The Strong National Museum of Play has officially established The National Center for the History of Electronic Games, celebrating video gaming's role in American playtime.
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, has finally given video games their due, establishing a separate section of the museum for our favorite pastime. The National Center for the History of Electronic Games houses a console collection that puts even the most stalwart fan's collection to shame, with every gaming console from the Magnavox Odyssey to the Nintendo Wii represented, along with more than 100 examples of handheld gaming systems, more than 10,000 individual game titles, and an extensive collection of electronic toys, such as Simon and Tamagotchi.
The center will encompass all areas of gaming, from packaging and marketing to news publications and private documents on the subject.
http://kotaku.com/320756/atari-2600-gets-in-toy-hall-of-fame
"Electronic games are not only changing the way we play; they are having a profound effect on the way we learn and the way we interact with each other. Because Strong National Museum of Play is dedicated to exploring the role of play in American life, we are especially interested in the growing impact that electronic games have on it," said G. Rollie Adams, president and CEO of Strong National Museum of Play.
The collection is completely open to researches on the site, with several exhibits open for visitors to fool about with. They're also working on an exhibit called "The Revolutionary World of Electronic Games", which looks at the growing impact gaming has on the way people play.
The Strong Museum is currently working on cataloging their entire gaming collection of more than 15,000 items in order to make it accessible online.
While most gamers (myself included) are too busy gaming to go on a pilgrimage, it certainly sounds like Rochester would be a lovely place to make one, were we so inclined.
Strong Museum adds video games [Playthings]