History

Arcade-History
A coin-operated game database with more than 25,000 machines featuring pictures and information.
http://www.arcade-history.com

Armchair Arcade
Classic and modern computer and videogame online publication.
http://www.armchairarcade.com/

The Armchair Empire
Find discussion about a number of classic video games from a wide range of games.
http://www.armchairempire.com/classic_gaming.htm

A Brief History of Home Video Games
The history of home video games with essays concerning the industry and its players. Covers the industry until 1996.
http://www.geekcomix.com/vgh/

Brookhaven 1958 Video Game
The first video game may have been developed at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1958. William Higinbotham designed Tennis for Two for a laboratory visitors day.
http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/videogame.html

Bubble Bobble HQ
A site dedicated to Taito's Bubble Bobble series of games. Includes a media collection and detailed game guides showing all the games secrets.
http://bubblebobblehq.110mb.com

Chronology of Video Game Systems
Timeline of events tracing the history of video games, including standalone arcade machines, TV games and handheld game machines.
http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vidgame/

Classic Arcade Gaming
Classic Arcade Gaming chronicles the history of the golden age of coin-op video gaming including the games, players, contests, and scores.
http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/

Classic BASIC Games
Collection of classic MS BASIC games and a BASIC Interpreter compatible with BASIC circa 1979.
http://awsoftware.org/classiccomputing.htm

Classic Gaming: The History of Computer Gaming Part 1
Part one of this multi-part history features William Higinbotham who created the first game: Tennis for 2. With photographs and audio clip.
http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/computergaminghistory/

Classic Home Video Games Museum
Devoted to video games made from 1972 to 1987.
http://gamesmuseum.h-body.org/

Classic Retro Games
Directory of quality full versions of freeware retro remakes and ports.
http://www.classic-retro-games.com

Classic Videogame Station Odyssey
Japanese videogame history including cartoons.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/cvs/odyssey/

Computer Gaming World Museum
Dedicated to the preservation and presentation of the first 100 issues (1981-1992) of Computer Gaming World magazine, the first magazine devoted exclusively to computer games.
http://cgw.vintagegaming.org

Computerspiele Museum
German site on a gaming museum located in Berlin. Offers information on projects and press coverage.
http://www.computerspielemuseum.de/

Crates and barrels
This is about crates and barrels in videogames.
http://www.arminbwagner.com/crates_and_barrels/

culturalstudies behind the videogame
The story of the videogames as a cultural media, the analysis of the influence between the videogame, the cinema and the social interaction.
http://culturavg.altervista.org/

Dangerous Dann's Museum of Video History
A site about various memorabilia around video games.
http://www.gamearchive.com/Video_Games/Danger_Dan/

The Dot Eaters: Videogame History 101
The history of videogames, from arcade, home consoles and computers. Includes pictures and audio files, as well as text covering the history of major machines and games.
http://www.thedoteaters.com

Dragon's Lair
Complete Dragon's Lair and Space Ace games collection, including music, collectibles, video, goodies and books.
http://www.dragonslairfans.com/

Flat Batteries
Promotes video games as an art form worthy of respect as a valuable part of culture.
http://www.flatbatteries.com/

Gallery of Undiscovered Entities
The GUE is a repository of information, packaging pictures, and disk images of lesser-known computer games of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
http://gue.vintagegaming.org

Game Collectors Finland
Suomen tietokonepelien, videopelien, konsolipelien ja peliautomaattien keräilijöiden mekka.
http://www.gamecollectors.info

Game Downloads
Huge archive of reviewed abandonware, freeware and shareware games.
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/

Game Grandpas
Covering many systems from the Atari 2600 to the PS2.
http://ryangenno.tripod.com/

1980 games - Old online video and arcade games for free
Old video and arcade games online for free. Pacman, Mario Bros Donkey kong, Space Invaders, and Frogger. Emulators on site.
http://www.1980-games.com/us/

Games Implosion
Features a discussion forum area. Information about video game systems, video games, controllers and repair.
http://www.freewebs.com/gamesimplosion/

GameSpot: History of Video Games
A history of personal video games from 1889 to 2001.
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/

Gotcha
Gives out awards to the best "golden age" computer games. Also includes information, images, reviews, and collectables.
http://gotcha.classicgaming.gamespy.com/

Great Game Database
Arcade and video games, technical information and related memorabilia from the classic era through the neoclassic.
http://www.ggdb.com/

Guinness Book Coin-Op High Scores 1986-1997
Contains the Guinness Book Coin Operated Video Game High Scores and behind the scenes information behind these scores.
http://spyhunter007.com

Halcyon Days
Halcyon days includes interviews with classic computer and video game programmers
http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/

Intellivision Classic Videogame Website
A journey through the classic system Intellivision.
http://www.intellivisionlives.com/

Jammajup
Coin-op collection based in the UK. PLUS repairlogs, useful information, author's personal high scores since 1980, videogame polls, jammajup quiz, and links.
http://www.jammajup.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Lee's PeeknPoke
General arcade and console emulation site.
http://peeknpoke.emuunlim.com/newsitems.htm

The Lost Patrol Webshrine
Website zu Ocean Software`s Klassiker von 1990 für Amiga und AtariST.
http://thelostpatrol.knagge.com/

Lucasarts Museum
Chronicles all things related to the classic Lucasart's adventure games.
http://lucasarts.vintagegaming.org

The making of the Camel Trophy Videogame
A behind-the-scenes story of the making of the "Camel Trophy Video game" for the ZX Spectrum in 1985.
http://www.rescogita.com/cvg/cvgfeature_en_01.php

MobyGames
An online database of the PC entertainment software industry's products from 1982 to present. Includes game descriptions, screenshots, boxcovers, reviews, trivia, links and ratings.
http://mobygames.com/

NintendoLand
Contains history of Nintendo and technical specifications about the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and Nintendo 64. Also offers reviews, game secrets, online games and message boards.
http://www.nintendoland.com

Oilzine.com
The history of the two pillars, pong and asteroids, of the home gaming market.
http://www.oilzine.com/features/features_details.asp?ID=49

The Old Computer Dot Com
Includes forums, a museum, ROMs, retro shop, magazines, libraries, news, and a hall of fame. Emulators listed are Atari, Nintendo, C64, Colecovision, Amiga, Spectrum, Plus4, Vic20, Vectrex, MSX, Bios, and Sega Master System.
http://www.theoldcomputer.com/

Phosphor Dot Fossils
Classic arcade video game history.
http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/

Pong to Pacman
Contains information on the creators of such great games like pong and pacman. Covers the history of video games from 1975 through the mid eighties.
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pong.html

Retro Experience
Play Retro Games, also have a look at the Atari St and Sega Megadrive Games Archives (including screenshots, reviews and box cover art).
http://www.retro-experience.co.uk

Retro Games Blog
A website dedicated to retro and vintage computer games and their influence on modern day computer gaming.
http://www.retrogamesblog.co.uk

Retro View
Tips, cheats, reviews, high scores and discussion of classic video games.
http://www.mameworld.net/retroview/

RetroBase.de - Videogame preservation since Feb. 2002
Covers Atari 5200, 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, ColecoVision, Vectrex, Intellivision, PC-Engine aka Turbo Grafx 16, Super Nintendo (SNES), Sega Game Gear, Mega Drive aka Genesis, SG-1000, Neo Geo and NG.
http://www.retrobase.de

RF Generation
Collects information related to video games. Consoles range from the Magnavox Odyssey to the Xbox 360.
http://www.rfgeneration.com

Screens Edge
A museum dedicated to preserving pixel artwork from the first 25 years of home computer and video games. Specializes in the 3 main home computer formats of the 1980's: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.
http://www.zxscreens.i12.com/zxscreens/

SPOnG.com
Containing news, screenshots, summaries and details of developers and publishers, plus competitions, charts, trivia, tips, FAQs, and walkthroughs.
http://spong.com/

The Stairway To Hell
Archive of software released for the Acorn range of 8-bit home computers. BBC Micro Games, Acorn Electron games, BBC Micro Emulation and BBC Emulators with reviews, scans, music mp3, mags, instructions and documentation.
http://www.stairwaytohell.com/

Supercade
A book that illustrates and documents the history, legacy, and visual language of the videogame phenomenon.
http://www.supercade.com/

The Super-Kaga Computer Museum
Photo gallery of consoles, arcade games and computers. Reviews of movies that feature computers and computer games. Downloadable retro gaming wallpaper.
http://computermuseum.bigpondhosting.com/

TheCan.Org
Read, enjoy and contribute accounts of computer, video and online games that were cancelled or otherwise lost, precious, before release.
http://thecan.org/

Twin Galaxies
Official scorekeeper for the world of video game and pinball playing since the early 1980s.
http://www.twingalaxies.com

The Video Game Museum
An online video game museum with screenshots, scans, music, ads and reviews.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/

Video Games 101 - Video Games
Video game system information with a focus on Tomb Raider.
http://www.videogames101.net

Visionnet - Retrogaming
Online gaming library of all common consoles, handhelds and homecomputers.
http://www.visionnet.nl/

VOGONS - Very Old Games On New Systems
A forum about how to get older games to run on newer computers.
http://vogons.zetafleet.com/

Zzapback: The Future is Retro
Information about classic games and computer magazines. Focus on Newsfield title: Zzap!64.
http://www.zzapback.com