clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

A tour of Montreal's Game On exhibition

Play through gaming history in Montreal

By Brian Crecente

Earlier this year, Ubisoft teamed up with the Montreal Science Centre to host a fascinating and fun look at the history of video games. I happened to be vacationing nearby last week and decided to take my son for a visit.

The exhibit includes more than 100 games, most of them playable on their original machines. That means you get a chance to play coin-op games in stand-up and sit down cabinets, waggle ancient joysticks and even type your way through a text adventure or two.

Along the way you're also likely to find out a lot about the birth and growth of video games as well as a tiny bit about how games are made.

I highly recommend taking a tour of the show, if you're in Montreal. Where else can you play the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the same museum exhibit where you can check out Oculus Rift demos?

Below you'll find a small gallery of photos from the exhibit.

  • Game On runs until Sept. 13.
  • The world's first coin-op arcade game was not playable at the show.
  • Pong was released to arcades about a year after Computer Space.
  • The prototype for the Magnavox Odyssey.
  • The exhibit's early works opened up into an arcade.
  • Tristan discovers I don't actually suck at all games.
  • There were more than a dozen coin-op machines on free play.
  • Every arcade in the '80s everywhere.
  • The original Japanese name for Pac-Man.
  • Who knew Puck Man had counter-attacks?
  • Unfortunately, this was out of order.
  • A projection TV let you try out a mix of console titles.
  • The rooms included displays of consoles along with game to play on them.
  • The Sinclair ZX Spectrum and games.
  • The Telejogo 2 was released in Brazil in 1978.
  • The Nintendo Family Computer.
  • A Magnavox Odyssey.
  • The Commodore 64.
  • An assortment of gaming magazines.
  • Pokemon has its own room.
  • Pokemon games, toys and kitchenware were on display as well.
  • Pokemon movie posters.
  • Original design art for Pokemon.
  • Some of the original Dragon's Lair art and cels.
  • Colors detailed for Dragon's Lair cel.
  • Colors detailed for Dragon's Lair cel.
  • Early Game Freak magazines.
  • Game Freak.
  • The original box art for The Sims.
  • Spore art and boxes.
  • Console, arcade and PC gamers.
  • Collection of table top video games.
  • Some handhelds on display.
  • A table of playable handhelds.
  • Turns out today's teens like text adventures too!
  • GTA 3 had an interesting making of section.
  • GTA 3 promos, shwag and articles.
  • Early storyboard for GTA 3 missions.
  • Some of the music from a variety of games.
  • Kids spent as much time watching as playing.
  • Cube of first-person shooters.
  • All of the rooms were packed with playable games.
  • Steel Battalion included its monstrous controller, but no foot pedals.
  • Early VR.
  • Early VR.
  • So long and thanks for all of the dots.


Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for Patch Notes

A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon