The National Video Game Museum in Frisco opened its doors in April 2016, much to the delight of gamers all over Texas. The museum’s aim was to archive and preserve the history of the video game industry, but to do this in an interactive way that allows visitors to play these classic games as much as possible throughout their tour of the museum.
The Museum’s Beginnings
The three founders of the National Video Game Museum had been pondering the concept for many years, and, in 1999, created their first makeshift museum by combining each of their impressive video game collections for an expo in Las Vegas. This was so successful that they were invited to a number of industry events afterward, and became known for having a traveling video game museum. Eventually, they decided to find their museum a permanent home and chose Frisco as their location.
Interactive Displays
The main goal of the museum was to make each display as interactive as possible, since this is how video games are designed to be. This means that visitors will be able to find a huge number of playable video games throughout the museum, which they can spend as much time as they like playing. The giant Pong console, an homage to the game that kicked off the entire industry, on a 15-foot screen is always popular, with visitors battling each other, while rows of gaming consoles feature a variety of different games. There is also an Arcade area, which features classic arcade games including Galaga and Donkey Kong. While the arcade games cost a quarter each to play, keeping in line with their retro feel, the rest of the games throughout the museum are free, but do make sure to fill your pockets with quarters, as the arcade is always a great place to spend some time.
1980’s Living Room and Bedroom
The 1980’s were a time when video games really took off, and, as a tribute to this, the National Video Game Museum has a display of a 1980’s living room, as well as a child’s bedroom. The authentic décor and furniture create quite the experience, and visitors are able to play Frogger in the living room, and Duck Hunt in the bedroom, providing a huge amount of nostalgia to many visitors.
Easter Eggs
The term Easter eggs is used by game developers to refer to secret levels, collectibles or items that have been hidden within a video game. As a tribute to the Easter eggs that can be found in games spanning just about every genre, the creators of the museum decided to hide actual Easter eggs throughout the premises for visitors to find, with the initials of the winners displayed on a leader board, turning a visit to the museum into a game in itself.
While video games may have only come about in the 1950’s, their history is a rich one, and this museum is a great way to preserve that for generations to come. With the fascinating displays and the nostalgic games, this is a museum that you could definitely spend countless hours in.
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