Date set for opening of National Videogames Arcade in Sheffield

The date has been set for the offiical opening of the National Videogame Arcade in Sheffield.
John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.
John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.

The BGI, the national agency for games modelled on the British Film Institute, will open its headquarters at the Sheffield Kollider - a new hub for creative and techonology industries currently being developed in the former Co-op Castle House in Castlegate.

The facility is due to open in Sheffield on Saturday, November 24, 2018.

John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.
John Mothersole, Sheffield Council's chief executive, Coun Mazher Iqbal, Nick Morgan, of Kollider and Guy Illingworth, of developer U&I pictured in Castle House, where the arcade will be based.
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It welcomed more than 50,000 visitors per annum at its previous base in Nottingham, who learnt about games culture and development.

Iain Simons, culture director of the BGI, said: 'We've always tried to do more than just put out games for people to play.

'In our dynamic new space, we're bringing videogame creators into the museum to meet their players, showing visitors what games mean and responding to our community's requests and ideas for new exhibits.'

The National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham.The National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham.
The National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham.

Following the success of previous exhibitions featuring Football Manager, Dizzy and Monument Valley, the museum said it was working with games companies to create new, more ambitious shows.

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'We're delighted to launch a test lab with Boneloaf's Gang Beasts and we're talking to publishers and developers about showcasing their work to our broad audience.'

Kath Bidwell, founder of State of Play Games, said 'I'm really excited about the launch of the National Videogame Museum at its brand new home at the heart of Sheffield city centre.

'The games industry is fantastically creative and culturally significant and now we have a great place to celebrate and embrace that.'

NVM Patron and BGI Chair Ian Livingstone said: 'The NVM is the games industry's own museum, celebrating our games, our studios and our sector's achievements over 40 years.

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'I invite anyone who cares about the cultural life of video games to join leaders from across the industry and support this amazing project with content, evangelism and funding to help expand the programme in the years to come.'

During school term time, the museum will open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5pm and every day between the same hours during the school holidays.