Japanese Game Preservation Society turns to Patreon after government cuts, aims for US sister organization

The Game Preservation Society, or GPS, a nonprofit Japanese organization dedicated to preserving video game history, has now launched a Patreon to secure self-sustaining funding and is currently working toward opening a sister organization in the US.

The reason is that in July 2025, the Japanese government halted GPS support due to alleged regulatory violations, such as scanning magazines and images to create a digital library, which is apparently prohibited under Japanese law. However, the Game Preservation Society continues its operations in Tokyo.

The situation bubbled up last summer when the Japanese government raised two issues: procuring images of books, magazines, and game covers, which breaches regulations, and scanning full magazine pages to create private archives, which is restricted.

Head of the Game Preservation Society, Josh Redon, spoke to Time Extension regarding the mandate and said:

It was nasty. They told us the funding will be cut; we are not giving you subsidies for the next round. They said you won't get any subsidies unless you correct the situation. But they wouldn’t explain why.

They did not explicitly state what was wrong with the images. We had a lot of internal discussions, and in the end, we had to hire a lawyer to examine the situation and talk with the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

After proceedings with the Japanese government, GPS continued to receive funding, albeit with a 20% fine. However, GPS was able to cover the remaining expenditures thanks to donations from April 2025.

Despite all the hurdles, GPS has expanded its Tokyo headquarters, indexing over 855 Famicom strategy guides and preserving more than 7,000 magazine ads this fiscal year. GPS has now launched a Patreon to free itself from government funding.

Backers get a free tier for updates, and a $5 monthly tier gets you news via email. However, higher tiers are in the works, with GPS promising livestreams of their base of operations and long-form features.

Redon stressed that nothing would be spent on purchasing “content” and that all funds would go toward archiving and preserving video game memorabilia. The goal of being free from subsidies and pressure from the Japanese government has only 300 backers. He said:

With 300 people, the GPS would have enough funds to be autonomous and not rely on the government. It would be an important milestone. I want us to be independent, to not rely on subsidies and a few large private donors, so we can maintain our integrity and philosophy. We can make our own choices that are in the best interest of the public and preservation.

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