Video Game Museum of Rome
The Video Game Museum of Rome is an interactive video game museum that displays the history of video games. The first official announcement for the museum was at the Italian Videogame Developer Conference in 2010. The museum opened its doors to the public in October 2012. VIGAMUS is among the founding members and promoters of, the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums, and Preservation Projects. This federation aims to find new opportunities of digital preservation, with a particular attention to video games.
Located in a large exhibition center, the museum is divided into different areas of video game history, starting with the Magnavox Odyssey. The collection displays 440 pieces of video game ephemera and has more than 100 panels with information about the history and background of the items displayed. Fifteen video game retrospectives give the viewers first-person knowledge of making certain games.
In addition to the regular exhibits, the museum also has different interactive areas for arcade games, console games, and an Oculus VR room.
Some of the unique items featured at the museum include the DOOM master disks and Crytek demo disks. The museum partnered with Crytek to launch a graduate course aimed at virtual reality development. The museum also has its own magazine called VMag about the video game industry.
Video game tournaments and conventions
The museum often hosts themed nights or tournaments, such as their Dark Souls III Day and the 20th Anniversary of Pokémon Tournament. The museum invites guests to play in a tournament to win versions of the newly released games or themed prizes.In November 2016, the museum partnered with the Leonardo Caltagirone Group to launch GAMEROME, a new video game convention.