In October 2018, I had the good fortune to do a panel on video game history and preservation at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in Oregon. For 45 minutes, I explained the need for more people within the gaming community to do exactly what Sega-16 has been doing since 2004: document and preserve gaming history as much as possible. The panel emphasized the need for doing interviews with anyone involved in video game creation and for conserving game documents and the games themselves. During my talk, I detailed some examples of people who have been interviewed for Sega-16, Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games, and The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games who are sadly no longer with us.
I admit that my panel had somewhat of a Sega spin to it, but that had more to do with Sega being the subject of my own research than any intended bias. I made it clear that ALL consoles and games deserve preservation and documentation, and anyone interested in games of any kind should try to keep them from disappearing. I really enjoy speaking about this topic and have done so at the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, as well as at MomoCon and Dragon Con in Atlanta. It’s always great to see fans and academics turn out to discuss this important and timely subject, and I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few fans of the site! I thank everyone for their support and hope to meet more of you.
You could not be more on point. We continue to lose these amazing, talented people. My life would not have been as rich without their contributions. It’s sad. Thank you for keeping this great time in history alive.
I didn’t know that Joe Miller had passed away. That’s a real shame.
I’d like to point out that the C-64 never gets the recognition is deserves in North America. North American computer history always recognizes the impact of the Apple II computer, and never mentions the best selling computer of its time, with the C-64. I feel that the 8-bit generation of computers will be long lost, because of the lack of support to maintain its legacy.
I agree completely. There are more than enough supporters out there to document the C-64’s history, and the people involved aren’t getting any younger. One day, it will be too late.