Bradford becomes gamers' heaven

Tom Woolley with Rock Band prototype drums in the archive

It's hard to believe that video games could ever end up in a museum, but the National Media Museum in Bradford is already collecting them.

After all, would you believe that the first ever commercial video game was launched back in 1972?

"Those old games do stand the test of time!" says Tom Woolley, in charge of this new collection.

He's trying to find all those bits of hardware and software currently languishing in people's attics.

In the bowels of the Media Museum he reveals the burgeoning National Video Games Archive: "That's the first prototype of the Rock Band drum kit ever made," says Tom pointing in the direction of a set of strange-looking drums in one corner of the museum's Small Objects Store.

"Obviously it was tested before it went into mass production. We've also got the first ever Eye Toy camera as well which was donated by Sony. It says 'No. 1' on it and it's the first one ever made."

Odyssey 1: The world's first games console - now found in Bradford

These are just some of the surprising things to be found among row after row of glass cases containing the sort of items you might think are more appropriate for the National Media Museum's collection.

The archive only began in late 2008, but it's already a most intriguing collection and there's certainly something in there for everyone, from a Commodore PET to a BBC Micro, from the Rock Band drum kit to Sonic The Hedgehog for the Megadrive.

And that's just a start, says Tom: "As well as the hardware and the software, we also want to collect developmental materials like sketchbooks, level designs, character designs. The amount of creative activity that goes into video games is just unbelievable."

Tom has discovered that the original target audience for games was quite different from today's: "Originally the Odyssey 1 and the Atari 2600, the earliest consoles, were geared towards the family and to the housewife, almost like a board game. It was a family experience to share in. It wasn't just geared to teenage boys!"

As soon as something is released it's showing a progression with the technology and within the culture and media that we're consuming. Tom Woolley, National Video Game Archive

Tom admits that it will seem odd to see more modern items being kept for posterity, but he says collecting video game-related material is important because it's such a fast-moving area: "You do get a lot of people saying, 'That makes me feel old.' But, of course, the Megadrive's nearly 20 years old.

"As soon as something is released it's showing a progression with the technology and within the culture and media that we're consuming. It's another notch on the timeline."

Though the items in the National Game Archive aren't yet on show to the public except on special behind-the-scenes tours of the Media Museum, Tom says that he hopes that many of the items currently in storage will eventually see the light of day.

Tom is now looking for people in West Yorkshire to dig around in their attics too. He'll soon be looking for more donations - even if they're already featured in the archive: "It'd be great to have one for display only to keep that intact, and other copies of the same computer for people to have a play with and to test. If it breaks, it breaks!"

Sonic and the Megadrive: 20 years old and already history

And Tom says there are still plenty of video game-related items out there just gathering dust that he'd eventually be happy to take off people's hands: "Original hardware's always good and we do have games in the collection. So if you do have original hardware in good condition that'd be great. Things in original boxes are always fantastic as well."

Free guided tours of Insight, which includes the National Video Games Archive, take place every day at the National Media Museum in Bradford: on weekdays at 1pm and weekends at 2pm. If you are interested in a particular aspect of the National Media Museum's collection, separate visits can be arranged.