Jackie Sheckler Finch
Joe Santulli plops down on a plush sofa, picks up a video game controller and begins playing Frogger on a console television.
An avocado green rotary phone rests on a side table. A black velvet bullfight scene hangs on a wall. And an artificial ficus tree sits in a corner.
Sound like the 1980s?
If you wonder what time warp you might have entered, look at the scene across the hall.
In a recreated bedroom, Sean Kelly eases into a desk chair, leans back and stares at a 19-inch Zenith TV to play Duck Hunt videogame from a new company called Nintendo.
The twin bed has a Pac-Man bedspread. Ferris Bueller smiles from a wall poster. Mad Magazine boasts a cover of Alfred E. Neuman. A neon pink-haired troll sits on the dresser. And a young Depeche Mode band sneers from a photo.
Yep, definitely the 1980s.
Opened in April 2016, the National Videogame Museum is the brainchild of three guys – John Hardie, Kelly and Santulli – who fell in love with gaming when they were kids and have been collecting videogames and related paraphernalia for decades.
“The first game I played was Gunslinger when I was in the sixth grade,” Santulli said. “I didn’t get my first game until I was 14 years old.”
Originally the trio offered some of their collection as a traveling exhibit at videogame conferences. But fellow gamers kept asking them to create a permanent home for their treasures. That’s what the three men did in Frisco, Texas.
What a fun museum for all ages.
Interesting
Very interesting museum
What a fun and fantastic museum! It was ages that I play Mario game :_(
The museum is like taking a walk through history. Much of it is recent history but I learned some things about video games that I didn’t know. Thanks, Icy!
Thank you for sharing this story of a video game museum.
Thank you for reading my story! It is a fun museum!
Looks like an awesome place!
It was fun and educational, Ellie. I learned some fun things about videogames.
Nice post!
Thank you, George! Appreciate it!
That’s Really Amazing Museum! History of Video Games.
Thanks! It is a fun visit for almost all ages!
Thanks, Howard. The place was packed when I was there. Like walking through video game history.
Great post!
Thanks, Gina!
That would be interesting and fun to visit. I remember playing Pong. Wow that was a while ago…