Incredible: the first MMO in history was found in Las Vegas during a video game fair . We're talking about Habitat, a Lucasfilm Games project, released during the Commodore 64 era and of which it was thought that the original versions had now been lost forever.
He thought about finding the copy of Habitat Frank Cifaldi, founder and co-director of the Video Game History Foundation, a non-profit association in Oakland, California, dedicated exclusively to preserving old video games and teaching the history of this medium. Cifaldi found the copy of Habitat at the Retro City Games in Las Vegas, a fair dedicated to collectors of the retro world, and disseminated his discovery via his Twitter profile.
Habitat was one of the most interesting projects in the world of video games: published in 1989, the original copy found by Cifaldi is practically in perfect condition, if we consider its chronological age. In fact, for being 34 years old, the map and the game manual are practically excellent. If we think that it is really difficult to find manuals and physical copies of PS1 games in excellent condition, this discovery has even more value.
Incredible find at Retro City Games in Las Vegas – an original and likely complete copy of Club Caribe, aka Habitat, by Lucasfilm. This was the first graphical virtual world!
I've literally never even seen pictures of the map and manual, and they're here. I'm so thrilled. pic.twitter.com/doxi4rKSlw
— Frank Cifaldi (Unlicensed).nes (@frankcifaldi) February 22, 2023
Habitat is recognized by all as the first MMO in history, where players could connect to the Internet and play together. You could start a business, play mini games, discover secrets and mysteries or simply wander around the game world. The original version is probably no longer functional, but one of its creators has launched Neohabitat, a free project available online for all those who want to try an experience that is certainly out of the ordinary. The build can be downloaded at this address. Keep following GameDivision for all the news and upcoming announcements from the world of video games.
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