Tom Coburn, Senator of Oklahama, decided to throw his hat into the ring claiming that the use of federal money to preserve video games is wasteful (as indicated by his list of annual spending).
“According to the grant notification, the $113,277 in federal funds will be used to ―conduct a detailed conservation survey of approximately 6,900 of the 17,000 e-games in [the museum‘s] collection to determine the current condition of both the physical artifacts and their virtual content. The study is designed to ―better position the museum to make its International Center for the History of Electronic Games collection available to visitors, researchers, and a broad public audience by providing images, videos of e-game play, and interpretation of the collection via exhibits and the Online Collections feature of its Web site. Admission to the museum costs an adult $13.”
Coburn seems to think that $100,000 is more then just a tiny drop in a trillion dollar ocean, and is intent on showcasing the future of video gaming as nothing more then unwarranted. After all is said and done, Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress had this to say regarding the issue:
“…just because video games are comparatively new doesn’t mean that they’re not worth studying. There’s technology there that’s applicable elsewhere. There’s interesting storytelling and visual art. And if nothing else, there’s the question of what it was that fueled a big industry and took up a lot of Americans’ time. That all sounds like a pretty reasonable use of $113,277.”
