National Videogame Museum

What National Videogame Museum does

The National Videogame Museum is a private 501c3 nonprofit (legally registered as NVGM Exploratory, TaxID 47-2253259) operating a single physical museum at 8004 Dallas Parkway Suite 300 in Frisco, Texas, alongside a dedicated preservation warehouse. Founded in 2014 by John Hardie, Sean Kelly, and Joe Santulli — three videogame collectors and preservationists whose histories include Digital Press and early cartridge-archival device design — the institution's core product is an interactive, playable exhibition of videogame history spanning from the 1950s to present day, differentiated from static "behind-glass" displays. Core offerings include museum exhibits (Giant Pong, Head to Head Wall, Timeline of Consoles, Rise of Computers, VR exhibit, Pixel Dreams Arcade), educational programs (Virtual Tours, Field Trips, and five scholarship programs including the Gearbox Gives Scholarship), and venue services (birthday party hosting up to 20 guests, corporate and private events). Auxiliary revenue and mission-support streams include annual individual ($34.99) and family ($99.99) memberships, gate admission ($10-12), arcade tokens, gift shop sales, private event rentals, and donations. Technology footprint centers on a digital archive of documents, software, and recorded industry veteran interviews, plus a physical artifact warehouse and the NVM Seal certification program launched in 2020. Distribution is overwhelmingly direct-to-consumer: tickets are sold exclusively at the on-site ticket window, memberships online, and bookings via inquiry forms, with marketing concentrated in monthly newsletters, social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram), community events (National Videogames Day, scavenger hunts), and earned media. The museum is preparing the NVM 2.0 expansion — a Game Library and E-Sports Arena — and in March 2026 acquired the Sony MSF-1, the only known Nintendo PlayStation prototype in existence.

Name

National Videogame Museum

Legal name

NVGM Exploratory

Website

https://nvmusa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Videogame Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit museum in Frisco, Texas that preserves and exhibits videogame history through interactive, playable exhibits, while running school field trips, scholarships, birthday parties, and private events supported by admissions, memberships, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museums and Cultural Attractions

NAICS

Museums (712110), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Entertainment Centers & Indoor Amusement (Arcades, Trampoline Parks, Indoor Play) (THAAAAAD), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Videogame museum
• Interactive gaming exhibits
• Videogame preservation
• Gaming history archive
• Arcade attraction

Headquarters

HQ city

Frisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Museum admission fees charged at the ticket window for adult, kids, and senior/educator/military visitors.
2. Annual Memberships: Individual and family annual membership passes providing unlimited admission, guest discounts, arcade token bonuses, and retail discounts. Sold online and at the ticket window.
3. Arcade Tokens: Tokens used to play arcade machines; 4 tokens provided with admission, additional tokens sold at 25 cents each (cash only).
4. Birthday Party Packages: Private party room hosting for up to 20 guests, including museum access, arcade tokens, NVM t-shirt, and a personal party host. Additional bonus add-ons available.
5. Private Event Hosting: Venue rental for corporate gatherings, team-building events, and special occasions, including optional guided museum tours and free parking.
6. Donations: Monetary donations from visitors and supporters to support the museum's non-profit preservation mission. Also accepts physical and legacy donations of gaming artifacts.
7. Gift Shop Sales: Sale of NVM merchandise and souvenirs at the gift shop located at the museum entrance.
8. NVM 2.0 Expansion (Future): Upcoming expansion including a Game Library and E-Sports Arena, supported by donor contributions, to broaden the museum's interactive and competitive gaming facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The National Videogame Museum is a non-profit museum in Frisco, Texas dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history and culture of video games through interactive, playable exhibits. It generates revenue from admissions, memberships, arcade tokens, birthday parties, private event hosting, gift shop sales, and donations, and runs educational and preservation programs.

Product overview

The National Videogame Museum is a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing video game history. The museum operates a core offering of interactive exhibits including Giant Pong, Head to Head Wall, Timeline of Consoles, Rise of Computers, Virtual Reality exhibit, and Pixel Dreams Arcade. The museum also runs educational programs including Virtual Tours for classrooms, Field Trips for students, and Scholarship Programs (including NVM Texas Frisco Resident Scholarship, NVM Texas Title 1 School Scholarship, NVM Texas Resident Scholarship, Amie Dansby Women in Technology Awards, and Gearbox Gives Scholarship). Venue services include Birthday Party Hosting and Event Hosting. Special exhibits include the Pokémon exhibit (collaboration with Leonhart and Rare Candy) and TurboGrafx-16 exhibit. The museum is also developing NVM 2.0, featuring a Game Library and E-Sports Arena. The NVM Seal program certifies games that prioritize fun and family-friendly values.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NVM Seal: A certification program launched in 2020 that awards games adhering to core values in gaming such as fun over flashiness, family-friendliness over gratuitous violence, and truth in marketing.
• NVM 2.0

Products and services

• Museum Exhibits Interactive and static exhibits showcasing the history and culture of video games, including hands-on playable experiences such as Giant Pong, Head to Head Wall, 1980s Bedroom, Timeline of Consoles, and Pixel Dreams Arcade across multiple eras of gaming.
• NVM 2.0 Upcoming expansion featuring a Game Library with an extensive game collection for all systems and a state-of-the-art E-Sports Arena for competitive gaming and events.
• Preservation Services Archiving and documenting videogame history through digital archives of documents and software, industry veteran interviews, and physical archive of gaming artifacts in a dedicated warehouse facility.
• NVM Seal Certification awarded to games that prioritize fun, are family-friendly, and demonstrate truth in marketing. Launched by the museum in 2020.
• Scholarship Programs Five scholarship opportunities for high school graduates and undergraduates pursuing careers in gaming or technology-based fields, including Texas resident scholarships, Amie Dansby Women in Technology Awards, and Gearbox Gives Scholarship.
• Virtual Tour Program A 30+ minute guided video tour of the museum hosted by one of the founders, plus a 15+ minute Zoom call, designed for classrooms and educational groups located outside the local area.
• Field Trips Educational field trip experiences for students including museum access, arcade tokens, activity worksheets, and group discounts for 16 or more students.
• Birthday Party Hosting Private party hosting with a party room, museum access, arcade tokens, a special-edition NVM t-shirt, and a personal party host for up to 20 guests.
• Event Hosting Private event hosting for corporate gatherings, team-building events, and special occasions, with guided museum tours and free parking.
• Pokémon Exhibit Exhibit created in collaboration with Leonhart and Rare Candy featuring nearly three decades of Pokémon history, memorabilia, trading cards, video games, and rare collector's items.
• TurboGrafx-16 Exhibit Exhibit dedicated to the TurboGrafx-16 and its Japanese counterpart PC Engine, featuring original console models, rare games, and information about the platform's mascot Bonk.

Quantifiable outcome

• One-of-a-kind artifact acquisition: The museum acquired the Sony MSF-1 (Nintendo PlayStation prototype), described as the oldest known existing Nintendo PlayStation hardware prototype and believed to be the only unit in existence.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered notable and minor.

• LeonhartnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2024Leonhart collaborated with the National Videogame Museum to create a Pokemon exhibit chronicling nearly three decades of Pokemon history, memorabilia, and rare collector's items. The exhibit features trading cards, video games, and unique treasures curated in partnership with Leonhart and Rare Candy.
• Rare CandynotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2024Rare Candy partnered with the National Videogame Museum to co-create the Pokemon exhibit, contributing memorabilia, rare collector's items, and Pokemon-related artifacts for display at the museum.
• Play Frisco – Parks & RecreationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 May 2024Play Frisco – Parks & Recreation partnered with the National Videogame Museum for the 2024 National Scavenger Hunt Day event. Treasure chests were hidden at Frisco Commons Park containing NVM tickets, souvenir pins, and arcade tokens.
• Nerdvana RestaurantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNerdvana Restaurant provides a 10% discount to National Videogame Museum members, as listed among membership benefits. This is a discount partnership rather than a revenue-sharing arrangement.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Strong National Museum of Play: Rochester, NY-based museum dedicated to the history and exploration of play, housing the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the World Video Game Hall of Fame; directly comparable as a play- and video-game-focused museum with educational programming, exhibits, and a national draw.
• Video Game History Foundation: Non-profit dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games through archival work, research, and public programming; directly comparable as a non-profit preservation-focused peer with overlapping mission and digital-archival activities.

Regional players

• National Videogame Museum (UK): Sheffield, UK-based videogame museum preserving and exhibiting gaming history with interactive displays; comparable in concept and name, but serves a UK/European audience rather than the U.S. market.
• The Game Museum: Italy-based interactive videogame museum featuring playable exhibits and arcade machines spanning multiple eras; comparable in hands-on museum concept, but operates in a European market.
• Nintendo Museum: Kyoto, Japan-based museum operated by Nintendo showcasing the company's product history and interactive exhibits; comparable as a videogame-focused museum with interactive displays, but serves Japanese/international visitors rather than U.S. audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Living Computers: Museum + Labs: Seattle-based museum dedicated to making computing technology accessible through interactive exhibits including vintage hardware; comparable as a hands-on tech-heritage museum, though broader in scope than videogames specifically.
• Computer History Museum: Mountain View, CA-based museum covering the broader history of computing and technology, including gaming and consumer electronics; comparable as a larger, well-funded tech-history museum with interactive exhibits and a national/international audience.
• The National Museum of Computing: UK-based museum at Bletchley Park covering the history of computing from WWII to the present; comparable as a preservation and exhibition institution for computing history with educational programming.

Others

• Midwest Gaming Classic: Annual gaming convention and expo in the U.S. Midwest featuring playable retro arcade and console setups; comparable as a community-driven gaming-history event but operates as a recurring expo rather than a permanent museum.
• Classic Game Fest: U.S.-based retro-gaming festival with playable classic arcade and console setups and gaming-history showcases; comparable as a community engagement and preservation touchpoint for the same target audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nvmusa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NationalVideogameMuseum
• Facebookfacebook.com/nvmusa
• Instagraminstagram.com/nvmusa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Videogame Museum