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Nicholas Lovell
Home   >   Analysis and Opinion   >   Opinion   >   Kickstarting The video game History Museum

Kickstarting The video game History Museum

By on August 23, 2011

I’m still new to Kickstarter.

I like the concept, but it’s tough to due diligence on the people behind it. I also suspect that anyone offering a financial return to investors would fall foul of the FSMA regulations in the UK.

(This is bad news: Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 makes it a criminal offence to “issue a financial promotion (an invitation to engage in investment activity)” in the United Kingdom unless it is issued or approved by a firm that is authorised and regulated to carry out investment activity).

Kickstart the Museum

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I am still drawn to the idea behind the Videogame History Museum. Essentially, a bunch of obsessive collectors have gathered a phenomenal amount of hardware, software, documentation and memorabilia from the early days of the video game industry. They have prototypes of early consoles and design documents that may be the only such documents in existence.

The founders – John Hardie, Sean Kelly and Joe Santulli – are looking for $30,000 to create a permanent location in the Silicon Valley area, together with some mobile exhibits to take to major trade events. They have assembled an impressive board of advisors for their charity

I’ve donated. I can’t vouch for them, but, as a student of history, I know the importance of preserving materials and documents. Many of these items may be the only artifacts in existence. That fact alone made the Museum worth a punt.

Check out the video below, and if you agree with its importance, head over to the Videogame History Museum Kickstarter page and make a contribution.

(You can also read an interview that sets out why the Videogame History Museum is so important over at Gamasutra.)

About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com