Arcade Origins: the beginnings of the video game industry

OXO, the Video Game Museum in Madrid, presents a new exhibition devoted to the birth, evolution and legacy of arcade machines which marked the beginning of the video game industry. Visitors will be able to go on a journey through the early years of interactive entertainment, discovering how it became a major cultural and technological revolution. The exhibition is made up of a careful selection of historical booths, including the two fully functional Computer Space machines (the first commercial arcade game in history, created by Nolan Bushnell in 1971). This is a unique event, as these are the only machines on display to the public in Spain, enabling visitors to see and experience the first ever commercial arcade video game, an adaptation of MIT’s Spacewar! (1962), which marked the first step in the huge impact of arcades and arcade games on the industry and the popularity of video games, thanks to its characteristic design and the inclusion of a coin slot. Unlike the rest of the machines, these pieces cannot be played due to their historical uniqueness and in order to safeguard their preservation. Throughout the exhibition, the role played by arcades in the development of an industry that is now part of our cultural life is highlighted. At the end of the temporary exhibition, the Computer Space will form part of the permanent collection at the two OXO branches (one in Malaga and the other in Madrid).