Game (Software) Collections

The collections of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games^®(ICHEG) include more than 17,000 games on various media.

Console Games, 1972–present

ICHEG has than more than 10,000 individual video game titles for consoles, starting with hundreds for early systems like Magnavox Odyssey (1972), Fairchild Channel F (1976), and Atari 2600 (1977) and extending through all the major consoles and handhelds to the present day. Included are classic titles ranging from Atari Space Invaders (1980) and NES Super Mario Bros. (1986, North American release) through Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and Sony PlayStation Gran Turismo (1998), as well as rarer items such as NESNintendo World Championships 1990.

Computer Games, 1978–present

Game play on computers has ranged from casual games like the Solitaire program that Microsoft introduced with Windows 3.0 in 1990 to massively multiplayer online role-playing games like the wildly popular World of Warcraft(2004). ICHEG holds some 3,000 computer games, ranging from those for early systems like the Apple II to games for contemporary PCs. The many pioneering titles in the collection include Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982), the multiplayer game M.U.L.E. (1983), the simulation games Utopia (1981) and SimCity (1989), and the turn-based strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization (1991). Sports titles such as the first John Madden Football (1982), action titles such as Bungie’sMarathon (1994), and adventure titles such as Ken and Roberta Williams’sMystery House (1980) and Sid Meier’s Pirates (1987) are also included. Controversial horror games such as Night Trap (1994) round out the breadth of the collection. More than 1,000 are games received over the years by Computer Gaming World for review in the magazine.

Educational Games, 1978-present

Educational games stand among the first computer games created for the general public, starting with Oregon Trail in 1971. Generally, educational games have been confined to the personal computer market because console makers have feared that “educational” titles would dampen sales. Educational software peaked in the 1990s, and today many educational games are web based. ICHEG’s collection encompasses titles from, among other producers, The Learning Company, Broderbund, Knowledge Adventure, and Minnesota Educational Computer Curriculum (MECC). Included are Oregon Trail, other classics such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (1985), Reader Rabbit(1986), Jumpstart (1994), and more than 5,000 others. Among these are thousands of review titles donated by Children’s Technology Review Editor Warren Buckleitner.