Classic Arcade Preservation Society

6,451 Members (3,703 with Game Lists) -- 70 Countries

60,889 Machines -- 3,737 Different Games

PHOTO FROM MEMBER OF THE MOMENT: Hannifin, Roger of Joplin, Missouri

Visitors can sign-up for free to become a member. If you already have an account on one of our sites (ie: forums.arcade-museum.com), do not create a new one, just log in above after you have read our simple rules below. First, the acronym: VAPS is the Video Arcade Preservation Society. As an organization, VAPS has been dedicated to serving arcade game collectors since 1990. Traditionally this has meant coin-operated video game collector, though debate is currently underway for expanding this definition. The VAPS site strives to reflect that by providing collectors, collectors-to-be and enthusiasts a way to track and save physical pieces of our videogame heritage. Our member CENSUS is the oldest and leading database of coin-operated videogames holdings in collections. Currently, there are VAPS members in more than 70 countries as well as in all 50 U.S. states. VAPS has moved from its own domain of 14 years to the site of The International Arcade Museum for the mutual benefit of both sites. VAPS members receive extra benefits now, and The International Arcade Museum is able to expand VAPS' offerings to collectors of other amusement machines.

Becoming a Member:

Membership is free -- all we ask is to be loyal to the community and to treat other people as you would want to be treated yourself, and that you keep your membership profile active and current.

To become a member and remain a member, you must agree to meet the following requirements:

1. Use your real name (middle names are unneccesary and not encouraged - your uniqueness is your electronic mail address) and be honest and forthright when submitting any membership information.
2. Maintain a valid electronic mail address, and be regularly reachable there. Mail will mostly consist of semiannual audit alerts.
3. Perform self-audits of your collection as requested, semiannually. Requests may come in the form of multiple mail messages. They are not spam.
4. Own or want (that is easy) at least one working video arcade game that is listed in The International Arcade Museum or The Killer List of Video Games. (In fact, all games listed must meet that criterion.) You may list any game that is 100% working, although it is not required to have a cabinet. You may also list any videogame board sets that can be installed in under 10 minutes, resulting in a 100% working game. All games and board sets must play just like the original.
5. Identify where you live. You do not have to enter the city or town that you live, although this will help other collectors. However, you must list either your state/province (if in the US or Canada), or your country.
6. Never initiate an offer to buy another member's games. You are welcome to respond to another member's offer to sell games, however.
Refrain from contacting any member regarding a visit unless that member has explictly indicated in their VAPS entry that they are willing to do so.
7. Agree that all submitted information will become public knowledge.

It is highly recommended to check out our message forums. Additional reading includes the USENET newsgroup rec.games.video.arcade.collecting, which is full of interesting people and articles.

So, do you meet the requirements? Are you prepared to abide by them?

Structure

VAPS is controlled by the VAPS Keeper. By accepting the role of Keeper, this person gains the responsibility of maintaining all VAPS data. Beyond that, the Keeper must listen to the members of VAPS and be responsive to the members' needs.

We may be contacted at:
VAPS.ORG - The International Arcade Museum
WebMagic Technology Center
87 N. Raymond Ave. Ste 850
Pasadena, CA 91103

History

Prior to 1990

VAPS started as an informal list of dedicated collectors created by Rick Schieve.

1990 through 1994

VAPS was officially named in 1990 by Steve Ozdemir, who became the first official VAPS Keeper. Through much effort, Steve built VAPS into an organization with more than 200 members and 1300 games.

1995 to 2005

The VAPS Keeper for the decade of the Internet's rise was Kevin Ruddy. The VAPS.org domain was registered on December 1, 1994. Kevin created the web interface to VAPS, which grew the membership dramatically. To see the current size of the membership, view the membership statistics.

2006 to Present

The International Arcade Museum (IAM) and its Killer List of Vidoegames (KLOV) now serve the role of VAPS Keeper. All three organizations receive sponsorship from Greg McLemore, an avid arcade collector. In January 2009, the a number of new features were released for the benefit of VAPS members. Additionally, a member vote was taken as to whether the site should be moved from vaps.org directly onto the arcade-museum.com and klov.com framework. 89% of the voting members approved of the move. It allows for better integration with IAM online features and provides for easier future expansion.

Press and Awards

VAPS has received extensive media coverage both domestically and internationally. When we get a chance some year we will post some excepts from that coverage. Unfortunately, our files are not complete. If anyone has a copy of the Newsweek or Time article from 2002 or 2003 mentioning VAPS (or any other articles), please let us know.

16 February 1996
VAPS was selected as the Totally Awesome! site of the day.