The “Arcade Archives” series and “Arcade Archiver” have received the DIGITAL ARCHIVE JAPAN AWARD 2026

HAMSTER Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo-to, Setagaya-ku; CEO: Satoshi HAMADA) is pleased to announce that “Arcade Archives” series and the official livestream program “Arcade Archiver” have received the DIGITAL ARCHIVE JAPAN AWARD 2026 at the Digital Archive Fest 2026, held on August 25, 2026. The event was organized by the Government of Japan Cabinet Office’s Secretariat of Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters and other organizations.

About DIGITAL ARCHIVE JAPAN AWARD

The DIGITAL ARCHIVE JAPAN AWARD is presented to recognize archive institutions and users that actively contribute to the expansion and utilization of digital archives and demonstrate outstanding initiatives, in line with the Digital Archive Strategy 2026–2030. The award aims to promote awareness and encourage the broader use of digital archives by showcasing these initiatives to society at large.

• Organizer:
  Digital Archive Japan Promotion Committee and Review Committee (Secretariat of Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan)
• Selection Criteria:
  Award recipients (institutions or users) are selected based on their contributions to advancing the Digital Archive Strategy 2026–2030 and achieving its goals, evaluated from the following five perspectives:
  
  1. Promoting and facilitating the opening and utilization of digital archives in accordance with appropriate rules
  2. Contributing to infrastructure that supports communities and the formation of new social networks
  3. Disseminating local information
  4. Human resource development and public awareness
  5. Other contributions (such as actively adopting new technologies or providing new services)

Reason for Receiving the Award

“Arcade Archives” is a project by HAMSTER Corporation that brings classic arcade games back to life so they can be played on modern home video game consoles. Since its launch in 2014, more than 500 titles had been released as of June 2026. HAMSTER also jointly planned and operates “Arcade Archiver,” an official livestream program that introduces these restored games, together with Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., with the cooperation of various game developers. The project was highly praised for its continued efforts to carefully coordinate with numerous companies and individuals, as well as for its proactive collection of primary source materials, including firsthand testimonies from the original developers themselves.

About “Arcade Archives” and the official livestream program “Arcade Archiver”

“Arcade Archives” is a project that restores classic arcade games so they can be played on modern home video game consoles. The service launched on May 15, 2014, and currently offers 534 titles from 26 game manufacturers. As opportunities to play arcade games continue to become more limited, the project is working to digitally archive as many titles as possible so that they can be easily accessed and enjoyed by anyone.

In addition, the official livestream program “Arcade Archiver” is broadcast live on YouTube at 7:00 PM on the day of each Arcade Archives release. Depending on the episode, developers who worked on the games when they were originally released are invited to appear on the program, where they discuss the games while looking at development materials from that period. This initiative was launched as a joint project with Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. We currently work with various other game manufacturers as well to digitally archive valuable materials and firsthand testimonies from the developers involved in the development of these games.