The National Videogame Museum, collects, preserves and shares videogame history and culture.
We don’t just collect the physical games and consoles. We are also interested in objects and stories that reflect the experience of what it was like to play games throughout it’s 50+ years existence. Collecting is also about the people who make and play games throughout the history of our great medium.
Our collection explores videogame culture through over 100 playable exhibits on our gallery floor and through unique displays that display rare objects carefully curated by our expert team. Additional information is accessible via dedicated pages on our website. Stories about our objects, games and visitor experiences are explored on our social media channels.
Included in our collection are historic objects people played including original arcade cabinets and games consoles. Some objects may be adapted to bring them to life in our museum, so new generations can enjoy them. After all, is a game really a game if it isn’t playable? Objects of significant and cultural importance are cared for and presented in display cases in the gallery or safely kept in our Collection Store for a later exhibition in the future.
Some items are specially designated as “Handling Collection” so that visitors can play with original items. And special “Object Handling” sessions enable visitors to explore the origins and inner-workings of an item in a new way. Eg There are opportunities to see the electronics inside a Nintendo Game Boy, take pictures with a Game Boy Camera or to handle many other objects from our collection during Collections Open Days and special occasions!
It’s not just physical objects we collect and preserve. Our mission is also to preserve the stories behind videogames and why they matter to people’s lives. Our online Animal Crossing Diaries exhibition is a prime example of collecting and preserving real stories of playing games during the COVID19 pandemic. The diary entries collected within the Animal Crossing Diaries website reflect the everyday experiences of a very unusual time. They help to show how we all responded to it in different ways.
What you see in our gallery is just a small part of our collection. With over 5,000 videogame objects, treasures and memorabilia we have one of the UK’s largest museum collections.
We have also recently acquired a new collections space to allow us to store and catalogue our fantastic collection of items.
We are not currently accepting object donations.
At the moment, while we are cataloguing our existing collection, we are not actively requesting any object donations, or seeking to make any new acquisitions except for special exhibits and displays.
From time-to-time, we will be doing call-outs on social media for specific items to be donated. Items will be identified where there is a gap in our current Collection, or where items are needed to enable play to continue in our gallery. We will post these requests here:
The are currently no live Collecting Campaigns.
