ICHEG Receives $500K Grant; Planning Conferences, Fellowships

The International Center for the History of Electronic Games has received a $500,000 grant from Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, to continue the organization's growth and development. The money will allow the organization to plan scholarly and public conferences as well as fellowships for game studies scholars, in addition to supporting the group's current efforts to collect and preserve video game memorabilia and papers at Rochester, New York's Strong Museum of Play. The organization is also planning a game-themed issue of The Strong's American Journal of Play quarterly publication, expand online access to its digital collections and create new interactive exhibits. "We are proud to support The Strong and its Play Partners because of the important role the institution plays in enhancing the quality of life in upstate New York,” Zeke Duda, Excellus BCBS senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement. ICHEG has previously received a grant of over $100,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to support its game preservation efforts. The ICHEG collection includes collected papers from Magnavox Odyssey creator Ralph Baer, SimCity creator Will Wright and M.U.L.E. creator Dani Bunten Berry, as well as donated magazines and items from gaming press outlet 1UP and Gamasutra sister publication Game Developer magazine.