Twin Galaxies - Ottumwa

Ottumwa

On November 30, 1982, Mayor Jerry Parker declared Ottumwa the "Video Game Capital of the World." This bold initiative resulted in many historic firsts in video game history. Among them:

• Letter of Congratulations from Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, March 18, 1983
• Parade Day Starts with Pac-Man Game, Ottumwa Courier, March 21, 1983
• Mayor Declares Cystic Fibrosis Video Game Challenge Week in Ottumwa, August 8, 1983
• Ottumwa Proclamation to the People of the Country of Italy, November 15, 1983
• Ottumwa Invites Magician Doug Henning to Tim McVey Day, January 23, 1984
• Ottumwa Issues Mayoral Decree Congratulating Rock-Ola MFG., January 27, 1984
• Ottumwa Mayor Declares "Tim McVey Day," January 28, 1984
• Mayoral Proclamation Opens USA-Canada Video Game Conference in Ottumwa, February 10, 1984

As further evidence of this unique status, Ottumwa hosted history's first video game world championship, which was filmed by *ABC-TV's "That's Incredible" on the weekend of January 8–9, 1983 and aired the night of February 21, 1983.

Playing a central role in video game history, Ottumwa was the birth site of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard and the U.S. National Video Game Team, two organizations that still exist today. Among the historic firsts that happened in the Video Game Capital of the World were:

• History's First Video-Game-Themed Parade (Jan. 8, 1983) Des Moines Register, January 9, 1983
• History's First Video Game World Championship (Jan. 8-9, 1983) Dallas Times-Herald, Dallas, TX, January 26, 1983
• History's First Brain Wave Studies on Video Game Champions (July 12, 1983) News Release, July 12, 1983
• History's First Billion-Point Video Game Performance (Jan. 16, 1984) Computer Games magazine, July 1, 1984
• History's First Official Day to Honor a Video Game Player (Jan. 28, 1984) Tim McVey Day Poster, January 28, 1984