Archives Legitimize Video‑Game Culture

When national archives and registries formally preserve videogame music and assets, they do more than store files: they confer cultural legitimacy and shift what counts as 'worthy' heritage. That institutional endorsement changes funding, scholarship, museum programming, and public narratives about games' artistic status. — This matters because institutional canonization (Library of Congress, national registries, museums) accelerates videogames' transition from niche entertainment to recognized cultural artifacts, altering preservation policy and cultural education priorities.