Our first "expansion pack"! New materials in our development collections | Video Game History Foundation We've added new materials to existing development collections in our library, including concept art and game pitches!

#VideoGames #design #PersonalArchives #VGHF

'This week, we’ve updated two of our existing library collections: the Mark Flitman papers and the Andrew Nelson papers!'

gamehistory.org/our-first-ex...

It was so cool seeing the footage of the show taken by @johntv.bsky.social
The Virtual Boy is weird Nintendo at their best 🤍
#VirtualBoy
#Nintendo
#VGHF

This is by far the BEST VIDEO EVER on the history of the NES. If you watch ONE VIDEO in 2025 then make it this one!
If you watch TWO VIDEOS, then add Frank's presentation at PRGE as well (link to that at the video below), those two videos go together like "Jabba" and "the Hutt".
#VGHF #PRGE #NES

The Secrets of Sega Channel: VGHF recovers over 100 Sega Channel ROMs (and more) Sega broke ground in the late 90s with one of the first digital game distribution systems for consoles. Sega Channel offered access to a rotating library of Sega Genesis titles, along with game tips, demos, and even a few exclusive games that never came out in the United States in any other format. In an era of dial-up internet, Sega Channel delivered game data over television cable — a novel approach that gave the service its name. In the years since, Sega Channel has been shrouded in a bit of mystery. The service was discontinued in 1998, and the lack of retrievable game data and documentation around Sega Channel has led to decades of speculation about it. We’ve mostly been left with magazine articles and second-hand accounts. Once in a while, one or two Sega Channel ROMs will show up online. How do you _preserve_ a service like Sega Channel? For the last two years, we’ve been working on a large-scale project to preserve the history of Sega Channel. Today, we unveiled our findings in a new YouTube video. We’ll cut to the chase: In collaboration with multiple parties, we have recovered **over 100 new Sega Channel ROMs** , including system data, exclusive games, and even prototypes that were never published. We’ve also digitized internal paperwork and correspondence that reveals how Sega Channel operated, how it was marketed, and what would’ve come next for the service. * * * Michael Shorrock was surprisingly easygoing about finding a picture of himself in a museum exhibit. This project kicked off in 2024, when we met former Sega Channel vice president of programming Michael Shorrock at the Game Developers Expo. Our booth that year highlighted interesting games from outside the traditional game industry, including _Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego?_ , which our director Frank Cifaldi recovered back in 2016. By complete coincidence, one of the items we put out was a promotional brochure for Broderbund Software… featuring Michael Shorrock on the cover! We got talking with Michael about our work, and we realized we both wanted to preserve and celebrate the history of Sega Channel. At the same time this was happening, we were contacted by a community member named Ray (going by the pseudonym Sega Channel Guy). He had been contacting former Sega Channel staff to see if they still had any old swag or had saved things from the company. In the process, he came into possession of a collection of tape backups containing an unquantifiable amount of internal data from Sega Channel… including a significant number of game and system ROMs. We realized we could put these two threads together! With Michael’s own collection and Ray’s data backups, we could tell a cohesive, wide-ranging story about what Sega Channel _was_ and that was actually distributed through this service. There are two end products from this process. The first is the Michael Shorrock collection, a new collection in our digital library. You can view the correspondence, notes, and presentations from Michael Shorrock’s personal collection, which shed light on the formation of Sega Channel and their audience. From these papers, you can also learn about Express Games: an unannounced successor that would have brought Sega’s cable data delivery service to computers and replaced Sega Channel entirely. * * * The other output here is the collection of Sega Channel ROM data. We’ve donated the data from the **144* new ROMs** we recovered to the team at Gaming Alexandria, which will be sharing access to the files. * Our video states that we recovered 142 unique ROMs. However, after uploading the video, we realized we miscounted! There are two additional Sega Channel variant ROM in this collection. The actual total is 144. This does not include the two outliers mentioned in the video, which were previously recovered by users on Sonic Retro in November 2024 but went mostly unreported. This collection includes nearly 100 unique system ROMs, covering almost every version of the system that was distributed to consumers from 1994 to mid-1997. This batch also includes system ROM prototypes and some truly unusual experiments, like a _Sega Genesis web browser_ that would’ve delivered compressed, static websites over television cable. Of great interest to fans, this collection of ROMs also has dozens of previously undumped game variants and Sega Channel exclusives. This includes _Garfield: Caught in the Act – The Lost Levels_ and _The Flintstones_ , two games that were previously believed to be permanently lost and unrecoverable. These are both interesting from a development standpoint; both games appear to have their roots as abandoned projects that were repurposed as Sega Channel-exclusive content. Also included are the previously unpreserved limited editions of Sega Genesis games. These versions have been cut down to fit within Sega Channel’s filesize limit, sometimes omitting content or splitting the game into multiple parts. We’re not sure anyone is especially eager to play a version of _Super Street Fighter II_ missing half the characters, but we’re glad to have it documented. Some Sega Channel versions of games omitted content to fit within the adapter’s file limit (above, _Mortal Kombat 3, Part B_) Linear games were split in half. The second half was protected with a password to prevent players from skipping (above: _Sonic 3D Blast, Part 2_) With a few exceptions, this recovery project has accounted for **almost all outstanding Sega Channel games**. We believe this also means there are now digital backup copies of **every unique Sega Genesis game released in the United States**. * * * This has been a years-long project that wouldn’t have been possible without support from the broader gaming community. Besides Michael Shorrock and Ray, we want to give special thanks to: * Sega Retro, The Cutting Room Floor, and Hidden Palace for documenting everything we’ve known about Sega Channel up to this point. * RisingFromRuins and Nathan Misner (infochunk) for putting all the pieces together to crack the Sega Channel data formats. * Dustin Hubbard (Hubz) from Gaming Alexandria for working with us to share this ROM data. * Rob Curl from the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, who flagged us down at GDC to let us know that Michael Shorrock had seen a picture of himself at our booth and brought him over to say hello. We also want to give a special thanks to Chuck Guzis, a long-time expert on data tapes, who digitized Ray’s Sega Channel backups for us in 2024. Chuck’s business Sydex was, for a long time, the go-to vendor for working with data tapes, and we’ve used his services in the past. Shortly before launching this project, we learned that Chuck passed away over the summer. His death leaves a hole in our community and our collective expertise. We know that the gaming community (and specifically the Sega community) will be excited by all this new documentation and data; we hope that their excitement is a testament to what Chuck’s work meant to the digital preservation community. Access the Michael Shorrock collection Access ROM data on Gaming Alexandria * * * ### Complete list of recovered titles This is a list of all Sega Channel-specific game data recovered from this project and shared with Gaming Alexandria. This does not include the 97 unique pieces of menu data ROMs and system software that were also recovered. Game list Unique Sega Channel exclusive games: * The Berenstain Bears’ A School Day * BreakThru * The Flintstones * Garfield: Caught in the Act – The Lost Levels * Iron Hammer * Waterworld Sega Channel variants: * The Adventures of Batman and Robin, Test Drive version * Comix Zone, Test Drive version (1) * Comix Zone, Test Drive version (2) * Earthworm Jim, Test Drive version * Earthworm Jim VideoHints (1) * Earthworm Jim VideoHints (2) * The Great Earthworm Jim Race * The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Part A * The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Part B * The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Test Drive version * NCAA Final Four Basketball: Special Edition (1) * NCAA Final Four Basketball: Special Edition (2) * Mortal Kombat 3, Part A * Mortal Kombat 3, Part B * Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game, Test Drive version * Sonic 3D Blast, Part A * Sonic 3D Blast, Part B * Super Street Fighter II: Limited Edition * Triple Play Baseball 96: Special Edition * Virtua Fighter 2, Part A * Virtua Fighter 2, Part B * _World Series Baseball ’96: Limited Edition*_ * X-Men 2: Clone Wars, Test Drive version Prototypes received by Sega Channel: * Al Unser Jr.’s Road to the Top * Dan Marino Football * Light Crusader * Nick Faldo’s Championship Golf * Popeye in High Seas High-Jinks * Shadows of the Wind * WildSnake * Wrath of the Demon * Yogi Bear [Yogi Bear’s Cartoon Capers] Data differences: * Body Count (US revision) * Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow * Primal Rage * Pulseman * _Richard Scarry’s Busytown*_ * Shining Force II Header differences only: * Battle Frenzy (US header) * Power Drive (US header) * QuackShot * Super Hang-On * Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio * X-Men 2: Clone Wars * These games were previously found on a CD obtained by a user on the Sonic Retro forums in November 2024. However, these ROMs were overshadowed by the recovery of the Sega Channel exclusive games _The Chessmaster_ and _Klondike_ from the same CD. Although our copies of these ROMs are not unique, we included them on this list to make sure their existence doesn’t get lost. ### A footnote for hardcore Sega fans We believe this recovery project accounts for all unique Sega Channel exclusive games. But the most hardcore fans might be wondering: What about _Ozone Kid_? In a feature article on Sega Channel from the June 1995 issue of _Electronic Gaming Monthly_ (p.29), _Ozone Kid_ was identified as the first Sega Channel exclusive. We can confirm that this game was never actually distributed through Sega Channel. According to data recovered by Ray, _The Environmental Detective_ (as it was titled prior to cancellation) was slated for release alongside the Sega Channel test markets, but it was pulled from their programming plans in July 1994. Reading the between the lines in Sega Channel’s internal project tracking, the game appears to have suffered from a variety of problems over several months. When the game was finally shelved, Sega issued a “partial test report based on items found at the time code was pulled,” suggesting there were still major issues when it was removed from their plans.

#VGHF and friends have recovered around 144 lost #Sega Channel ROMs!

https://gamehistory.org/segachannel/

#RetroGaming #ROMs #SegaGenesis #MegaDrive #90s

MLB Slugfest 2003 Jokes Rejected By MLB Are Now Available Online The Video Game History Foundation has archived some unused audio lines from the arcade baseball game The post <i>MLB Slugfest 2003</i> Jokes Rejected By MLB Are Now Available Online appeared first on Kotaku.

Hear about the NES US launch 40 years ago from the people that made it happen: Gail Tilden, Bruce Lowry and Lance Barr with @frankcifaldi.bsky.social from the @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social moderating! Panel recording at youtu.be/f2WDfsiLiRA
#prge #prge2025 #retrogaming #VGHF

@frankcifaldi.bsky.social from the @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social brings a group of special Nintendo guests to this year's Portland Retro Gaming Expo to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the NES! Join the party! Tickets at tinyurl.com/4n65xmy2
#prge #prge2025 #retrogaming #VGHF

Original post on social.coop

The #VideoGameHistoryFoundation has released the Craig Stitt papers, with lots of art from the portfolio of an artist who worked on #Sonic, #Spyro, #RatchetAndClank, and more. There's a video interview with him as well. gamehistory.org/introducing-the-craig-st... […]

The fight to preserve old games is gaining momentum, despite resistance from major publishers According to a study by the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), nearly 87% of classic games released in the U.S. before 2010 are unavailable for purchase or review today. The older the platform, the worse the situation. For example, only 4.5% of titles from the Commodore 64 library are available on the market.

The Video Game History Foundation estrena su biblioteca digital Es completamente gratis y no requiere siquiera registrarse, simplemente entras al enlace y ya puedes acceder a un montón de contenido.

The Video Game History Foundation ha estrenado su biblioteca digital y puedes acceder a ella de forma completamente gratuita.

@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social

#PreservacióndeVideojuegos #VideoGamesPreservation #retro #videojuegos #retrogaming #geimers #vghf

Home | Video Game History Foundation Library – Digital Archive

The full issue can viewed at the #VGHF Digital Archive, the Internet Archive and Retomags. archive.gamehistory.org/item/a68a74f...

Today’s #VGHF Digital Archive item is issue one if Girl Gamer Magazine. archive.gamehistory.org/folder/06c14...

Today’s #VGHF Digital Archive item is GamePro Magazine issue 1, 1989. archive.gamehistory.org/item/f9a715c...

Scrolling through the magazine was fun and the classic ad for the Power Glove immediately caught my eye.

A screenshot of the short-lived Nintendo supported video game magazine, Girl Gamer, which features a female using a Nintendo DS with a promise of coverage of Cooking Mama 2 on the lower right.

Hey Giant Bomb users! Have any of you checked out or supported @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social's Digital Library? Have you found any goodies? Share your love and nostalgia for this era of gaming history!

Discussion Thread: www.giantbomb.com/forums/gener...

#games #gaming #VGHF #retrogames #gamehistory

I’m sure there were print ads and store displays. I want to see them! #VGHF #Zelda

#BloodyRoar fans! A fantastic treat for you!
The Video Game History Archive has published a trove of Naochicka Morishita's artwork in crispy high resolution!
archive.gamehistory.org
#VGHF

The new Digital Library from the Video Game History Foundation features thousands of items | 8-Bit Central The digital archive includes out-of-print game magazines, artwork, promo items, and much more.

The new Digital Library from the Video Game History Foundation #VGHF features thousands of items | 8-Bit Central

Video Game History Foundation launches digital library for 'anyone who wants to study games' The VGHF Library is only in Early Access, but it comes with a lot of material for researchers and developers to pore through.

Really cool to see the Video Game History Foundation launch their new digital library! It's free to access and contains a wealth of historical materials on the development of video games. www.gamedeveloper.com/production/v... #VGHF #digitallibrary #videohistory #gamedev #preservation

As a kid I had a fascination with Mortal Kombat-inspired fighting games with digitized actors. Most of them were terrible games, but I still scoured magazines for any and all info on them that I could.

So I think I'll start sharing some snippets from the #VGHF digital archive as I find them.

Video Game History Foundation Library | Video Game History Foundation Library

#videogames #gaming #ps #gamer #playstation #games #xbox #game #nintendo #videogame #twitch #gamers #xboxone #retrogaming #pc #pcgaming #art #gamingcommunity #nintendoswitch #retrogames #EGM #nintendopower #gameinformer #retro #VGHF #videogamelibrary #history

Video Oyun Tarihi Arşivi artık ücretsiz erişime açık

Video Game History Foundation, 1500’den fazla eski dergi ve nadir geliştirme materyallerini oyuncuların erişimine sundu.

Detay: gamizm.com/video-oyun-t...

#VGHF #oyuntarihi

Des images noir et blanc de Mario en train de faire des pâtes "pasta power"

Des scans sympa de matériel promotionnel #Nintendo of America Inc. 1989

#VGHF

The VGHF Library opens in early access

Nos collections Notre plateforme de bibliothèque numérique est lancée avec l'accès à une sélection organisée de documents de notre bibliothèque, y compris: Matériel de développement de jeux jamais vus auparavant. Oeuvres d'art, dossiers de presse et matériel promotionnel des jeux vidéo emblématiques. Plus de 1500 magazines de jeux vidéo horlogés consultables en texte intégral, y compris des magazines professionnels de l'industrie du jeu, sont rarement accessibles au public.

🥁
Amoureux de #JeuxVidéos et de #RetroGaming la "Video Game History Foundation" ouvre la porte de leurs archives au public.
👇

"La #VGHF est une fondation à but non lucratif fondée par Frank Cifaldi. L'objectif principal de la fondation est l'archivage, la […]

[Original post on maly.io]

I'm very excited that The VGHF has launched its Digital Library in early access! 📚 🕹️ With 30,000+ files, including rare magazines, dev docs, & promo materials, it's a must for retro gamers to explore!  🔍✨

archive.gamehistory.org/

#GameHistory #RetroGaming #VGHF #GamingArchives

Video Game History Foundation opens free digital archive with over 30,000 undiscovered gems Image: Petrajz | Dreamstime.com For those who spent childhood afternoons poring over GamePro previews or dissecting Electronic Gaming Monthly reviews, the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) has just...

Relive gaming’s golden era as the Video Game History Foundation launches a free curated digital library with thousands of classic magazines and rare artifacts. #GamingHistory #RetroGaming #VGHF #DigitalArchive community.designtaxi.com/topic/8134-v...

The Video Game History Foundation has launched a brand new digital library interface with tons of archives for you to check out for free. #VideoGames #VGHF The Video Game History Foundation has launched a brand new digital library interface with tons of archives for you to check out for free

The Video Game History Foundation has launched a brand new digital library interface with tons of archives for you to check out for free. #VideoGames #VGHF

Now you can check out this video game history museum online It’s time to go to the library.

Now you can check out this video game history museum online
It’s time to go to the library. | #videogamehistory #museum #VGHF #gaming #videogames | www.theverge.com/news/603404/...

Video Oyunu Tarihi Vakfı dijital kütüphanesini erişime açıyor

#VGHF, 30 Ocak’ta 1.500’den fazla dergi, tanıtım sanatı ve nadir geliştirme materyallerini içeren dijital kütüphanesini halka açacak.

Detay: gamizm.com/video-oyunu-...

Getting my Missile Command giclee print framed - can’t wait to see the final product in ~2 weeks. #retrogaming #missilecommand #videogameart #atari #vghf

Indústria de games bloqueia acesso remoto a jogos clássicos

#games #industry #History #Direitos #Autorais #Foundation #VGHF #Software #Preservation #Copyright #Digital

Sabia mais: shrt.geekfusion.com.br/i7i3l