New in Zagreb – The Video Game History Museum
Visitors to Zagreb will already know that the city has an excellent selection of museums, from the traditional venues covering history, culture, art and similar to far more quirky offerings. Many of these excellent museums are incredibly interactive, meaning that visiting them is not only a learning experience but also super fun! And now there’s a new kid on the museum block in Zagreb – the Video Game History Museum. It’s an absolute must for anyone into gaming, computers, technology…or just having some fun!
What can you see and do at the Video Game History Museum?
The Museum focuses on the evolution of video games and gaming right from the 1960s to the early 2000s. As you can imagine, that’s quite a journey through gaming history! Covering a space of 800 square metres over three floors, the 3,000 items that are exhibited allow you to explore influential games and hardware in gaming history, as well as giving you the chance to learn more about important designers and publishers in the gaming industry.
Visit the museum to see many rare and iconic games and gaming artefacts; you’ll also be able to immerse yourself in one of the largest collections of computer games in the world!
Explore the early days of gaming – from amusement arcades and simple home games such as Pong, to gaming in the transformative days of the 1980s, when home consoles became more commonplace and iconic games such as Pac-Man were launched. Move on to the 1990s, the decade that saw groundbreaking consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 introduced, as well as iconic franchises emerging. Step through into the 2000s and the modern era of gaming, which includes everything from the exciting launch of innovative consoles to the rise of mobile gaming.
Throughout the decades that the museum covers, you can also learn more about the impact of video games on contemporary culture and life. Video games are everywhere these days – from something that only interested a small group of tech specialists, or that was supposedly targeted to kids – almost all of us walk around with a device in our pockets that can access thousands of games with just a fingerpress.
Many parts of the museum involve interactive elements and multimedia displays – what better way to learn about the subject matter? You’ll be able to play some of the most popular early gaming titles – including Space Invaders (launched in 1978), Asteroids (1979) and Pac-Man (1980).
Astonishingly, you can even witness one of the rarest video game titles of all time – Tennis for Two (1958) – as well as one of the very first commercially available video games, Computer Space (1971).
The museum also often hosts special events, workshops and lectures on gaming history and gaming innovation, often featuring industry experts. Keep an eye on the Museum’s social media channels for news!
About the Video Game History Museum
The Museum is the brainchild of Damir Šlogar, a Croatian IT entrepreneur who has worked in the global gaming industry for over four decades. He started his career in the 1980s, developing games for platforms such as MSX and the Commodore Amiga before eventually moving on to game development in North America, where he contributed to more than 150 titles, including renowned franchises such as Shrek, Barbie, and Battlefield.
In 2004, Damir founded Big Blue Bubble, a Canadian video game company. It gained international acclaim with titles such as “My Singing Monsters” which reached over 100 million players worldwide.
Damir has returned to Croatia – to his hometown of Zagreb – and founded this museum, investing €2 million in the impressive project. Many of the items exhibited in the museum are from Damir’s personal collection, amassed on two continents since childhood.
Tickets for the Video Game History Museum
Tickets are priced at €15 for adults and kids aged 15+, or €12 for kids aged 5 to 12 years, or for concessions. Children aged 5 and under go free. A ticket to the museum is valid for 2 hours.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at en.vghm.hr.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 10pm each day,
More info
You can learn all there is to know about this new museum on the official website en.vghm.hr.
Do also take a look at what others think about it (spoiler: they love it!) on TripAdvisor.
