They Create Worlds
213 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 50 ratingsLove of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 140+ hours!
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Episodes
California Pacific
June 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 163 - California Pacific We look at the company California Pacific. Founded by Al Remmers the company played a large role in launching the careers of Bill Budge and Richard Garriott. Al Remmers was in a unique position as a publisher. He had contacts with retailers spanning the entire country. In a way California Pacific was both one of the first distributors and used the EA model of programmers as rock stars. Promoting the games made by talented people, and promoting...
Spinnaker Software
May 15, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 162 - Spinnaker Software Often we laugh at educational games and software. We tend to view the products as jokes and something that cannot fully succeed. In our look at Spinnaker Software, we learn that there is more to it. The company was short-lived but was founded by people with a deep passion for technology and gaming. They released games, and software that helped to show that there is more one can do with a computer than just drills. If one of them went on to...
The 100,000 Part 2
May 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 161 - The 100,000 Part 2 Part two of our look at the SPA's list of top programs of the 1990s! We cover more games, and focus on the ones that made it gold with 100,000 sold! We wrap up the episode with a few honorable mentions from the silver list of 50,000. We see some old favorites re-appear on the list. We also see some names we have not seen yet! Thank you again to all the fans for helping us to reach the milestone of 100,000 downloads! Alphabet Zoo (C64)...
The 100,000 Part 1
April 15, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 160 - The 100,000 Part 1 We want to thank everyone for helping us to reach 100,000 downloads of the podcast! We started in September 2015 and are amazed at the love & support we have received. To celebrate, we are looking at the list of the SPA's highest sellers of computer software in the 1980s. We start off in part one looking at the three 500k sellers and then move on to the 250k sellers. We get a view of the computer software market during this time, and have...
International Adventure
April 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 61 MBTCW Podcast Episode 159 - International Adventure In this episode, we look at the computer game company 'Adventure International' which is one of the first companies to put out adventure games on early home computers. Founded by Scott Adams, no not THAT Scott Adams, and his ex-wife Alexis. The company had a short lifespan of less than a decade. We look at the life of Adams, and how his love of puzzles and games turned into a small business that unfortunately ended in the mid-1980s ...
Computer Space
March 15, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 158 - Computer Space Computer space is a game steeped in mystery and myth. The game is a reimagining of Space War. Developed through a partnership between Nutting Associates and Syzygy, Computer Space went on to have modest success. The game is viewed as having little to no impact. In this episode, we explore how Computer Space had much more influence. The game had a lot of tangible impact with the expansion of Aladdin's Castle. Computer Space also had a great r...
Final Fantasy’s Tale
March 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 157- Final Fantasy's Tale We look at a game franchise that spans fifteen titles and is still growing strong! Final Fantasy has a deep history with many influences and creative talent coming together to create a game of somber mystery and wonder. Final Fantasy had themes drawn from Conan the Barbarian, Elric of Melniboné, rock music, and the art of Toshitaka Amano. With the help of the programming talents of Nasir Gebelli, the game was able to do things that even Drag...
Madden for some Football
February 15, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 66 MBTCW Podcast Episode 156 - Madden for Some Football We cover the man, the myth, the legend of football John Madden! He is famous for taking the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl win and a long career as a sports analyst and commentator. Madden is perhaps best known for the yearly football video game property. In this episode, we look deep at the inception of the game series, how John Madden became involved, and see how the series was almost a one-release failure. There is a quiz about three...
Nintendo Playing With Toys
February 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 155 Nintendo Playing With Toys In our final look at Nintendo in the early years, we see the transition into toys and electronic games. Nintendo brought over some popular western games such as Twister in partnership with Milton Bradly. The legendary engineer Gunpei Yokoi invented some of Nintendo's first toys. These toys included; the Ultra Hand, the Ultra Machine, and the Ultra Scope. Nintendo progressed further into electronic entertainment by focusing on light g...
Nintendo Playing with Controversy
January 15, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 49.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 154 - Nintendo Playing with Controversy In part two of our look at the history of Nintendo, we cover the aftermath of Hiroshi Yamauchi's father abandoning the family. He ended up growing up under the care of his grandparents. Unfortunately, after a stroke suffered by his Grandfather, Hiroshi Yamauchi had to take over control of Nintendo in his early twenties. Because of this early ascension to power, Hiroshi Yamauchi was subject to a controversy that was the greatest...
Nintendo Playing With Cards
January 01, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 153 - Nintendo Playing With Cards We start off our look at the complete history of Nintendo. The company started as a side project of a cement company trying to get cement into Kyoto. From the humble start of being in a small house with six employees, Nintendo started to grow into an unrivaled producer of cards not just in Japan, but in the Japanese empire. We end with Hiroshi Yamauchi being the first male ere to the Yamauchi line. Hanafuda Cards and KoiKoi: ht...
Grand Theft Auto 2 by 3
December 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 152 - Grand Theft Auto 2 by 3 With the groundwork of the series laid down, we continue our look into the franchise of Grand Theft Auto. GTA 2 went to market during a transition phase with Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive, and DMA (Soon to be Rockstar North), sorting out who would deal with what. GTA 2 was a modest success, but it is GTA 3 that made Rockstar and Take-Two take off. The gritty storytelling, realism, and relatable real-world themes made GTA 3 a blockbust...
Grand Theft Auto 1
December 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 151 - Grand Theft Auto 1 We start our look at the legendary game series Grand Theft Auto. A game series that had many influences that came out of the British PC market. The game may not have seen the light of day if it was not for developers and executives championing the game to BMG Interactive. With the help of a PR campaign to stir up false controversy that lead to a speech denouncing the game to the House of Lords, the game launched to modest success! Though t...
Gottlieb Part 2
November 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 150 - Gottlieb Part 2 In part two we look at the further development of Gottlieb as a coin-op company, and how they established themselves during the 50s through the 70's. Eventually acquired by Columbia Pictures. Gottlieb would start making small steps into the video game space. Though many inside the company still viewed themselves as a pinball company, the shrinking pinball market necessitated a change. When Columbia was purchased by Coca-Cola the shift into vid...
Gottlieb Part 1
November 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBTCW Podcast Episode 149 - Gottlieb Part 1 We look at the company Gottlieb which was a major coin-op company founding during the roaring twenties, and rising to prominence in the great depression, and post war era. The company is most well known for pinball, and the many contributions to making it more than a gabling device. We follow the rise of the company up until the 1950s. Though not quite at the video game era yet, the background of the company does help dictate and shape how Got...
The Mysteries of Imagic
October 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 148 - The Mysteries of Imagic We look at the company Imagic. This company only lasted a few short years during the lead up to, and through the crash. The company is notable for innovative packaging, and creating games that pushed the graphical fidelity of the Atari VCS to new levels! They were also one of the first companies to use graphics on a computer to then be translated to code on a console. A feat famously used by Rare in the creation of Donkey Kong Country...
Others in the Field Too
October 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 147 - Others in the Field Too We look at the contributions of other in the field chronicling video game history, and trying to write perspectives on what we know at the time. To start we look at Gaming Alexandria which has become one of the major communities dedicated to preserving video game history, and has many contributors who work on a myriad of projects. We look at the work Ethan has put in between court cases, blogging, and as a consultant on "Arcade Dreams"....
Storytime with a Book 2
September 15, 2021 00:00 - 55 minutes - 39.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 146 - Storytime with a Book 2 Alex reads and annotates a chapter of the book dealing with the founding of Activision! We cover not just the chapter but the thought process, and behind the scenes that went into the chapter. The story is helped with extra information that Alex was able to gleam from interviews, and trial transcripts. A larger perspective telling of the early formation of Activision, where the popular historical record needs to be corrected and more! ...
Revisions and Updates 3
September 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 145 - Revisions and Updates 3 Our sixth year anniversary! In this episode we look back at the podcast and correct some of the errors that were made in the past. First we explore the company Fun Games which was sued by Atari for making clones of Atari products using stolen equipment. The source and story of this is better told with new information that has come to light. Other new information includes the discovery that the 100 yen coin shortage in Japan was real!...
Ascension into the Black Gate
August 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 75.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 144 - Ascension into the Black Gate In our final part looking at the history of the Ultima series we start off looking at Ultima VII. This game is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series. The game combines story elements with a massive world to create a truly unique experience. The game is followed by two major commercial failures. Those failures being Ultima VIII and Ultima IX. The reasons behind those failures are many. However a lot of the blame ...
The Prophet of the Avatar
August 01, 2021 01:12 - 1 hour - 68.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 143 -The Prophet of the Avatar In part two of our look at the Ultima series we start with how Richard came to the morality system that became a central feature of the franchise. Using a combination of features he likes from various worlds religions, his own experiences, and so on Richard crafted the eight virtues that the play, who would become the avatar, would have to emulate. In the following two games. The story focused on how not all choices are black and white...
Ultima: Exodus to Akalabeth
July 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 142 - Ultima: Exodus to Akalabeth In this episode we look at the legendary series of Ultima! We look at the lead up inspiration, and influences that led to the creation of Ultima. This episode ties in heavily with our look at Origin Systems. In this we use the creation of Ultima as a microcosm of the development of the PC industry. The plight of the bedroom coder. Wanting to make cool games, finding themselves thrust into a wider PC game world, and the eventual w...
The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 2
July 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 141 - The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 2 In our second part we look at the emergence of the programable consoles. We see how many companies kept falling into the same trap of FCC regulations, heat issues, and chip shortages. By the time most of these issues were sorted out, with the notable exception of the Apple II being classified as an "industrial computer", the industry was in the midst of a console transition led by the ColecoVision. However the vi...
The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 1
June 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 140 - The Console Market of the 70's and 80's Part 1 We look at the early dedicated hardware systems in the United States. We have talked about many of these companies in the past. However we have not brought the story together at a large scale looking at the influences these companies had on each other, the consumer market in general, and what the market could handle. We see the reasons behind the transition to programable systems as being the logical course for a...
Tec Toy and Brazil
June 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 47.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 139 - Tec Toy and Brazil We look at the video game industry in Brazil. A big thanks to Marcus Garrett and his book "1983+1984 " which details a lot of the video game industry in Brazil. We delve into the interesting history of outside companies operating in Brazil and the gray market that has developed as a result. Once we have laid the groundwork we look at the company Tectoy which is one of the most successful toy/video game companies in Brazil. They ended up pa...
Dave Nutting Associates
May 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 138 - Dave Nutting Associates This is our second half looking at Dave Nutting and specifically Dave Nutting Associates. We see how they are able change the industry by showing the viability of solid state Pinball. Despite the setback of not being able to license the technology to Bally/Midway they pressed on with developing video games. Specifically Gun Fight which had realistic, for the time, human analogs that could fire guns at each other. As they continued to s...
Dave Nutting & Nutting Industries
May 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBTCW Podcast Episode 137 - Dave Nutting & Nutting Industries In part one of our two part look at the contributions of Dave Nutting to the video game industry, we see where he came from. Some of his contentious relationship with his brother, and some of the design contributions he did that led to developments in the future with coin-op games. With the founding of MCI he was able to further form a team that would follow him into the future. Once ousted from MCI he started work on Solid S...
Ocean Software
April 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 136 - Ocean Software We look at the company Ocean Software. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods as Spectrum Games, and was later renamed to Ocean Software. The company specialized in a mail order business harnessing the best of the bedroom coder scene in Brittan to produce ports of popular arcade titles. In fact the initial offering of the company were clones of Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Frogger, and Missile Command. The company continued to grow as Oc...
The Famicom Disc System
April 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 135 - The Famicom Disc System In our second part look at the Family Computer we start off with the launch in Japan. We see all the early games, and the slow start the system had. However it rapidly gained steam and gained widespread adoption. Nintendo faced one of their first challenges which was the overheating of the graphic chip. Nintendo did a recall and revised the system in the process. Switching to removeable controllers, and round buttons to address other...
Famicom
March 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 134 - Famicom We look at the Family Computer, or the Famicom's development. The state Nintendo was in before they entered into home dedicated consoled, and then explored programable consoles. We look at how the console was developed with the main focus being on cost and quality. The reason behind the use of the MOS 6502 chipset, sourcing ROM chips, and bringing it together into the red package that many love to this day. This is part one of a two part look at the ...
Rolling Dice with the Parker Brother's
March 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 133 - Rolling Dice with the Parker Brother's We look at the history of the company Parker Brothers. Originally a board game company founded in the 1880's we follow the company's growth though the century. This family owned business was eventually bought by General Mills in 1963, and was brought into the ever expanding non-food properties of the conglomerate. Starting off with electronic games in the 70's, Parker Brothers would eventually enter the video game Indust...
Eugene Jarvis
February 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 132 - Eugene Jarvis We look at the life and story of Eugene Jarvis. Unique in the industry of being one of, if not the only designers to have lived through and continues to work in the lifespan of the video game arcade industry. Starting off with Pinball and working at Atari for only two weeks. Eugene came to be influential in many popular pinball, and arcade games. Always looking for that next thrill he continues his quest to this day with his company Raw Thrills...
Sir Clive of ZX
February 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 60.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 131 - Sir Clive of ZX In our second part looking at Sir Clive Sinclair we pick up the story where we left off! We follow Sir Clive Sinclair as he reluctantly develops computers for the British market to fund his other project's. The wild popularity of the ZX line including the ZX 80, ZX 81, and ZX Spectrum led to a booming home computer market in Brittan. Sinclair even tried to go into the business market with the Sinclair QL, but was outshone by competitors. In th...
Uncle Clive's Radionics
January 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 52.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 130 - Uncle Clive's Radionics We look at Sir Clive Sinclair in his early years dealing with creation of electronics for hobbyists. Sir Clive held a passion for miniaturization and doing so at a low cost. This started with audio equipment, amplifiers, high fidelity stereo, and FM radios. This continued into calculators, and digital watches. Sir Clive wanted to look into miniature TVs, and procured funding through the NEB. In an act of prescience he founded a secon...
The Crash That Almost Was
January 01, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 129 - The Crash That Almost Was We look at the crash that almost was. Most people do not realize that in the mid nineties we came very close to another video game market crash. A difficult transition was at hand as companies tried to figure out how and if they embrace the third dimension in video games. Coupled with a declining arcade market. New hardware costing twice as much, if not more than current systems many companies were on the edge. The market forces be...
Nintendo in 1985
December 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 128 - Nintendo in 1985 We look at that special time during 1985 when Nintendo did a holiday test market in New York City! By being in the right place at the right time they were able to, along with market forces, revive the dead home console industry. They had quite a challenge with retailers, and a public that were hostile towards games. Knowing this Nintendo worked to distance itself from the precious era with marketing that did not use the terms video game, or ...
Dreams of Sega
December 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 127 - Dreams of Sega We look at the rapid decline of SEGA. A company mired in infighting between executives. This led to the disasterous launch of the Sega Saturn. Which was launched early as a panic move when faced with the competition from the SONY PlayStation. SEGA tried again with the Dreamcast, but was hindered by NEC only able to produce a quarter of the promised chips. Continued infighting and an exodus of middle management led to more problems. Resultin...
Activision and Atari
November 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 126 - Activision and Atari We look at the video games that Activision made for the Atari VCS/2600 when the founders of Activision split from Atari. Activision focused on graphics and presentation as a key factor in the game creation process. They were able to push the limits of the Atari VCS to do things that were thought impossible by the base system. The sunset employed in the game with Stampede is used again in later games and became a kind of hallmark of some A...
The Visions of Coleco Part 2
November 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 125 - The Visions of Coleco Part 2 In our second part look at Coleco we dive into the electronics and transition into programable consoles. We see how they influenced the post crash consoles of Nintendo and Sega. With the release of Colecovision we saw one of the most advanced consoles of the pre crash era. The system was able to do faithful recreations of many popular arcade games. This is most exemplified with the release Donkey Kong. Coleco tried to transition...
The Visions of Coleco Part 1
October 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 124 - The Visions of Coleco Part 1 We look at the Connecticut Leather Company otherwise known as Coleco! We see how a simple company starting with leather goods transformed into a toy company that spanned multiple generations. Coleco started exploring electronic toys with games like electric football. They found themselves uniquely suited to take advantage of the coming Pong on a chip craze. With their early entry allowing them to outpace the competition when the ...
A Casual World Part 2
October 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 123 - A Casual World Part 2 In our continued exploration of casual games we see the rise of match three in popularizing the genre. Exemplified by games such as Klax, Columns, Bejewed, and Candy Crush. The continued development and migration to the web further fueled the popularization of casual games. Reaching the apex today with the help of casual games on Facebook. That apex exemplified with the company PopCap Games. Enjoy the casual world of games! The Tet...
A Casual World Part 1
September 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 42.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 122 - A Casual World Part 1 We look at the changes in the industry, mindset, and accessibility of games that lead to the formation of casual games. The early groundwork is set with casual games like Shanghai, Rubix, Reversi, Solitaire, and Tetris. The development happened organically, almost by accident. The tales of some of the pioneers that opened the door to what is arguably the biggest segment of the modern gaming industry is a tale not well told. We start tha...
The Whole Video Game Industry Part 4
September 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 121 - The Whole Video Game Industry Part 4 In this, our conclusion of the whole video game industry, we start with a look at Xerox Park, and the technologies that came from their endeavors. We see the true formation, merging, and maturation of videogames as an entertainment fixture! This of course is not without the challenges that stand before any new industry, including infighting, a congressional hearing, and espionage! Enjoy our conclusion and look at the whole ...
The Whole Video Game Industry Part 3
August 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 120 - The Whole Video Game Industry Part 3 This is our third part looking at the entire video game industry. We start with looking at the European PC industry, and then transitioning into the Arcade industry. We look at the arcades from both the United States, and Japanese standpoints. We then see the creation of the Famicom, and its debut in the west as the Nintendo Entertainment System. Next episode we will conclude our epic look at the whole industry! Live...
The Whole Video Game Industry Part 2
August 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 119 -The Whole Video Game Industry Part 2 We continue our look at the entire video game industry! In the second part we start looking at the industry leading up to the crash! We continue the story where part 1 left off. We see the evolution of the industry along the three lines of arcade, home console, and PC. We see the pervasive influence of Dungeons and Dragons on the industry. Particularly the PC scene. A lot of crazy, and a lot of fun! Check out the compan...
The Whole Video Game Industry Part 1
July 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 69.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 118 - The Whole Video Game Industry Part 1 This is part one of our four part series looking at the entire video game industry at a very macro level. We look at the start of computers all the way through to the early video arcades and beyond! We see the evolution of games on PC, the arcade, and the initial forays into the home. We even see a hybrid of sorts with games like Seawolf combining electro-mechanical and video elements. We did a live recording of four epis...
Wing Commander
July 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 117 - Wing Commander We look at one of the great space flight simulators of the 90's! Wing Commander is largely attributed to Chris Roberts. However we find out in this episode the many other people who were instrumental in not just the story, but gameplay of Wing Commander. We can see the true potential of the Siliwood era with the live action cut scenes used in both Wing Commander III and IV. We of course look at the inspirations for Wing Commander, and take a ...
The Atari Games You Are Looking For
June 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 116 - The Atari Games You Are Looking For In this episode we continue our tradition of looking at Atari! This time a deep look at Atari Games. We look at the company starting with it's acquisition by Namco. We look at its progression through the 80's and 90's with many notable games. Unfortunately during the Siliwood era Atari was reacquired by Time Warner. After limited success the remnants of the company were sold off to Williams' where the name of Atari was gi...
The Return of the Sdraziw of Sir-Tech
June 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 115 - The Return of the Sdraziw of Sir-Tech Our second part look at Sir-Tech Software! The company continues to struggle with the release of wizardry V, but makes the transition away from the Apple II with the release of Wizardry VI. The Wizardry franchise is a major hit in the Japanese PC space. This leads to Wizardry anime, manga, and Japanese only games. Sir-Tech still continued to struggle to maintain a presence as the US PC industry continued to consolidate. ...
The Wizards of Sir-Tech
May 15, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 114 - The Wizards of Sir-Tech We look at the company Sir-Tech. Known as "the Wizardry company", and founded by Norman Sirotek and Robert Woodhead. The company was originally founded to market Info Tree, a database program. The shift was made into video games starting with the release of Galactic Attack. With the heavy influences of the games on the PLATO system. Andrew Greenberg and Woodhead would meet, and would start collaboration on what would eventually be Wi...