Video Game History Museum Reaches Kickstarter Funding Goal

The organizers of the Classic Gaming Expo and the Digital Press game collecting newsletter have succeeded in their efforts to obtain funding for a planned Video Game History Museum in the Silicon Valley area. The museum project recently ended its Kickstarter campaign with $50,266 in pledged funds from 356 backers, well over the goal of $30,000 set by the organizers in early July. Support for the museum came slowly at first -- as of mid-August, the group had attracted less than half of its goal. But a flurry of subsequent media attention, including an interview with Gamasutra, helped bring supporters out of the woodwork. "My eyes literally welled-up with tears and a chill rolled down my spine," organizer Joe Santulli wrote in a Kickstarter update of his reaction when he saw the funding goal had been met. "It's truly heartwarming to see that so many of you not only share that passion with us, but that you see it burning strong enough in us that even in these tough economic times, you've pledged your hard-earned money to help launch the Video Game History Museum," he continued. In addition to the main Silicon Valley location, Santulli and fellow organizers Sean Kelly and John Hardie hope to create a mobile exhibit that can travel to major industry trade and consumer shows to attract interest in video game history. The trio's collection includes many rare and one-of-a-kind items, including hardware and software, documentation, magazines and books, and licensed merchandise dating back to the early '70s. The new museum will join other efforts to preserve game history for the public, including Rochester's International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the UK Video Game Archive and the Berlin Game Museum.