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The International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum (IVGHOF) announced plans today to launch a campaign to collect one copy of every arcade video game ever produced – a number that includes more than 4,500 coin-operated amusement devices produced since Computer Space in 1971 – and collectively weighing more than 1 million pounds.

Called the “4500 GAME CAMPAIGN,” the project will be officially launched during a ceremony at the NW Pinball and Gameroom Show in the Seattle Center on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM. The NW Pinball and Gameroom Show is an annual event that celebrates the history of classic and arcade gaming. During the ceremonies, the Campaign will receive its first video game donation: the Asteroids machine used by John McAllister of Seattle when he recently broke the 28-year-old world record on Asteroids. The coin-operated amusement device will be accepted on behalf of the IVGHOF by Walter Day, a member of the IVGHOF Board of Directors.

The Ceremony was inspired by the support of members of the Seattle Metro Arcade Collectors (SMAC) and the NW Pinball and Gameroom Show.

http://www.nwpinballshow.com/

“We wanted to help the IVGHOF become the “Smithsonian Institute” of video game history,” says Brian Cady, a member of the organizational board for the NW Pinball Show. “So, we pooled our money together and purchased the Asteroids arcade machine that was used by John McAllister of Seattle when he recently broke the 28-year-old world record on Asteroids. Now we are giving the machine to the IVGHOF as the keystone of the ceremony to help launch the 4500 GAME CAMPAIGN.”

“Brian Cady’s vision is right,” explains Walter Day. “We plan for the IVGHOF, now being developed in Ottumwa, Iowa, to become the ‘Smithsonian Institute’ of video game history. Someday, space may become a problem,” admits Day. “But we decided to shoot for the highest and preserve every game we could acquire. By casting such a big net, we hope to flush out the truly rare games – arcade games that have only one or two copies remaining in existence. Now is the time to act, before these rarer games are lost or destroyed.”

The 4500 GAME CAMPAIGN is a part of a larger IVGHOF initiative to collect and archive a copy of every game ever produced – considered to be around 100,000 different games, from the mass produced console titles of the modern era to the rare prototypes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Launch Ceremonies are co-hosted by the Seattle Metro Arcade Collectors (a grassroots hobbyist organization called the SMAC that works to preserve the arcade legacy) and the organizers of the NW Pinball and Gameroom Show, a noted arcade and classic gaming event that attracts thousands of attendees every year.

The International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum is registered with the IRS as a 501C(3) not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization that can accept donations and issue tax receipts. The IVGHOF and the Citizens of Ottumwa co-host an annual event called “The Big Bang,” which is a four-day gaming festival coinciding with the Induction Ceremonies for the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

For more information, go to http://www.ivghof.com or contact the IVGHOF at:

International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum
217 East Main Street
P.O. Box 308
Ottumwa, Iowa 52501
info@ivghof.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Walter Day 641-226-6275

For more information, contact: Brian Cady, NW Pinball and Gameroom Show 1-253-223-3985

About The Big Bang
The Big Bang 2010: Ottumwa’s Video Game Festival is Ottumwa’s annual video game festival, co-created by the Citizens of Ottumwa and the International Video Game Hall of Fame. Covering four days, August 5-8, 2010, the event is held concurrently with the Grand Induction Ceremonies for the International Video Game Hall of Fame. The title, “The Big Bang,” is derived from the fact that “it all started in Ottumwa.” In the same way that the Universe began with a “Big Bang,” organized video game playing started with a similar explosion in Ottumwa, Iowa nearly thirty years ago. The festival will feature contests, concerts, dealer showrooms, panel discussions, guest celebrities, costume contests, historic museum displays and movies. Go to: http://www.ivghof.com

About the NW Pinball and Gameroom Show
The NW Pinball and Gameroom Show is an annual event that is co-hosted by the Seattle Metro Arcade Collectors (SMAC) organization and features over 250 pinball machines and classic video games set on free play for three days. With paid admission, the attendee can participate in an International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) sanctioned tournament, or compete in casual side tournaments. Additional highlights include seminars, raffles, autograph sessions featuring classic arcade industry professionals, as well as a dealer’s room filled with vendors offering authentic coin-op arcade games for sale.

Go to: http://www.nwpinballshow.com/