The Bolton News is this week backing an initiative launched by Nottingham Trent University and the National Media Museum in Bradford to create a National Videogame Archive.

Gamers are helping to collect a broad range of artifacts which will be placed on display at the popular museum and although the archive will be based in the UK, it will not be restricted to British games.

Consoles, discs and cartridges spanning the full history of the medium across the world will be archived along with other material such as advertising campaigns, fan art, songs, videos of speedruns and photographs.

Paul Goodman, head of collections and knowledge at the museum, said the archive won’t be ready for a while but the museum hopes to work with the public in piecing it together.

He said: “Video games are pretty much an essential ingredient of many people’s lives and up until now there’s really been no systematic attempt to archive and collect the products of the video game industry. It’s pretty easy to find modern computers and games but it’s not that easy to find the old Ataris or even the first Nintendos and Segas.

The archive will be managed, steered and researched in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University’s Centre for Contemporary Play.

The centre’s Dr James Newman said: “We don’t just want to create a virtual museum full of code or screenshots that you could see online. The archive will really get to grips with what is a very creative, social and productive culture.2 With new videogame releases already resembling Hollywood blockbusters, videogamers want to avoid the mistakes of their counterparts in the film industry where countless pieces of historically significant material have been lost forever.

Find out more at www.savethevideogame.org