Smithsonian games exhibit draws 686,000 attendees

I went to this. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be but still pretty cool nonetheless

cant wait till they add the next chapter: the video game crash of 2013...

Well it's a good thing they started such an exhibit now, too bad it's on the tale end of the era of lesser evils compared to the content that finds it's way in too many video games.

So roughly over 100k visitors a month. Is that good compared to their other exhibits?

The number isn't great but it isn't terrible either. The Smithsonian can attract upwards to 30 million visitors a year so...if you compare it to that number yeah it's not great. But considering the newness and vague 'validity' a lot of non-gamers feel towards video games, the number isn't shocking either. That said, a lot of groups in DC, university clubs and Video Games Live teamed up with the exhibit, which makes it awesome to this gamer.

In comparison to... what?

600,000..... is that "under performing" , average or great? I wish they gave an example to compare it to as I have no idea as to the actual numbers museum exibits bring.

This could be a success story or a fail.

If i was a member of the White House, I'd probably get a free pass at this

If I wasn't so far away I would go in a heartbeat.

Can't wait for this to come to the Northwest.

To be more specific, like in the Rennaissance for example, historians could examine the paintings and sculptures to conclude that Europe was Christian during that time and was culturally influenced by the ancient Greeks. They could also tell by examining artwork the political environment and concerns of different civilizations. But video games are so stuck in their own fantasy universes that one cannot discern anything about a civilization by looking at videogames. They are truly void of any cultural relevance whatsoever, and their obsessively sexual and violent content make them not only meaningless, but near-pornographic.

it was poorly constructed, you guys didnt miss anything, a ign "best of list" is more satisfying than this exhibit was.

They have a great idea but the museum lacks a lot of video game systems that were released. For a museum such as the Smithsonian you would think that they would contain every video game system ever created. Shoot! My video game system collection is bigger than theirs. However, it is a great start and I hope that they soon take care of that.

i would love to go see it

I went, took pics. It was great to see games in the same museum as other great Americana, but the way the exhibit was constructed kind of sucked.

If this is at all the same as the one that was going on in DC months ago, it really isn't all that exciting, and is a very small section. My brother went there and took pictures.

What a disgrace! This exhibit devalues the Smithsonian institution and art itself. Video games are not art because they have no cultural relevance, and a lot of games are too obsessed with violence and sex to be taken seriously as forms of art. I enjoy games for what they are: toys. No more, no less.

Umm the attendance for the Smithsonian Art of Videogames exihibit is almost the same as the city I live in 686,000. At least that many people are interested in the art of Games.

Would be nice if they mentioned what games were on display... that was the whole point of reading this article for me...

It would be good to know which 80 games they were.

Damn--that should have been 686,407. I was just in DC and at the Smith! Didn't see it advertised anywhere but I didn't go to the Art building. I'll have to catch it on the road. Here are the next locations for the exhibit:

--Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida (through January 20, 2013)

--EMP Museum in Seattle, Washington (February 16, 2013–May 13, 2013)

--Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona (June 16, 2013–September 29, 2013)

--Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York (October 25, 2013–January 19, 2014)

--Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York (February 15, 2014–May 18, 2014)

--Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio (June 19, 2014–September 28, 2014)

--Flint Institute of Arts in Flint, Michigan (October 25, 2014–January 18, 2015)

--Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia (February 13, 2015–May 10, 2015)

--Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, Tennessee (June 6, 2015–September 13, 2015)

--The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami, Florida (October 9, 2015–January 25, 2016)

they had an exhibit just like this in Portland Or, it was video game heaven...

you only paid $7 bucks & could play on arcade & other video game machines, old & new games...

i went twice & made the second day my outing with my friends where we just played games all day there..

the luxury of not having to waste more money on quarters

Now that is cool, i would love to return to the Smithsonian to see more exhibits like this.

and GS, please have more articles like this !! this is good gaming news.

I live in DC now, and I can't believe I didn't go to this exhibit before it closed >_>

This is more like it, actual game related news...

The only issue I would have is "On display at the exhibit were 80 games (voted on by the public and an advisory board)". :(

Still, games getting positive attention is nice for us.

Excellent! If I had been in DC while this was going on, I would definitely have gone. Glad to see it had such a warm reception.

Ha! I was just in DC and stumbled upon this by accident. My wife said "this is cool, but you already own most of these systems".

who voted for the games? The list is absurd

This is great. The Smithsonian really is something to behold, and this adds even more to it. :)

Ironic Kojima is a part of this. Because Kojima once said "video games are not art (http://kotaku.com/150043/kojima-says-games-are-not-art), which I agree with him. Basically, what he says is that a video game is a product that entertains people.

The best way to put it is according to an example I read somewhere but forgot the person who made the original suggestion. It goes like this: a concept car is art. You don't have to know how to drive or even know what a car is to be captured by it. But the version you buy off the lot is just a product that you put gas in, drive it, and gets you to places.