A gaming quandary; Acclaim, LJN, and 3DO's archives.

Be really really careful about the museum you choose, should you go with the museum route. Most museums don't care about the stuff they exhibit, they just hoard (for lack of a better word) it for the sake of having the most stuff.

I know of a "computer" museum which holds some game prototypes kindly donated by an industry veteran and they're simply sitting on the EPROMs. I offered to back them up for them for free (including flying myself to the USA to do so, free of charge) and they weren't interested. So basically they are going to sit on them until they rot and some day they're gonna sell them on some back alley auction to some random guy who shows up. Really sad.

So yeah, be careful if you care about what happens to the collection. I know there are some game-centered archives around (like the Stanford thing), but I can't vouch for them.

Maybe you should wait until something pops up that is clearly a proper software/game history museum, someone who will catalog and preserve everything properly, not just someone wanting to amass the biggest collection from kind developers.

An alternative is releasing a torrent and letting the public catalog the contents on a wiki or something, but I can see why that would be unwanted.

Edit: I realized the EPROM concerns don't apply since this is a retail archive.

 

I attended an exhibition on gaming history a few years back, think it was called "Game On" but not 100% sure on the name. Might be worth checking out?

 

Game On probably wouldn't be interested. They're primarily a 'traveling show' now with a selection of consoles and games to play - not sure whether they'll have the room or the requirement for 11 boxes of sealed games.

 

I just sent you a PM about a Museum that I donated some stuff to.

 

If I were to donate it would be to these guys. They are a Smithsonian affiliate.

http://www.icheg.org/index.php

 

Yes, I agree and they are part of the Strong National Museum of Play, a well established museum specializing in Play and Games.

 

I honestly would hold onto them as permanent, reliable gaming museums just don't exist outside of individual collections right now, in my opinion.

What you have is amazing and I fondly remember a few acclaim titles so in the future there will be more interest in that company to be sure as nostalgia kicks in for others.

I think the entire archiving and historical importance of gaming is really just starting, and maybe in another few years will ramp up to some real organizations looking at preservation. Right now its the pioneers like yourself and others on this board who are protecting this history.

Can you elaborate on what is in the boxes? Are they just the commercially released games or prototypes as well?

 

Theres no unreleased SMS or GG games lurking in there by any chance? they did cancel quite a few.


Anyway I agree with other comments, that its gaming fans that are preserving the past. This stuff would probably be best served by someone who could make a website exhibiting them, rather than it all being stored hidden away in an actual museum.
I bet most developers didn't even keep copies of their games, so even if Acclaim as a company isn't held in high regard, an archive collection of games from a big developer is something special in itself.

 

Any nes betas from the mid to late eighties?

 

Before you ship it off, any pics?

 

Did you contact the Smithsonian directly or the ICHEG?
-----------------------------------------------------
http://www.icheg.org/faq.html

To inquire about donating games, platforms, or other materials, contact:

Jon-Paul C. Dyson, Director, International Center for the History of Electronic Games
jpdyson@museumofplay.org
+1 585-410-6341

or

Eric Wheeler, Curator, International Center for the History of Electronic Games
ewheeler@museumofplay.org
+1 585-410-6398

 

Don't be put off by their response. This is very typical and a sign of the volume of donation offers they have to process.

 

So frustrating that you have to go out of your way and photograph the items and explain their historical significance just to give it to them. In thirty years this won't happen. The same thing occured with movie prop memorabilia. I'm sure if in 1971 you sent a letter to the Smithsonian saying "I have the monolith from 2001 A Space Odyssey", they'd go thanks but not thanks. Now they'd fly to you to pick it up. By the way, the monolith was thrown out by MGM studios heh

 

Pardon? The Museum of Play has been around since the 1960s, if Wikipedia is anything to go by:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_National_Museum_of_Play

OK, yes the wing dedicated to video games only opened 2 years ago, but still...