July 8 is National Video Game Day — a day to celebrate the timeless joy video games have brought to the masses for decades.
And at the National Videogame Museum in Frisco, it's an opportunity to learn more about their history — and to earn some extended game play.
The museum is home to all kinds of interactive exhibits that take visitors through the world of gaming from its humble beginnings with the Atari and NES to the modern day.
Along the way, visitors are encouraged to try various gaming systems and consoles firsthand (one of the first things that greets visitors is a giant game of Pong).
At the end of the museum is an '80s style arcade, full of classics like Pac-Man, Punch Out, Frogger and Donkey Kong.
And in honor of National Video Game Day, the museum is giving visitors three times the number of the game tokens that typically come with your paid admission.
Museum Director John Hardie says video games have never been more popular — and he doesn't see that slowing down anytime soon.
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"A lot of this popularity is fueled by that nostalgia," Hardie said. "But also there's a lot to be said for the classic games. Some of these games like Galaga and Ms. Pac Man, these are enduring hits that today, if you put those games on a route somewhere, they'd still make money — just because they're good solid games."
The National Videogame Museum is located inside the Frisco Discovery Center near the Dallas North Tollway and Cotton Gin Road.
