The video game industry has always been about forward movement, creating new experiences that push the boundaries of technology and imagination. However, an equally important aspect is preserving its history. This was highlighted during a talk at the History of Games 2024 conference by Jaroslav Švelch, who spoke about British game developer and journalist Mel Croucher. Croucher, known for his innovative games in the early 1980s and later a career in journalism, was a prominent figure in an industry trade paper known as Computer Trade Weekly (CTW).
During his investigative research, Švelch came to realize a significant gap in the historical records. Despite its pivotal role in the video games industry during the 1980s and beyond, there is an alarming lack of archives for CTW. The earliest issues, especially those published before 1994, are missing from major collections like the British Library and the National Archive. This realization prompted Švelch to seek help from the community at large, understanding the importance of these documents not just for academics but for the industry's collective memory.
The missing archives of CTW provide invaluable insights into the gaming industry of the past. Each issue contained industry news, sales charts, insights on pricing, and rare photographs, providing context and understanding of the market dynamics during that era. Preserving such information is crucial for current and future generations to understand the evolution of the video gaming landscape. Unfortunately, despite repeated searches in expected repositories like the Internet Archive and SegaRetro, there seems to be a significant void where these issues should have been preserved.
The search for CTW archives raises interesting questions about preservation and the role of various community stakeholders in maintaining industry history. At the History of Games conference, discussions highlighted the divide between academic researchers, the specialist press, registered preservation groups, and hobbyist fans. Each group brings a unique perspective and uses different methods, but they all converge on the importance of saving these historical documents.
Academics like Dr. Poppy Wilde from Birmingham City University emphasize that while academic research is essential, the efforts of fans and hobbyists in preserving and curating are equally significant. Their grassroots efforts often fill gaps left by formal institutions. For instance, fan-based archives have sometimes provided the only available sources for researchers like Richard Sherriff, who has used such materials to correlate historical sales data with industry trends.
The challenge now is to locate these missing issues before they deteriorate beyond usability. Anyone who might have copies stored away, perhaps forgotten in an attic or buried in a storage unit, is urged to come forward. Similarly, those who know others who might have access to early issues of CTW are encouraged to spread the word. Preserving these papers will provide more than just a nostalgic trip down memory lane; they contain data and insights crucial for understanding past market trends, player preferences, and industry strategies that shaped what the video game industry has become today.
The campaign to find and digitize old issues of Computer Trade Weekly is not just about saving pieces of paper. It's about maintaining a complete picture of the video game industry's history, ensuring that valuable lessons and stories from the past remain accessible for future innovators, historians, and enthusiasts. This collaborative effort between fans, academics, and industry veterans underscores the shared responsibility to keep the history of video gaming vibrant and intact. This initiative serves as a reminder of the critical, ongoing need to document and preserve our digital past for the enrichment of future explorations into video game history. If you have the capability to assist in this endeavor, your contribution could be pivotal in bridging the historical gaps of an industry that continues to captivate and inspire millions around the world.
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