Welcome to the Registry of Historic Gaming Locations.

This project is a labor of love that was inspired by a trip to California in May 2011. I was headed to visit a video gaming project at Stanford University and decided to visit Borregas Ave. in Sunnyvale while in the area.

This street was home to Atari during their reign as king of the video game industry in the early days of electronic gaming. Having seen some of these buildings in magazines, books and news stories from back in the day, it was both exciting and depressing to visit this location.

For a gaming historian, this was setting foot on historic ground, but at the same time there was no evidence that anything significant to a major entertainment industry ever taken place here. No signs or markers or memories of the days when Asteroids and Centipede set the gaming world on fire. Just buildings, some occupied, some empty.

The Registry of Historic Gaming Locations was started with the goal of helping to recognize locations of historical significance to video gaming. Film, television, sports and music all have historical sites and markers, and it's time for the video game industry to start having them as well.

This project aims to celebrate the beginnings of an industry that has gone from college computer labs and smoky pool halls to almost every electronic device in the hands of the mainstream. I feel it is important for those who game on the powerful technology of today, from XBox Live and iPhones to online casino play and social media games, to know where the beginnings of it all took place while the information can still be obtained and noted for all of history.

The Registry started small but has continued to grow and receive media coverage. Plans will soon expand to presentations of markers to some of the locations included.

Please use the list below to learn what locations have been included thus far, as well as a list of qualifications for future locations to be entered and how you can nominate future inductees.

The video game industry has provided the world with decades of entertainment and is growing bigger each and every year. I hope you will share this destination with your friends and family and help me in this labor of love.