What classic games have been inducted to the Smithsonian?

[Dones]

I read somewhere that Pong, Pac-Man, Dragon's Lair and Virtua Fighter are part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection. Can anyone confirm?

[dougy76]

I read somewhere that Pong, Pac-Man, Dragon's Lair and Virtua Fighter are part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection. Can anyone confirm?

 

I was there last year and I remember there were a few things, but all I remember vividly was a Coleco Pac-Man tabletop in a display case.

[Scooterb23]

At COSI, we have an exhibit originally made by the Smithsonian called Invention at Play...in the exhibit, they have a display case of old toys that inventors played with as children...1930s vintage Erector sets...Lincoln Logs from 1865 (before they were called Lincoln Logs even...) and...A Sega Genesis with a Power Base Converter, Sonic the Hedgehog, ands Walter Payton Football. I want that Power Base Converter soooo badly...

 

I'd bet they've got a shload of video games hidden away somewhere...

[christianscott27]

i guess part of me is really taken aback by how the mainstream culture media ignores gaming. a whole grouping of boston area colleges (MIT, Harvard, BU, Wentworth etc..) recently presented their annual electronic arts show, not a single nod to video gaming in the massive exhibit. the boston globe covers artforms that 90% of the population ignores in great detail (opera, dance, art galleries, theatre) but only gives one small column on sundays to games, on the comics page no less!

 

when will they wake up to the fact that we're huge, we're not a fad and our hobby is on par with hollywood in terms of audience and profit? seriously there is a generational / intellectual bias thats holding gaming back in terms of mainstream acceptance. games belong in the smithstonian, pac man and the sims impacted more lives than any andy warhol paintings or modern primative corn husk sculptures ever did....

[Mindfield]

There is a long-standing stigma among the influential pundits of the world that games are for kids. It's a stigma that's followed video games around since their creation, and continues to dog it even today. Part of the reason for that is that, for the most part, the demographic for most video games is still teenagers -- and the media staunchly ignore teenagers when the topic is anything to be taken seriously. There's a fair bit that's aimed at a mature audience, of course, but the numbers of mature games are relatively small by comparison, and because ESRB ratings aren't much of a deterrent from parents buying them for their kids (those parents who even know what an ESRB rating is) it does nothing to push mainstream video gaming into the realm of adult entertainment.

[JagWarlord]

Geeze..you know your getting old when games you grew up with are now in the Smithsonian

[Brad2600]

I think Classic gaming deserves more respect than what the media is offereing.

 

Heroes like David Crane and Howard Scott Warshaw, deserve to be given their own exhibits for their efforts. Let's not forget every other programmer that had a lot of success. I would like to see an Imagic display at the Smithsonian. Activision alone, deserves accolades for their early efforts.

 

But because the general public believes that games are for kids..and only kids...that the greatest people in video gaming history..go ignored. It's a shame.

[Dones]

I think it would be a good idea to have some sort of videogame exhibit at the Smithsonian where people could see, hear (or even play) old games. In that context it would be feasible to mention or some well known designers, like Mr. Crane, Darling Brothers (not sure if that's the right name) or Mr. Miyamoto.