The British Library in London is contemplating archiving video games in its collection.

Currently The British Library is the biggest in the world, in terms of items held, but it is considering expanding to include video games. Paul Wheatley, a specialist in digital preservation at the British Library, has recently spoken to Edge about the issue.

"The games publishing industry recognizes the value in preserving their computer games," said Wheatley, "and many in the industry that I've talked to could relay horror stories about old material disappearing or being left to gradually decay in a box under someone's desk.

"At the very least I would like the British Library to provide support to the National Videogame Archive based on this digital preservation expertise and I'm hoping we can collaborate further."