Media release: International video games survey points to threat to collection and preservation

Published Wednesday 21 August 2024

• The first major international video game preservation survey has revealed the threats to the survival of important video game heritage 

• Cultural institutions call for increased international collaboration and recognition to address key challenges to sector 

A landmark survey of video game preservation organisations, carried out by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in collaboration with The Strong National Museum of Play (US) and supported by the BFI National Archive (UK) has led to a call for increased international collaboration and recognition to advocate for the needs of the video game preservation community. 

The survey has revealed that a lack of established resource, barriers to access, lack of international collaboration and low levels of recognition of the importance of video games as cultural heritage threaten the ongoing viability of collection and long-term preservation.  

The NFSA commissioned the study in late 2023 to seek a global perspective on video game collections, to explore the priorities and challenges faced by organisations in preserving video games and to identify current and future opportunities for global collaboration. 

54 organisations responded, including major international cultural institutions, game preservation societies, universities and academic libraries, video game companies and private archives. The full survey results are published today on the NFSA website to coincide with this week’s Save the Games Digital Preservation Symposium at The Strong in Rochester, NY.  

Key Findings include: 

• Legal and technical issues limit the extent of access organisations can provide to video game heritage. 

• Respondents recognised the need for more structured collaboration and information sharing within the field, suggesting initiatives such as the creation of an international association and global standards.  

• Most public and cultural organisations carry out video game preservation activities without dedicated staffing resource.  

• Financial resource, staff time constraints, and institutional support/recognition were the most significant challenges faced by organisations: preservation activities were often referred to by respondents as critically under-resourced. 

• In nearly all cases, public and cultural institutions were performing video game preservation activities as a small part of their overall remit.  

• Organisations were almost twice as likely to hold software on physical carriers than contemporary digitally distributed video games, placing these contemporary titles at risk.  

Challenges to long-term collection and preservation of video games included hardware and software obsolescence, including the complexities of retrieving software from obsolete carriers, the fragility of interlinked digital and physical objects and the significant loss of heritage that has already occurred. (A 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation on the commercial availability of classic video games established that 87% of games released in the United States were critically endangered.) 

‘Video games are the pre-eminent cultural artefact of our time, and collecting and preserving them is a still-developing field that is growing beyond the boundaries of today’s institutions,’ said Patrick McIntyre, CEO of Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive. ‘More than 90% of films made before 1929 are now lost to us. This landmark survey clearly points to the need for collecting institutions to develop a joined-up international approach to prevent a similar fate for video games. ‘  

‘For the last half-century, video games have become not only a massive industry but an art form connecting people around the world through play,’ added Jon-Paul C. Dyson, Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong.  ‘It is vital that institutions work together globally to preserve the history of this revolutionary medium before it is lost.’ 

Vision available here on Dropbox. 

Survey link: www.nfsa.gov.au/gamenotover  

Media enquiries: 

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia: 

Louise Alley | Manager, Communications | +61 422 348 652 | louise.alley@nfsa.gov.au 

The Strong Museum of Play: 

Shane Rhinewald | Sr. Director of Communications | 585 410 6365 | srhinewald@museumofplay.org 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE OF AUSTRALIA    

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is the national audiovisual cultural institution. From the earliest recordings of the 1890s to the latest games and immersive digital productions, the collection comprises video and audio recordings, and contextual materials such as costumes, scripts, props, photographs and promotional materials. It ranges from items inducted into the UNESCO Memory of the World register to sporting matches, game shows and advertising jingles. Originally known as the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library and operating under the auspices of the Commonwealth National Library, the collection dates back to 1935, making it one of the first audiovisual archives in the world. The NFSA became an independent cultural organisation in 1984. As well as preserving these items for future generations, NFSA curators continue to add to the collection, ensuring it provides an unbroken record of life in Australia, and of Australian creativity.  

ABOUT THE STRONG NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PLAY 

The Strong is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to play. It is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Woodbury School, National Archives of Game Show History, and the American Journal of Play. Independent and not-for-profit, The Strong is located in Rochester, New York, where it collects and cares for hundreds of thousands of objects including toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, and other objects that illuminate the meaning and importance of play. Together, these materials enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.