Nonpro t
BY KAREN CHANEY
The National Videogame Museum gift shop sells a variety of video game-themed items.
Video game prototypes are displayed at the National Videogame Museum.
PHOTOS BY KAREN CHANEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
National Videogame Museum preserves retro play With 18 exhibits spread throughout the approx- imately 11,000 square foot space within Frisco Discovery Center, the National Videogame Museum strives to provide an interactive experience that archives and preserves video games, nonpro t cofounder John Hardie said. “We’re not museum guys—we don’t really like video games from various points in history, virtual reality and more. An exhibit titled “1980s Bedroom” features
Video game technology spans decades at the National Videogame Museum.
posters of generational pop culture gures, cassette tapes, vinyl records, collectible sports cards and hand-held games like Simon. Who it’s for Hardie said museum enthusiasts range from non-gaming moms to hardcore gamers. He said gamers are drawn to the experience for a variety of reasons including game prototype displays. The museum founders knew moms would be harder to attract so they intentionally made them their target demographic. “Kids will play anything and dads were easy because back in the ‘80s, mostly men played video games and they’re going to buy right into the nostalgia,” Hardie said. “We get a lot of comments [from moms] saying, ‘I took my kids to the video game museum and they had to drag me out of there.’ We really feel like we’re for the entire family.” Quote of note Although all three founders are involved in running the museum, Hardie is a Frisco resident and is able to interact with visitors more than the other two founders. He said he loves chatting with visitors and appreciating the big picture. “We’ve done our job as far as bringing video games and that happy, nostalgic feeling to people.” Hardie said. “One of the things I most like about it is that we’ve been able to achieve something that makes people happy.”
museums because unless you’re really into the sub- ject matter, they can be very boring and stu y. It’s no fun to just read about it,” Hardie said. “Everywhere you go in this museum, there’s something to pick up, there’s something to play with and have fun with.” Hardie co-founded National Videogame Museum, a nonpro t, with Sean Kelly and John Santulli in
April 2016. The set up
At the museum, the video game industry repre- sentation spans from the late ‘70s to early 2000s, Hardie said. Museum attendees can learn about and play games like Pong—played on home televisions in the early ‘80s—and Oregon Trail, which was a popular home computer game, and more. Hardie said his rst video game experience was playing Pong on his grandmother’s television in the living room. “After a few months, grandma realized that the image of Pong was there when she was watching the six o’clock news—the image was burned into her screen,” Hardie said. “That was the end of that video game.” Other exhibits include arcade games, a head-to- head wall where gamers can sit side-by-side and play
Frisco resident John Hardie is a co-founder of the National Videogame Museum.
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