Game Preservation Society

[shubibiman]

You may already have heard of it but the Game Preservation Society is a colective in Japan whose aim is to preserve old computer, arcade and also console games and systems.

It was founded by frenchman Joseph Redon (who I personnaly know).

Last monday, NHK World aired a 27 minute documentary dedicated to this incredible work.

The documentary is now available for two weeks for watching at http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/vod/lens/20161128/

The documentary is in english

[elmer]

The documentary is in english

I have no idea why it's in English ... but that's perfect! 

Thanks for the link, it was really interesting to watch.

I'm so glad that someone is out there trying to preserve these old games for people to see/play, as opposed to those folks that just want to collect stuff and horde it away.

[bob]

The documentary is in english

I have no idea why it's in English ... but that's perfect! 

Thanks for the link, it was really interesting to watch.

I'm so glad that someone is out there trying to preserve these old games for people to see/play, as opposed to those folks that just want to collect stuff and horde it away.

have you not seen the museum in Texas?

[shubibiman]

I have no idea why it's in English ... but that's perfect! 

Because it was broadcasted on NHK World

[Punch]

I couldn't watch it on the site, is this it? Wonder if being bald is a req. to join it
Come to think about it, maybe hair does help to ruin games in the long run

The Game Preservation Society appears on the John Sckezipawerpsdjfniak's Untold History of Japanese Developers too.

[majors]

Caught this last night, very cool. Too much old crusty shit for me tho...gimme my CPS2 and obey!

That first Falcom game baldy talked about was pretty cool to learn about, even if I'm not into 8-bit computers.

[elmer]

have you not seen the museum in Texas?

Nope, I'm afraid not. I know of similar things in California, especially the guys that used to show up in Kentia Hall every year at E3.

"Collecting" is such a common part of the American culture, as is the belief that anything more than a few years old is "vintage". So I have no fear that America's history of videogames will ever be lost.

IIRC, some folks back in the UK are making efforts to preserve the old stuff these days, too.

Because it was broadcasted on NHK World

Forgive my ignorance ... I'd never heard of it.  :oops:

Nice ... I'll have to take a regular look at their digital channel now that I know that it exists.

That first Falcom game baldy talked about was pretty cool to learn about, even if I'm not into 8-bit computers.

Yeah, I'd be interested in seeing more screenshots of that. It looks like a copy of the standard "Star Trek" style games that was available on so very many machines BITD.

[bob]

have you not seen the museum in Texas?

Nope, I'm afraid not.

flip through the slideshow at the top of this page...

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/americas-largest-gaming-museum-rare-games-crazy-prototypes-and-giant-pong/

[Warbucks]

Cool, I am about to watch it.

[shubibiman]

"Collecting" is such a common part of the American culture, as is the belief that anything more than a few years old is "vintage". So I have no fear that America's history of videogames will ever be lost.

Collecting and preserving are not quite the same thing. Collecting is more like piling up stuff. Preserving is more like making sure to keep the code and everything so that even if every single physical copy of a game rots, you're still able to reproduce the code, the insert and the booklet.

I do collect myself so I'm not being overly critical about people who collect too. I know that even if I try to keep my games in the best condition possible, I'm not sure that one day or another, some of them will not work because they're not eternal.

[schweaty]

The documentary is in english

I have no idea why it's in English ... but that's perfect! 

Thanks for the link, it was really interesting to watch.

I'm so glad that someone is out there trying to preserve these old games for people to see/play, as opposed to those folks that just want to collect stuff and horde it away.

have you not seen the museum in Texas?

The museum in frisco, TX is legit.  I went there in Oct and absolutely loved it.  Very well executed

[esteban]

I couldn't watch it on the site, is this it? Wonder if being bald is a req. to join it
Come to think about it, maybe hair does help to ruin games in the long run

The Game Preservation Society appears on the John Sckezipawerpsdjfniak's Untold History of Japanese Developers too.

I watched both videos last night and enjoyed them.

I want MOAR quality videos.

[TheClash603]

Did they preserve the ROM for TG16 Marble Madness to be shared with everyone?  If not, not impressed.

[bob]

The documentary is in english

I have no idea why it's in English ... but that's perfect! 

Thanks for the link, it was really interesting to watch.

I'm so glad that someone is out there trying to preserve these old games for people to see/play, as opposed to those folks that just want to collect stuff and horde it away.

have you not seen the museum in Texas?

The museum in frisco, TX is legit.  I went there in Oct and absolutely loved it.  Very well executed

i will be going in april.  looks close to where i stay in grapevine

[xelement5x]

It's funny that it took a French guy to publicly start an initiative for preservation in Japan. 

I have heard that there are lots of goodies kept hidden in private trading circles and for use of only those in the group, unauthorized sharing is a major no-no and you will get booted/blacklisted if you do.