The ''International Video Game Hall of Fame'' (IVGHoF) is a planned museum to be operated in Ottumwa,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States. Ottumwa considers itself as the "Video Game Capital of the World" as the city was home to the

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements. Twin Galaxie ...

arcade which became the epicenter for numerous competitions in

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

s. The museum's organization is operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit by Ottumwa business leaders and other residents, designed to recognize "the champions, industries, and professionals" of the video game industry. While the museum has not been constructed, the IVGHoF continues to induct new members into its Hall of Fame.

History

The idea of the museum was conceived around 2009. The city laid claim that they were the Video Game Capital of the World in 1982, following the recognition that Twin Galaxies had received for being the authoritative source for high scores in arcade games, a point that had not been challenged since. Around 2009, community leaders started speculating on the possibility of a museum, recognizing that previous efforts to establish a United States video game museum had all failed and that this was potentially a way to capitalize on the city's claim to fame. Leaders recognized that since 1982, the video game industry had significantly changed, with arcade games having waned in favor of consoles and computers, but felt they could still be a proper home to this museum due to the town's history as

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

serves for the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. The city leaders also saw the opportunity to help the financially struggling city to bring in more revenues from tourism to the primarily farming community. The city's council and chamber of commerce authorized a steering committee to organize and plan out the museum. The museum's organizers aimed to collect donations to build a modern facility, estimated to cost between $30 to $50 million, with interactive displays to celebrate its inductees, and to acquire at least one working version of each of the estimated 100,000 coin-operated and home video game systems that have been produced to date. Their initial goal was to start construction within five years from its onset. The museum inducted its first class during its multiday "Big Bang 2010" event on August 7, 2010. Inducted into the Hall of Fame during this initial ceremony included Nintendo's

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...

, Namco's Masaya Nakamura, home video game system pioneers

Ralph H. Baer Ralph Henry Baer (born Rudolf Heinrich Baer; March 8, 1922 – December 6, 2014) was a German-American inventor, game developer, and engineer. Baer's family fled Germany just before World War II and Baer served the American war effort, gain ...

and

Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consume ...

, game designer Steve Ritchie, members of the original

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

design team including

Seamus Blackley Jonathan "Seamus" Blackley (born 1968) is an American video game designer and former agent with Creative Artists Agency representing video game creators. He is best known for creating and designing the original Xbox in 2001. Career After enteri ...

, and several arcade game high-score champions including Steve Wiebe and

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

. The event also honored ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'' on the 30th anniversary of the arcade game's release through induction into the Hall of Fame. The initial events drew in at least 3,500 visitors to the town. In subsequent years, due to low donations, the IVGHoF has scaled back these events, still holding ceremonies for honoring inductees, as to be able to better met their target goals. In 2016, the IVGHoF and the town established the "Video Game Walk of Fame" along the town's main street, believed to be the first of its kind. While the IVGHoF itself focuses more on the people and organizations of the video game industry, the Video Game Walk of Fame was designed to commemorate key video games. In its inaugural year, the IVGHoF selected ''

'' for the first "star" on this, and put into display on August 7, 2016, alongside the events to induct new members into the Hall of Fame.

Inductees

The IVGHoF selects inductees from both the industry and from players, as well as select video games. Selections are made first through an open nomination process, public input to narrow down the electees, and then voting among a set of video game journalists, executives, and gamers for final inductees.

Developers and industry leaders

Competitive gamers

Games

Community Action Award

Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.ivghof.info 2010 establishments in Iowa Museums established in 2010 Video game museums Halls of fame in Iowa Museums in Wapello County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Ottumwa, Iowa