The National Videogame Museum Receives Over £25,000 Donation from Evercade Charity Cartridge

The donations from Blaze Entertainment are generated from the sales of The Oliver Twins Collection for Evercade, released in 2020 in conjunction with The Oliver Twins and Codemasters with all profits being donated.

Following the impact of the pandemic, the donations have helped the National Videogame Museum during this difficult period to help continue its work highlighting, educating, and preserving the work of the UK videogames industry.

Over 18 months ago, Blaze Entertainement made the first donation to the National Videogame Museum from the profits of The Oliver Twins Collection cartridge. Exclusively for Evercade, this collection in conjunction with Codemasters and The Oliver Twins, helped to raise much needed funds for the museum in Sheffield during the difficulties of the pandemic restrictions.

Blaze Entertainement is delighted to share that following the conclusion of the cartridge's availability, over £25,000 has now been donated to the museum to help continue its important work in allowing anyone and everyone to experience the past, present and future of this incredible industry.

The National Videogame Museum and Blaze share a common goal with the Evercade platform in allowing people of any age to easily experience the games that inspired and enthralled generations of fans and future game developers, helping to mould the video game industry into the behemoth it is today.

But it also allows people to connect with their own nostalgia, to own a piece of that history without the cost of collecting and help many to feel that they have a bit of their youth and gaming history preserved, many of whom share with their own children. The National Videogame Musuem's own work with preservation and education allows families, children and anyone visiting the museum to do exactly the same with their collections, exhibitions and workshops.

“The pandemic hit everyone very hard in a lot of industries and charitable organisations,” said Andrew Byatt, Managing Director of Blaze Entertainement. “We're delighted that we've been able to help the continued work and preservation of The National Videogame Museum with these donations. And that the Evercade fans revisiting The Oliver Twins Collection can know they too played their part in helping the museum to continue its mission.”

“This donation is an important gift that will directly support the unique work The National Videogame Museum does, to preserve, exhibit and tell the story of videogames in the UK,” said John O'Shea, Creative Director and co-CEO if the National Videogame Musuem.

“We are especially pleased that this initiative comes through collaboration between The Oliver Twins and Blaze Entertainment: The Dizzy games are star objects in our collection in Sheffield, and the Evercade platform shares in our mission, enabling new generations of players to experience the joy of classic videogames.”

The Evercade is a retro gaming device available in both handheld and console form, which features licensed collections of games from publishers on a physical bespoke cartridge. With over 35 collections available featuring games from over 5 decades of the industry, across multiple platforms, arcades and home computers, it enables gamers to simply insert their cartridge and play without difficulty. Evercade brings back the classic gaming experience with its physical collections, full colour manuals and bespoke cartridges.

The NVM is run by the BGI, a registered charity (#1183530) that educates the public about the art, science, history, and technology of videogames. The NVM celebrates videogame culture and allows the public to play most of its exhibits, which include over 100 games consoles, arcade machines and other interactive experiences, including games designed exclusively for the Museum. The Museum holds one of the UK's largest collections of nearly 5,000 videogame objects, arcade machines, technology, game memorabilia, and ephemera. Formerly the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, the Museum has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, including hundreds of school visits, since it opened in 2016. The Museum presents a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions including the recently launched 'The Art of Play' that reveals the art, creativity and people behind five UK-made videogames (including The Oliver Twins' Dizzy).

For more details about the NVM, please visit http://www.thenvm.org.

Evercade Home Computer Cartridge Example

NOTES

• The Oliver Twins Collection was released in 2020 with support from The Oliver Twins, Codemasters, and features the games of one of the UK's most important historical gaming characters - Dizzy.
  
• Evercade VS home console systems are currently available worldwide from Amazon and other local retailers.
  
• Evercade EXP handheld gaming system will be available from November 24th, with pre-orders now open globally.
  
• Evercade Handheld (original) is now discontinued and will feature a final firmware update by the end of 2022 for compatibility with future releases.
  
• The home computer line is coloured blue to distinguish it from home console (red) and arcade (purple) cartridge collections already available
  
• The first home computer collection, THEC64 Collection 1, will be available to purchase from November 4th and is available to pre-order now.
  
• Evercade devices play games via emulation on bespoke cartridges. There are currently 37 collections available or to be released before 2023.
  
• Evercade emulates a wide range of systems and highlights modern retro games created by indie developers, with support for five decades of gaming.
  
• The Oliver Twins Collection, is now a legacy collection following the end of its license peroid, with final donations now completed to The NVM.