Fun fact: March 8th is officially "Walk of Game Day" in San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom issued the proclamation back in 2005.

What exactly is the "Walk of Game"? Decorating the second floor of the Metreon entertainment complex in downtown San Francisco, the Walk of Game attempted to recreate the popular Hollywood Walk of Fame for the video game industry. Inductees included luminaries like Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, and, um, Lara Croft. At the first induction ceremony, celebrities schmoozed with Mario and Sonic, and local politicians like Newsom joined in the festivities, hoping to create a new destination for tourists to the Bay Area.

Four years later, the Metreon is a ghost town. The Walk of Game is nothing more than a seldom-used walkway to the movie theaters, its last star laid down in 2006. There were no Walk of Game festivities held this past March. Poor design and mismanagement combined to doom the once-proud complex.

But imagine if the Metreon had thrived to become the premier cultural destination for video games. Imagine a place where tourists from all over the country could come to learn about and appreciate the development process. A place where hot-button issues like sex and violence could be put into context. A place where star designers could be honored appropriately, and the hard work of anonymous programmers and artists could be recognized. A place for tournaments, console and game launches, and other events that would draw national media attention. Most importantly, a place where kids and adults alike could play and enjoy video games together.

If this sort of Cooperstown for video games existed, would they still be vilified on Fox News and derided as toys? Would politicians continue to draft misguided laws to restrict their sales? Or would games now be on equal footing with movies, sports, and other forms of established entertainment?

The political goals of the Entertainment Software Association to raise awareness and combat legislation are admirable and necessary, but the game industry should also be making a concerted effort to win the hearts and minds of average Americans.

Some groups have taken steps in this direction. The Nintendo World Store in New York's Times Square, where people can experience the latest Nintendo games and view important artifacts from Nintendo's history, attracts thousands of visitors each year. A recent exhibition curated by the Vancouver Museum of Art called KRAZY! featured video games alongside comics, anime, and art. Locals in Ottumwa, Iowa, home to the famous Twin Galaxies arcade in the 1980s, hope to establish a Hall of Fame and make Ottumwa "the video game capital of the world."

Most promisingly, the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, recently opened up the National Center for the History of Electronic Play. The center plans to develop a 15,000-square-foot interactive exhibit on video games, set to open in 2012. They also aim to create a traveling version of the exhibit.

Whether we admit it or not, video games still reside in the cultural ghetto. If we want games to be taken seriously, we need a place that celebrates them, honors their creators, and allows people to experience them firsthand. We need our Cooperstown.