Japan's National Diet Library has embarked on a groundbreaking mission to rescue and preserve early video game copies, some dating back to the 1980s.
Time is ticking for these pop culture history gems now facing the threat of corrosion, prompting urgent action from the library to digitize these treasures that once helped Japan establish its global influence in video games.
Time Is Ticking for Japan's Video Game Artifacts
While museums in Europe and the United States have already taken steps to preserve gaming history, Nikkei Asia reports that Japan is now catching up, especially as foreign tourists flock to the country in search of iconic cartridges and disk copies.
Akihabara, Tokyo's renowned electronics and pop entertainment district, is witnessing a surge in visitors who come to explore shops dedicated to secondhand games like Super Mario Brothers and more.
Original copies of these early games, with titles that have become legendary, now fetch prices in the tens of thousands of yen, far surpassing their original value from decades ago.
The Rush to Preserve Japan's Video Game Gems
Makoto Matsuda, a patent attorney and founder of the Game Donation Association, expressed concern, stating, "Unless we save those games now, we will be unable to play them again." To address this pressing issue, the rescue operation will occur in two phases: collection and storage, followed by digitization.
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The involvement of the National Diet Library, traditionally known for supporting lawmakers in their research endeavors, is rooted in its mission to preserve culturally significant content.
Japan's Legal Deposit System mandates that publishers submit copies of newly published books, magazines, and other entertainment media to the NDL, making it one of the world's largest libraries.
Since a legal revision in 2000, the system has encompassed electronic publications such as video games, CDs, and DVDs, but pre-revision games on physical media were not included.
Challenges to the Preservation Efforts
Several challenges hinder this rescue operation. Games require consoles to be played, which falls outside the scope of the Legal Deposit System.
Moreover, video games are subject to a different clause of the Copyright Act compared to books, complicating the lending process for libraries and discouraging the collection of games.
In contrast to Japan, libraries in the United States and Europe have amassed hundreds of games, as highlighted by a 2015 survey by Ritsumeikan University.
The Game Preservation Society established 12 years ago, has already digitized around 7,000 games, including those stored on quickly deteriorating floppy disks.
Nikkei tells us that Japan's delay in digitizing its gaming heritage has allowed museums in other countries, such as the Strong National Museum of Play in the U.S. and Leipzig University in Germany, to build extensive collections that attract global visitors.
Last year, the National Diet Library finally made approximately 2,000 console games, including those from Sony PlayStation, accessible for research. Another notable effort comes from Nintendo, which plans to establish a museum allowing visitors to experience its iconic games.
Japan's domestic video game market exceeded $12 billion in 2020, surpassing the combined paper and electronic publications market.
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