Should there be a VG Museum?

[Coldguy]

In all honesty, would you like to see someone's collection be turned into a museum for all to see? Have one of every console, and of every game, add some dupes for plaibility as well as background history of the hobby/games. Would you want to go?

[Viraneth]

Too true.

[otaku]

yeah. I agree. I'd go. Should have lots of variations to though (of systems especially) and really rare stuff. And some arcade machines (or lots of em) and lots of memoribilia collectibles and signed stuff to. I believe there are some museums of sorts out there

[RetroYoungen]

Can you honestly imagine how huge a place like that could potentially be though? I agree, it'd be a blast to see and visit... but I honestly don't want to see it, just because if someone/some group put that much effort into putting it together, I can't see it turning enough of a profit in the long run to stay afloat, and it could hurt the people involved big time.

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

i'd love to see a vg museum take on the task of preserving the software that was saved on magnetic media; either by emulation or porting to another format like carts.

it's a shame how much software from the 70's and 80's has been lost already.

but the sad truth about a vg museum is as retroyoungen said, it wouldn't turn a profit. someone would just have to be dedicated enough to the hobby (and rich enough) to eat the cost of it.

[boatofcar]

i'd love to see a vg museum take on the task of preserving the software that was saved on magnetic media; either by emulation or porting to another format like carts.

it's a shame how much software from the 70's and 80's has been lost already.

but the sad truth about a vg museum is as retroyoungen said, it wouldn't turn a profit. someone would just have to be dedicated enough to the hobby (and rich enough) to eat the cost of it.

The closest we will ever come to a vg museum is the one that's at CGE. Plain and simple, the hobby isn't big enough to support a permanent exhibit anywhere.

On a related note, is there a VCS or NES in the Smithsonian?

[James8BitStar]

I once dreamed of doing this. Sadly I'd say its a million years off.

[BocoDragon]

Most definitely I would like to see this!

I think this is a great idea actually. You could still have everything behind glass, set up like a room of doom, grouped by console and library with all sorts of accessories, books and items from the era. I would get doubles of some of the gimmicky systems like Vectrex and Virtual Boy, and let people play those at stations, since those would be the unique consoles normal people could only play at such a museum.

Yeah.... set up vignettes like classic living rooms from the 70s, 80s, 90s (OMG Super NES games and Nintendo Powers strewn about ) and 2000s.... Do a Japanese living room with a Famicom unboxed from under the bed and hooked up in front of the TV with multicolored carts stacked next to it....

I would die. This would be nerd mecca.

[koster]

The Computer History Museum currently has an exhibit of sample items from their rather extensive computing-related collection (including gaming items like an Atari 2600 prototype).

Unfortunately (for me), Spacewar wasn't running when I visited last week.

[kainemaxwell]

I'd go. Here's a question: if someone (or group of people, company, etc) offered to start one, would you contribute?

[Iron Draggon]

I've always thought that I would donate my collection to such an effort upon my demise... that would certainly be enough to get a game museum started!

[PapaStu]

I'd go. Here's a question: if someone (or group of people, company, etc) offered to start one, would you contribute?

I'd donate to the museum IF it was run by reputable people and I knew that i'd be able to get my stuff back should I ask, or should the museum fold for some reason.

[Trebuken]

Adol and DreamTR simply need to combine their collections and the museum would be finished...

It would be great to see a museum of this sort, but I wonder if it could be profitable enough to stay open. The hobby continues to gropw so maybe it will be more realistic down the road.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'd donate to the museum IF it was run by reputable people and I knew that i'd be able to get my stuff back should I ask, or should the museum fold for some reason.

This would be the key to getting me to donate to it (me and a lot of other folks, I should imagine).

The one gigantic stumbling block I can imagine with such a project would be down to three words: location, location, location. Take the CGE 2008 thread, where people are suggesting alternate locations other than Vegas. Multiply by a thousand, stir the potatoes, calm the beef min, rinse and repeat.

Dumb question: whatever happened to the traveling arcade exhibit that would set up in museums across the country? Keith Feinstein's baby? (I forget what it's called - my brain keeps saying Retrotopia* except I know that's the Blue Sky Rangers' merchandise site.)







* but my spleen says "Buttafuoco."