{"id":14897,"date":"2016-04-07T00:01:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T00:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=14897"},"modified":"2016-04-06T08:59:47","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T08:59:47","slug":"the-national-videogame-museum-opens-in-frisco-tx-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/07\/the-national-videogame-museum-opens-in-frisco-tx-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The National Videogame Museum Opens in Frisco, TX: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NVM_LOGO\"<\/a>There are all kinds of museums in the US, but none so far dedicated to the history of video games. Until now!\u00a0 On Saturday, April 2, the National Videogame Museum opened its doors in Frisco, TX.\u00a0 Which is cool because that\u2019s only about 15 minutes driving distance from where I live!\u00a0 So for the next couple of days here at GamerDad.com, I\u2019m going to take you all on a virtual tour of the museum.\u00a0 But I won\u2019t show you everything!\u00a0 You\u2019ll just have to come out and see it all for yourself.\u00a0 And I hope you do, too!\u00a0 It\u2019s not some rinky-dink operation either.\u00a0 It\u2019s like something you\u2019d see at E3 or even Disney World!<\/p>\n

Anyway, the three main founders of the museum, Joe Santulli, John Hardie, and Sean Kelly, are avid video game collectors and experts in the industry. The museum contains their personal collections of video game history that they\u2019ve amassed since the 1980s.\u00a0 In the past, they\u2019ve taken their exhibits on the road travelling to various video game and trade conventions like E3.\u00a0 In fact, if you\u2019ve ever read any of my past E3 articles, you might\u2019ve seen pictures I took of their collections.\u00a0 But the founders wanted a permanent home for their museum, and I\u2019m glad they decided on Frisco, TX!<\/p>\n

So here is the front of the building. You\u2019ll know you\u2019re at the right place when you see the big National Videogame Museum banner and the reddish-orange part of the entrance.\u00a0 The museum is actually in the Frisco Discovery Center, which is a pretty cool place because it also has a children\u2019s science museum and a train exhibit outside.\u00a0 So it\u2019s a great place to take kids and the video game museum is totally family friendly.\u00a0 At the end of this article, I\u2019ll post more information on the location, hours, cost, etc.\u00a0 So be on the lookout for that at the bottom.<\/p>\n

\"FRONT\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When you first enter the museum, on your left is a big display featuring one of the very first video games: Pong. They have a Pong arcade machine and a super rare Puppy Pong display, which was supposed to be used in children\u2019s doctors and dentists waiting rooms back in the 70s, I think.<\/p>\n

\"PONG1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Right next to the Pong display is a HUGE TV screen and paddle controller. I should\u2019ve taken a picture of it with some people beside it, so you could get a sense of the scale.\u00a0 But you can still kind of tell how big it is if you look at the ropes and wall.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, though, tomorrow I\u2019ll have more pictures where you can see better how big it is.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if the giant Pong is Guinness World Record big, but it\u2019s pretty darn huge regardless.\u00a0 And the icing on the cake is that the giant Pong is totally playable!\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s great about the National Videogame Museum is most of the exhibits are interactive, with items you can touch and games you can play.\u00a0 So it\u2019s great for kids and adults of all ages!<\/p>\n

\"PONG2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the other side of the entrance greeting you is a great big Mario statue, and behind him are some giant controllers and screens.<\/p>\n

\"TIMELINE1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On closer inspection, you use the giant SNES-style controllers and big screens to cycle through all the video game consoles ever made, and read about the history behind them.<\/p>\n

\"TIMELINE2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The next exhibit in the museums honors third-party developers. From early starts like Activision and EA, all the way to today with local companies like Gearbox.\u00a0 You can even play some third-party games here, too!\u00a0 On the other side of the wall, they have nine different versions of Q*bert running at once!<\/p>\n

\"QBERT\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Video games are known for having cheat codes, bugs, and extras that are sometimes called Easter Eggs, and that\u2019s what this next exhibit is all about. From the hidden credits in Adventure on the Atari 2600 all the way to cheat devices like the Game Genie, it\u2019s all here!\u00a0 In fact, the National Videogame Museum has some Easter Egg cheat codes of its own, and you can play a game to find them all over the museum and post your answers on the arcade machine at this display!\u00a0 But they\u2019re super hard to find!\u00a0 I\u2019ve been to the museum several times and I haven\u2019t found a single one!\u00a0 So if you find any, please let me know!\u00a0 Maybe I should write a National Videogame Museum Strategy Guide!\u00a0 Yeah!<\/p>\n

\"EASTER\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a special room dedicated to handheld gaming, so I took a few pictures of the displays in here. See that arcade cabinet-shaped Pac-Man machine at the top?\u00a0 I used to have that when I was a kid.<\/p>\n

\"HANDHELD1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And here are some other handheld games. Check out all the cool Game & Watch goodies on the bottom right.<\/p>\n

\"HANDHELD2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next is a recreation of a store during the video game crash of the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\"CRASH\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And right next to it shows the rise of gaming in home computers.<\/p>\n

\"RISE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the other side is a row of old computers from the 1980s with games on them that you can actually play! They even have the first computer my family had, an Apple ][!<\/p>\n

\"COMPUTERS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The next display is all about games with user created content. It\u2019s decorated to look like Minecraft, and you can play games like Mario Paint and Super Mario Maker!\u00a0 Not pictured on the other side of this display is a great big TV with a touch screen game that lets you design your own pixel art!<\/p>\n

\"MINECRAFT\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next up is a display honoring songs in games and the music game genre. Here you can play PaRappa the Rapper in three ways.\u00a0 First, try it without headphones.\u00a0 Next, listen to the music with headphones, but without the game.\u00a0 And finally at the third station, play them both together!\u00a0 It took me a while to figure out that\u2019s what you do because I can be a dummyhead sometimes.\u00a0 On the other side not pictured is a TV screen where you can select different music from games and how they would sound on different consoles.\u00a0 One last thing I wanted to note is the artwork in this exhibit.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk more about the art at the museum in Part 2, but I wanted to point out that all the artwork is hand painted by super talented local artists, even for this display!\u00a0 I\u2019m glad they included some of my music game favorites, like Taiko Drum Master, Samba de Amigo, and my pretend girlfriend Ulala (just joking) from Space Channel 5.<\/p>\n

\"MUSIC\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gearbox is a third-party developer who is responsible for popular titles like the Borderlands series, and they are very close to where I live. And they are even closer to the National Videogame Museum.\u00a0 So a few Gearbox employees had some input and involvement with the museum.\u00a0 In fact, when Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, wanted to move his office, he allowed the museum to have his old furniture to use as a display so visitors can see what a game developer\u2019s workspace looks like and what inspires them!<\/p>\n

\"OFFICE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next is a display about online gaming, with peripherals used in the early days and such. On each side of the exhibit are two computers, and you can test connection speeds on each one.\u00a0 See that clear pipe thing going from one computer to another?\u00a0 When you try a connection, you can see a light going from one computer to the one across from it, simulating how fast the info travels.\u00a0 And yes, you can even hear that old dial-up sound!<\/p>\n

\"ONLINE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Time for a photo-op! This next display is a recreation of a kid\u2019s room from the post video game crash mid-1980s era.\u00a0 You can get your picture taken like you\u2019ve gone back in time, and even play a few rounds of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on an original NES!\u00a0 Now, take a close look at the bedsheets.\u00a0 Those are Pac-Man sheets, and I had some like that when I was a kid!<\/p>\n

\"BEDROOM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Right beside it is a display made to look like a living room from the 1970s and you can plop down on the couch and play some Intellivision. When I was a kid, our living room looked quite a bit like that, wood paneling on the walls and all!\u00a0 Back when this museum was more of a travelling affair, they had a similar display set up at their E3 booth.\u00a0 When I would visit, they would always have people crashed on the couch!<\/p>\n

\"LIVINGROOM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In between all the exhibits are tons of glass and acrylic displays with thousands of video game themed memorabilia and whatnot. I didn\u2019t take pictures of ALL of it, but I did snap a few shots of things that snagged my interest.<\/p>\n

\"DISPLAY\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sewing machine that was used with the Game Boy Color to make patterns. It\u2019s super-rare and I\u2019ve never seen one out in the wild. Check out the Pikachu N64 right beside it.<\/p>\n

\"SEWING\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a wall with nothing but video game themed shirts. I could probably make a similar wall with all the shirts I get from trade shows!<\/p>\n

\"SHIRTS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hey Unplugged fans! Check out all the video game themed board games!\u00a0 When I was a kid, I had the Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Q*bert board games.\u00a0 The Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man games were exactly the same, just different colors.\u00a0 And they all played like crap.\u00a0 Most of the other board games I had never even heard of until now!<\/p>\n

\"BOARDGAMES\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I think I ate all those video game cereals on display as a kid. Well, maybe not the Pok\u00e9mon cereal as it came out quite a bit later and I was already an adult.\u00a0 The Donkey Kong cereal was basically Cap\u2019n Crunch.\u00a0 The Nintendo Cereal System had two bags in the box.\u00a0 One with Mario Cereal and one with Zelda Cereal.\u00a0 They both were similar in taste to Froot Loops, and they were supposed to be shaped like characters from the game but I thought they looked more like multicolored cat turds.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never liked marshmallows in cereals like Lucky Charms, so I was so upset when the Pac-Man cereal came out when I was little.\u00a0 Here was a cereal based on my favorite video game of all time, and I couldn\u2019t eat it because I hate marshmallows.\u00a0 Now, look closely at the Pac-Man cereal box.\u00a0 See Super Pac-Man on it?\u00a0 For a while they had special Super Pac-Man marshmallows that were twice as big, to add insult to injury!\u00a0 Yuck!\u00a0 And the Donkey Kong Jr. cereal was like Trix with fruit-shaped pieces.<\/p>\n

\"CEREAL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So if you couldn\u2019t tell by now, I\u2019m a HUGE fan of Pac-Man, so I had to take a picture of this stuff on display. I hope I didn\u2019t drool on the glass!<\/p>\n

\"PACMAN\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And finally here\u2019s a shot of the gift shop. If I had a million bucks, I\u2019d be tempted to buy everything in there!\u00a0 But then other visitors wouldn\u2019t have a chance to buy anything, so I guess I wouldn\u2019t do that after all.\u00a0 You should\u2019ve seen the gift shop after opening day, it was totally cleared out!\u00a0 But don\u2019t worry!\u00a0 When YOU come visit the museum, I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll have the gift shop restocked again!<\/p>\n

\"GIFTSHOP\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all for this article. But is that everything in the museum?\u00a0 OH, HECK NO!\u00a0 We\u2019re just getting started!\u00a0 The museum is so big that I have to treat it like my PAX and E3 articles and post them in multiple parts!\u00a0 In Part 2, which should go up tomorrow, we\u2019ll take a look at the artwork in the museum, as well as the super awesome arcade, plus some opening day fun and shenanigans!\u00a0 So be sure to check it out then!<\/p>\n

Before I post some information on the location and hours, I wanted to ask you all if you would please pray for the museum and that it would do well and be a lucrative venture for the founders and anyone involved. I\u2019m really glad that it\u2019s so close to where I live, and I want it to stay there for a long time to come.\u00a0 Also, I wanted to share that I\u2019ve already been volunteering at the museum a few times, and hope to continue to do so a bunch in the future as well!\u00a0 So if you come to the museum, you might even see ME!\u00a0 I\u2019ve had so much fun helping out visitors, and I\u2019d love to see as many of you all as I could, and we could share video game stories and have fun!\u00a0 It\u2019s definitely worth the trip, so if you\u2019re in the Dallas\/Fort Worth area in the future, please look it up!<\/p>\n

OK, so here\u2019s some info on the museum\u2019s hours and location and such. I\u2019ll also post this at the end of tomorrow\u2019s article as well.\u00a0 The address to the museum is:<\/p>\n

8004 North Dallas Parkway<\/p>\n

Suite 300<\/p>\n

Frisco, TX 75034<\/p>\n

General admission is 12 bucks, which is a good deal since you get some tokens to use at the arcade as well. Children ten and under can get in for 10 bucks, as well as seniors, teachers, and military with a valid ID.<\/p>\n

Hours of Operation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monday: Closed<\/p>\n

Tuesday \u2013 Thursday: 10 am to 5 pm<\/p>\n

Friday \u2013 Saturday: 10 am to 8 pm<\/p>\n

Sunday: 12 pm to 5 pm<\/p>\n

If you have any other questions or need more info, you can check out their Web site at www.nvmusa.org<\/a>.\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are all kinds of museums in the US, but none so far dedicated to the history of video games. Until now!\u00a0 On Saturday, April 2, the National Videogame Museum opened its doors in Frisco, TX.\u00a0 Which is cool because that\u2019s only about 15 minutes driving distance from where I live!\u00a0 So for the next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14897"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14899,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14897\/revisions\/14899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}