OXO, a museum to preserve the history of video games, opens in Madrid

OXO, named after what many consider the first video game in history, is linked to the pieces of a program inspired by the classic tic-tac-toe. Developed by Alexander S. Douglas in 1952 for the EDSAC computer, the first operational computer capable of storing electronic programs, this game was designed at the University of Cambridge, long before other classics like 'Tennis for Two' (William Higginbotham, 1958) or the well-known 'Pong' (Atari, 1972) arrived.

It makes sense, then, that Spain's first Video Game Museum, which opened in Málaga early last year, would take its initials. These crosses and circles will also name the Madrid branch of the museum, which opens its doors this Thursday in the city centre.

This Monday, Santiago Bustamante, head of 'Fallo de sistema', Radio 3's culture and technology program and cultural director of OXO, mentioned that video games have been leading a "silent revolution" for some time, conquering spaces previously dedicated entirely to "so-called high culture." "We are like Indiana Jones," he continued, "who saw a cross and said: 'That belongs in a museum.' We see the Oddysey, Lara Croft, 'Halo' or 'Zelda' and think the same."

And that museum is precisely in Callao, in the iconic building that once housed the La Central bookstore (entry costs 21 euros). With over 1,600 square meters, the building hosts on its first floor the permanent exhibition, a corner dedicated to narrating the seventy-year history of a young medium, deeply linked to technological advances, which has left a mark on popular culture and art and has become a form of entertainment for millions of players.

Explanatory panels detail the history of video games, their creators, the systems that hosted them, and their cultural connections, alongside machines ready for anyone to play solo or with company. From a corner dedicated to Ralph Baer, the father of video games, responsible for those early machines that connected to TVs via antenna and housed various versions of the paddle and ball game, to the different storage systems - cartridge, cassette, floppy disk, or CD-Rom - the emergence of three dimensions, the internet, mobile devices - there's a giant Nokia snake game available to play - or virtual reality.

There are spaces dedicated to the Odyssey, the first console in history with interchangeable game cartridges; Atari, the company behind the famous Atari 2600, the 8-bit computers - Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore, and MSX - through which thousands in our country entered the world of electronic entertainment in the eighties, or the arrival of the personal computer as a powerful gaming machine, with a space dedicated to ID Software and its legendary 'Doom'.

OXO alternates its consoles and computers with a corner that turns the museum into a full arcade with machines like 'Tetris', 'Pac-Man', 'Street Fighter II Champion Edition', or 'Out Run', but above all, it leaves ample space for the major companies in the sector: Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. From the first, we find everything from the NES, with titles like the legendary 'Super Mario Bros.', to the GameCube, passing through its successful handhelds, with GameBoy at the forefront, or failed systems like the Virtual Boy. There's even a section dedicated to the fierce console war between the Super Nintendo and Sega's Mega Drive.

From the latter, the museum boasts various PlayStation models, but on the second floor, primarily dedicated to temporary exhibitions, a showcase has opened that will review until September 14, 2025, the legacy of Sony's iconic console in a tribute to the 30 years the brand has been with us. Titles like 'Crash Bandicoot', 'Silent Hill', 'Metal Gear Solid', 'Tomb Raider', 'Uncharted', or the more recent 'Astro Bot' are available for all those who wish to visit an exhibition featuring a giant PlayStation pad to play the legendary 'Tony Hawk'.

But OXO's role, with an entry fee of 21 euros, seems not to end here. Bustamante assures that the venue "aspires to be a living museum, a cultural institution that organizes all kinds of talks and activities."