International Center For The History of Electronic Games - Collections

Collections

ICHEG defines electronic games broadly to include video games, computer games, console games, arcade games, handheld games, and toys that combine digital and traditional play. At more than 25,000 items and growing, the ICHEG collection is the largest and most comprehensive public collection of electronic games and game-related historical materials in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is the only one anywhere that is linked directly with collections of more than 100,000 board and role-playing games, toys, and other artifacts of play that have inspired and informed the creation and development of electronic games. ICHEG is additionally supported by a research library of more than 130,000 volumes, including vintage comics and children’s books and the largest collection of toy catalogs in the United States.

The collections include: • Games • Game platforms • Packaging and advertising • Publications • Electronic-game-inspired consumer products • Personal and business papers of key figures in the electronic-game industry • Literary and popular inspirations of electronic-game imagery and content • Electronic-game antecedents • Associated artifacts and documents that represent or illustrate the impact of electronic games and people’s lives