New sites added to Registry of Historic Gaming Locations

July 27, 2012 - PRLog -- The Registry of Historic Gaming Locations, an online project aiming to catalog sites around the country that have historical importance to the development of video gaming, has added three new sites.

The converted roller skating rink that Atari used to build Pong machines has joined the list.  Based in Santa Clara, CA, Atari co-founder Ted Dabney provided information and photos for this new induction.

The former site of Williams Electronics in Chicago, IL also joins the list.  The birthplace of arcade classics such as Defender and Joust, the building is still in use today by WMS Gaming, the last remaining portion of the former coin-op powerhouse.

Also joining the list is the New York City site that published Electronic Games Magazine from 1981-1984, the first dedicated video gaming magazine sold to consumers in the United States.

"It is important that we catalog the history of these kinds of sites while we still can," said curator Patrick Scott Patterson.  "The roots of gaming industry and culture are important in understanding a great deal about the industry today."

These new additions bring the total inductee list to 28.  Previous inductees include the test locations of game titles such as Donkey Kong, the former headquarters of game companies such as Atari and Activision, filming locations of arcade scenes in movies such as Tron and WarGames and the original locations of companies such as Chuck E. Cheese and GameStop.

The full list can be found at http://www.PatrickScottPatterson.com/Locations

ABOUT PATRICK SCOTT PATTERSON - Gaming since 1981, Patrick Scott Patterson is a video gaming personality and historian currently based in Denton, TX.  He has been listed in numerous editions of the Guinness Book of World Records and featured on a variety of mainstream news sites for his contributions to video gaming history and culture.  He recently walked the red carpet during the LA premiere of 'noobz' and was given a special award for his gaming contributions by  Walter Day during the E3 Expo.

ABOUT THE REGISTRY OF HISTORIC GAMING LOCATIONS - Founded in the summer of 2011, the Registry of Historic Gaming Locations was started after Patterson visited former Atari headquarters buildings while in the Silicon Valley area.  The project has been featured in several national and international news stories including the Chicago Sun-Times and Kotaku.  In November, Patterson will be awarding the site of the first Pong machine with a plaque in a special ceremony.