News

UK National Videogame Museum Opens November 24th

Opening Soon in Sheffield

The National Videogame Museum project is opening to the public in very soon. This project was formerly known as the National Video Game arcade. It was trialed in Nottingham to great success receiving 50,000 visitors a year.

The people behind it even explain the history in a blog post through Medium.com. Essentially describing the National Videogame Museum as the most accurate name for the establishment. Especially given that it is built to be a fun arcade but with “the esteem and pomp of the institution,” rather than just a hangout.

Who or What is the Goal of NVM?

It is an arcade of sorts that is pursuing museum accreditation. There’s no harm in jumping ahead and calling it a musuem already. Maybe even help the case since it is the first of its kind for the UK. It is a celebration of all things video gaming and its history. Except, unlike stuffy museums, visitors will be able to interact with some of the displays.

“We’ve always tried to do more than just put out games for people to play”, said Iain Simons, Culture Director of the BGI, which runs the NVM. “In our dynamic new space, we’re bringing videogame creators into the Museum to meet their players” Adding that they show visitors “what games mean and responding to our community’s requests and ideas for new exhibits.”

NVM Patron and BGI Chair Ian Livingstone CBE said “The NVM is the games industry’s own museum, celebrating our games, our studios and our sector’s achievements over 40 years. I invite anyone who cares about the cultural life of video games to join leaders from across the industry and support this amazing project with content, evangelism and funding to help expand the programme in the years to come.”

Who Funds the NVM?

The NVM receives support over the years from several patrons. This includes Ian Livingstone, Andy Payne, Sumo Digital, Rebellion, Rami Ismail, Masaya Matsuura and many others. The non-profit NVM is seeking help from the sector to take videogame culture to hundreds of thousands more visitors.