Meet the North Texan who is the "Indiana Jones of Video Games"

Denton's Patrick Scott Patterson ramps up his mission to both preserve and educate others on video game history
By: PatrickScottPatterson.com
 
DENTON, Texas - March 8, 2017 - PRLog -- Metroplex native Patrick Scott Patterson is ramping up his efforts as the "Indiana Jones of video games."  The 6'4" ex-pro wrestler is on a mission to rescue as many artifacts from the video game world as possible, all while working to educate the public of the history and heritage of what he considers a great American entertainment artform.

The 41-year-old North Texas native first fell in love with video games in 1981 after he encountered a Pac-Man machine in a Garland laundromat. But his enjoyment of video games didn't stop there. He wanted to know everything there was to know about them, taking to researching the industry while it was still new to the world.

Today, Patterson works full-time as a Video Game Advocate, historian and preservationist. Over the past several years, he has spoken at live events across the country, appeared in a wide array of video game documentary films and produced a considerable amount of online content, all focused on educating the public about the history of the industry.

More recently, Patterson has extended his interests into directly capturing vintage items from all eras of video gaming's storied history.  From video game consoles to vintage magazines to everyone's favorite old game cartridges, Patterson has been bouncing all over North Texas to rescue every item he can.

"What most people don't realize is that the majority of old video game stuff has already been thrown out and destroyed," he notes. "We live in a disposable society where a shocking amount of this stuff goes out during spring cleanings and when kids go off to college. As a result, a lot of these items have become harder and harder to find and many are even in danger of running out."

Patterson estimates he has personally rescued well over 500 video game consoles along with an untold number of games and accessories. Last fall, he made international headlines by uncovering four prototypes for the unreleased Nintendo Game Boy game Akira, based on the popular Japanese manga film. Earlier this year, he made headlines again, this time for turning up rare gaming items in an abandoned RV on the outskirts of Denton.

"I've found stashes of this stuff in all kinds of places," Patterson added. "From multi-million dollar homes to old storage sheds, I never know where I'll get a call from next. A lot of the time, the owners of these places know they have old games in there, but they don't know where, so I just dive right in."

What Patterson does with his finds and rescues depends on the individual items. Some items go into an archive project he's started up, while other items are resold so he can self-fund his continuing efforts. But it's also not all for the Fortune and the Glory, so to speak. A portion of his finds and proceeds go to Operation Supply Drop, a Veteran's non-profit that provides video games to soldiers recovering in miltary hospitals across the country.  He also works to be environmentally concious, refusing to throw anything he's recovered away.

"You could say I'm running a no-kill shelter for old video games over here," Patterson stated. "Even if something is in bad shape, it can still be used for parts to fix another old game console. On the rare occasion where I can nothing with an item, I'll have it recycled properly. The idea is to keep this out of landfills for both preservational efforts and because they aren't a good thing to put in the earth."

Now, with spring cleaning season right around the corner, Patterson says he is ramping up his video game treasure seeking efforts. From Atari and ColecoVision to the Xbox and Nintendo Wii, Patterson feels every item is important to preserve as much as possible.

"If people don't want that stuff anymore, other people will, or it can be used to teach about the history of this wonderful history.  People forget that video games were an American invention, and they've shaped entertainment and the arts for decades now. That deserves to be celebrated, and if it means I have to gather up every unwanted game in town, I'll happily work to do so. They belong in a museum, not in the trash."

Among the items Patterson already has leads on this week include vintage Nintendo 64 games and two special Xbox consoles used within the industry to develop games for release to the general public.

More on Patrick Scott Patterson's efforts can be seen on his website at http://www.PatrickScottPatterson.com and on his Verified Twitter account @OriginalPSP.

If interested in doing a story on Patterson's efforts, reply to this e-mail or call him directly at (940) 231-1211.

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Patrick Scott Patterson
info@patrickscottpatterson.com
(940) 231-1211
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Source:PatrickScottPatterson.com
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Tags:Patrick Scott Patterson, Video Games, Nintendo
Industry:Entertainment
Location:Denton - Texas - United States
Subject:Projects
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