Video games have become an essential part of modern entertainment in Vietnam. However, the culture of gaming on dedicated devices such as PlayStation or Xbox remains largely under-researched. Although these machines appeared in the early 2000s, they never gained widespread popularity due to the absence of official distributors and costs beyond the reach of most players (Phan 2019). As noted by McCauley et al. (2020), Vietnamese players often turn to more accessible gaming platforms.
Bao’s game console collection, built over 15 years ago, represents a lesser-known aspect of Vietnamese gaming culture. According to Muensterberger (1993), collecting practices reflect the spirit and social conditions of their time. Preserving this collection helps document how foreign gaming devices entered Vietnam and illustrates how local players first engaged with entertainment technology during early stages of cultural integration.
The research began when Bao brought his consoles to a class about gaming memory. The team investigated the history of console gaming in Vietnam, catalogued Bao’s devices based on archival methods and identified a gap in studying personal collecting behavior. The final outcome includes a research report, an exhibition display, and a three-dimensional model of a representative console from the collection."
