The UK's first official National Videogame Archive is being launched in a bid to preserve the history of a global industry now worth an estimated £22bn.

Formed by academics at Nottingham Trent University and working in partnership with the National Media Museum in Bradford, the archive will recognise the significant contributions made by videogames to the diversity of popular culture across the globe - from the humble beginnings of 1972's 'Pong', to the blockbusters of the 21st Century.

The new archive will be housed at the National Media Museum and will be managed, steered and researched in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University's Centre for Contemporary Play. The Centre draws on academic strengths across a range of disciplines, including psychology, cultural studies, art and design and computer science. In return, the Museum will provide the best levels of care and stewardship for the archive.

In addition to a treasure trove of consoles and cartridges, the archive will collect and gather a broad range of items from across the industry. It will encompass the wider cultural phenomenon of videogames by documenting advertising campaigns, magazine reviews, artwork and the communities that sustain them.