisco.ece

[InsaneDavid]

Congratulations, however I'm honestly disappointed that this didn't happen in the Bay Area. This would have been an excellent addition to the Computer History Museum and the Pacific Pinball Museum, which is well on its way to becoming the worldwide destination for pinball.

[Leo_A]

Might be worth a visit someday. Frisco has at least one other interesting museum with the recently relocated Age of Steam museum, making it even more tempting.

Any other interesting tourist sites there?

[kamakazi5]

This is awesome to hear. We really don't have anything like this around here so that's pretty cool.

[JSoup]

On the one hand I will miss Joe around the Digital Press store

Is he even going? He's not mentioned in any of the articles about the museum getting the spot.

[Greg2600]

Congratulations, however I'm honestly disappointed that this didn't happen in the Bay Area. This would have been an excellent addition to the Computer History Museum and the Pacific Pinball Museum, which is well on its way to becoming the worldwide destination for pinball.

They tried, there wasn't any industry interest. GearBox have been instrumental I believe for them, most importantly in the political area, to get this done.


Might be worth a visit someday. Frisco has at least one other interesting museum with the recently relocated Age of Steam museum, making it even more tempting.

Any other interesting tourist sites there?

Not sure, but Frisco is only 35-40 minutes north of downtown Dallas.


Is he even going? He's not mentioned in any of the articles about the museum getting the spot.

Sean and John were on hand for the city meeting, which is why they were quoted. Joe is least encumbered, so it's long been he who shall go.

[digitalpress]

Sean and John were on hand for the city meeting, which is why they were quoted. Joe is least encumbered, so it's long been he who shall go.

I was curious if anyone from my old digital hangout was talking about this. Glad to see you're all still engaged with these forums!

We certainly did look into the bay area. Our original intention was to cozy up as close as we could to The Computer History Museum, but it wasn't in the cards. We've spent a lot of time on the road over the past 5 years pitching our brand, and we found a perfect partner in Frisco. I'd equate it a lot to dating: you look for a certain "type" and there are brief successes and major disappointments and then suddenly someone comes along that you'd least expect and you think to yourself THIS is what I was looking for all along.

We're sometimes misinterpreted when we say we're going to be "the first". We're going to be "the first dedicated in the US, where videogames were born". Also, we are going to have a truly kick-ass place. It's going to be the kind of museum you've always wanted. A little small at first, but with tremendous growth potential in a city that is growing faster than any other.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

[InsaneDavid]

I was curious if anyone from my old digital hangout was talking about this. Glad to see you're all still engaged with these forums!

We certainly did look into the bay area. Our original intention was to cozy up as close as we could to The Computer History Museum, but it wasn't in the cards. We've spent a lot of time on the road over the past 5 years pitching our brand, and we found a perfect partner in Frisco. I'd equate it a lot to dating: you look for a certain "type" and there are brief successes and major disappointments and then suddenly someone comes along that you'd least expect and you think to yourself THIS is what I was looking for all along.

The Bay Area can be a strange place sometimes with how one idea can be embraced and a similar, yet very different, idea can be given the cold shoulder. I think a lot of businesses and associations here are going to realize how much they really missed out once you guys get up and running in Frisco. Excellent to see a permanent location for the VGHM come to fruition.

[Steve W]

Might be worth a visit someday. Frisco has at least one other interesting museum with the recently relocated Age of Steam museum, making it even more tempting.

Any other interesting tourist sites there?

Well, once a year there's the Texas Pinball Festival usually located around Grapevine. And since you mentioned the Age of Steam museum, and my mentioning the town of Grapevine, there's always the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, that takes you from the old Grapevine train station into Fort Worth and back, sometimes with an actual steamtrain (if they can keep it running, since obviously nobody makes parts for old trains anymore). And since we're on about trains, there's always the Texas State Railroad that's based in Rusk, TX (a considerable drive away from Dallas, but far more rustic). This state has a hell of a lot of history with trains (my dad was a huge train nut, I absorbed quite a bit of knowledge about them), there's lots of little museums dedicated to them all over the place.

[Leo_A]

Steam locomotives can be maintained. The railroad's used to produce their own parts in their own backshops and things like superheaters can be overhauled or reproduced. Everything can be forged, cut, cast, and rolled as necessary. Only need the funds, which is the difficult part.

The steam enthusiast community in the UK even has built a large mainline steam locomotive in recent years, returning an important class of British steam locomotive that was extinct for decades after British Rail scrapped every last example at the end of British steam, back to existence.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U34r7G-MQls

And other projects are underway such as the construction of the frame for an engine to be named the Prince of Wales, which will similarly return another extinct British steam class to existence.

And Union Pacific here in North America is restoring one of their famous Big Boys, the 4014, back to steam. She'll be the first Big Boy in steam since the summer of 1959 when regular steam operations on Union Pacific ended with the beginning of a recession, allowing UP to fully dieselize earlier than they anticipated. A sister, one of the 8 Big Boys that UP donated into preservation in the 1960's as they were retired (Out of 25 examples), is at this musuem in Frisco (The 4018).

And Norfolk Southern is returning their famous streamlined J class 4-8-4, the 611, to operation this year for another notable example underway right now. This will be her second restoration since she originally was retired in 1958. She was reborn in the 1980's for Norfolk Southern's long standing steam program, was stuffed and mounted when NS killed the program in 1994, and is now coming back again.

[Nz17]

Joe Santulli gives an interview with northern Texas radio station KERA about the VGHM. (http://keranews.org/post/atari-playstation-4-video-game-history-museum-frisco-will-have-it) It seems the museum is now called "The National Videogame Museum." In the interview, they mention a (tentative?) opening date of May 2015 at the Texas Discovery Center in Frisco, TX. I'm starting to be excited for this again.

[Nz17]

http://www.brettweisswords.com/2015/12/interview-with-national-videogame.html
Brett Weiss has an interview with Joe here ^ about the museum. It seems it now has a tentative opening date of winter 2016. Looking at my earlier post, perhaps the museum will open in May 2016? LOL

[Steve W]

I've been wondering about the progress of the museum. Good to know it's opening didn't pass me by.

[Niku-Sama]

Hmm. North Texas...

That's a long drive

[8bitgamer]

Here are a couple of my Fort Worth Star-Telegram articles of relevant interest. The first one is on the museum, the second is on retro arcades in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

http://www.dfw.com/2016/01/06/1064564/national-videogame-museum-to-celebrate.html

http://www.dfw.com/2016/01/06/1064570/where-to-find-classic-arcade-games.html

[Steve W]

http://www.dfw.com/2016/01/06/1064570/where-to-find-classic-arcade-games.html

I never got around to going into Tornado Terry's, even though my friend used to live a few miles away. I remember looking at their website back then (which hasn't changed apparently, it still looks like a GeoCities site from 1998) and it looked a bit too "kiddie", with a lot of emphasis on redemption games.

I'd like to go to Barcadia, my only problem is I don't like to be around people who drink. They don't have enough unusual machines to compel me to deal with drunk a-holes.

I never knew about Free Play Arcade in Richardson. I knew about nearby NickelRama, but their website makes it look even more "kiddie" than Tornado Terry's, so I haven't ever been inside. I'm definitely going to have to check out Free Play. It sounds like the closest the Dallas/Fort Worth area will get to an Arkadia Retrocade or a 1984 Arcade type of place locally.

[dgdgagdae]

I had never heard about Free Play until this post, even though it's only about 12 miles from me. I got super excited last night when I read about it, and I couldn't wait to get off work to go check it out.

I should have had a great time, but for some reason that I just can't put my finger on, it was just ok. The games are in great condition, and there's a good variety. If you like beer, they have an eclectic selection.

I don't know, maybe you just can't recapture the arcade magic. I've played the games all before on compilation discs or through MAME. The lighting just isn't right. There are no decorations on the walls. Some of the games had very muted sound, so it didn't even have much of an arcade sound. It might be an unfair criticism, but it just wasn't my childhood.

[Greg2600]

I had never heard about Free Play until this post, even though it's only about 12 miles from me. I got super excited last night when I read about it, and I couldn't wait to get off work to go check it out.

I should have had a great time, but for some reason that I just can't put my finger on, it was just ok. The games are in great condition, and there's a good variety. If you like beer, they have an eclectic selection.

I don't know, maybe you just can't recapture the arcade magic. I've played the games all before on compilation discs or through MAME. The lighting just isn't right. There are no decorations on the walls. Some of the games had very muted sound, so it didn't even have much of an arcade sound. It might be an unfair criticism, but it just wasn't my childhood.

I get the same vibe at the retro arcades around NY/NJ. I just get bored with the games after a little while.

[Steve W]

I had never heard about Free Play until this post, even though it's only about 12 miles from me. I got super excited last night when I read about it, and I couldn't wait to get off work to go check it out.

I should have had a great time, but for some reason that I just can't put my finger on, it was just ok. The games are in great condition, and there's a good variety. If you like beer, they have an eclectic selection.

I don't know, maybe you just can't recapture the arcade magic. I've played the games all before on compilation discs or through MAME. The lighting just isn't right. There are no decorations on the walls. Some of the games had very muted sound, so it didn't even have much of an arcade sound. It might be an unfair criticism, but it just wasn't my childhood.

Well, I decided to go to Barcadia in Fort Worth today to get something to eat, just to check the place out. Right before I was going to use the change machine, it broke down or jammed or something, so I couldn't get any quarters. I walked in with only five quarters on me, so I had to use them sparingly. I played a couple rounds of Q*Bert, a long session of Star Wars: The Arcade Game, and a couple rounds of Tron. I had a cheeseburger that tasted like ground cow manure with spoiled cheese on top (but it came with great seasoned waffle fries), spent my change, and left. I wouldn't mind going back there (with more change on me) but I'm not sure I would eat there again.

Here's the thing though... having only a small amount of quarters to spend (I didn't want to bother the hipster bartender for change) meant that I cared more about the games than when I can play them in a compilation or through emulation. When I was a kid I had very little money to spend on arcade games, and that made the experience all the more precious. Time in an arcade was a treat for me when I was 12. Now I can afford game consoles and laptops that can run those same old games, and it doesn't feel the same. But I got that same feeling today selectively using my five quarters on things I really wanted to play that I couldn't run properly in emulation due to control issues (Tron's spinner, Star Wars's flight yoke, Q*Bert's diagonal 4-directional joystick). I ended up caring about the experience since it's something that I won't get the chance to do very often, just like when I was a kid. That was a good feeling.

[dgdgagdae]

Here's the thing though... having only a small amount of quarters to spend (I didn't want to bother the hipster bartender for change) meant that I cared more about the games than when I can play them in a compilation or through emulation. When I was a kid I had very little money to spend on arcade games, and that made the experience all the more precious. Time in an arcade was a treat for me when I was 12. Now I can afford game consoles and laptops that can run those same old games, and it doesn't feel the same. But I got that same feeling today selectively using my five quarters on things I really wanted to play that I couldn't run properly in emulation due to control issues (Tron's spinner, Star Wars's flight yoke, Q*Bert's diagonal 4-directional joystick). I ended up caring about the experience since it's something that I won't get the chance to do very often, just like when I was a kid. That was a good feeling.

I can get that. How do you think you'd feel about a place like Free Play Arcade, where you pay $10 to play unlimited games? It's really kind of in the middle of the 2 experiences. I found myself just moving from machine to machine, trying out each one in turn. I'm sure you're right in that I didn't internally value each game, since I could go back to any one at any time. That said, I'm definitely going back. I didn't get to play on all the machines that I wanted to. They have a Star Wars machine (not a sit down, unfortunately), and I didn't play it. I wish they had Tron, that was one of my favorites back in the day.