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
Lawsuits for Nintendo
April 01, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 063 - Lawsuits for Nintendo We delve into the legal hurdles that Nintendo faced during its rise to power in the '80s and '90s. We see how they were able with the guidance of Howard Lincoln to weather the first of many lawsuits, and triumph! In their long history they have used the court systems in the United States to their advantage; even wining a case almost everyone thought that they would lose. Japanese-English Marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ-dBHC...
Lawsuits for Everyone!
March 15, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 53.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 062 - Lawsuits for Everyone! Thanks @MyMac for suggesting this topic! We delve into some of the landmark court cases that helped shape the video game industry. Specifically we looked at the sphere of copyright law. Starting with looking at what constitutes an infringement. How similar can two works be, and where is the line if you modify the game. We wrap up looking at the Game Genie, and how they managed to stay in business because they did not make permeant change...
Where in the Game is Carmen Sandiego?
March 01, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 061 - Where in the Game is Carmen Sandiego? We go into the development, creation, and surprise smash hit that is the Carmen Sandiego franchise. Starting off as a video game that flopped at launch; it grew into one of the biggest things of the mid 80's through to the 90's spanning not just video games, but also a game show, a cartoon, and other entertainment media. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Apple II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEB9M_1XOP0 Where ...
Williams' Crazy Story Pt 2
February 15, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 50.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 060 - Williams' Crazy Story Pt 2 Part two of our look at Williams' story of how a pinball company grew through a combination of mergers and hit products to become one of the dominate players in the industry during the early to mid-90's. They had many successes in the arcade utilizing the digitization technology that they helped pioneer. Not only were they successful in the video game sphere; they were also successful in the pinball arena as well. Unfortunately, by the...
Williams' Crazy Story Pt 1
February 01, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 65 MBTCW Podcast Episode 059 - Williams' Crazy Story Part one of a look at the history of Williams Manufacturing Company. Starting with Harry Williams' monumental contributions to the pinball industry with the creation of the tilt mechanism and later on adding electromechanical elements to the machines. We cover the sordid history of the company as it changes hands multiple times, and the pinball/video games that made them a valuable asset to be traded around. We continue with looking at the ...
EA Sports: It's in the Game!
January 15, 2018 01:41 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 058 - EA Sports: It's in the Game! We revisit EA with a deep dive into EA Sports. Some information that was in our EA: The Teenage Years episode, but with more detail! We start off with some of the early ventures into sports, and how EA evolved into the sports juggernaut it is today. We cover the origins of the EA sports brand, how hats were a deciding factor in getting the name to be accepted by other developers, and how a trademark dispute with ESPN led to the mass ...
Foundation of the Japanese Video Arcade Game Industry
January 01, 2018 00:00 - 1 hour - 47.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 057 - Foundation of the Japanese Video Arcade Game Industry We go over the games, companies, and events that lead to the foundation of the Japanese Video Arcade Game Industry. We extensively cover breakout, and how the cloning of that game lead to the start of many companies that would come to power during the 90's. With Space Invaders, we see a full blown encouragement of smaller manufactures to make enough games to meet demand. Finally with Galaxian, and Head On we ...
Revisions and Updates
December 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 74 MBTCW Podcast Episode 056 - Revisions and Updates We go over our past episodes and provide updates, if we have any, on each one. There are a lot of little tidbits, and expansion on a variety of topics. Some of the big ones are Namco, the Nutting Associates, and James Morgan. Happy Holidays everyone! Episode 1 "All I can do is ask why?": 0:02:54 Episode 2 "You talked to whom?": 0:07:07 Episode 3 "What makes and Industry?": 0:12:49 Episode 4 "A Tale of Cycles": 0:13:54 Episode 5 "The Un...
Blizzard: Hellfire and The World… Of WarCraft
December 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 69.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 055 - Blizzard: Hellfire and The World… of WarCraft Part two of our look into Blizzard Entertainment. We start in the late 90's with the finishing of Diablo, and the development of StarCraft. We see the evolution and cross influences of the Blizzard cinematics department on the course of Diablo. This is also the same time we learn of how Blizzard is not afraid to kill an essentially finished game if it is not up to their standards, Lord of the Clans, and StarCraft: G...
Blizzard: Vikings and WarCraft
November 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 53.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 054 - Blizzard: Vikings and WarCraft Part one of our dive into one of the most influential computer game companies in existence. We cover the founding of Blizzard, which started as Silicon and Synapse, with their start by being independent contractors for PC and console. With the company wanting to transition into being full developers, they accepted an offer to be acquired by Davidson and Associates. Blizzard's first big hit was WarCraft: Orcs and Humans. The first ...
The History and Merger of Enix and Square
November 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 72.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 053 - The History and Merger of Enix and Square We cover the individual histories of the companies Enix and Square. Everything from early projects to influences that helped shape them into the companies they would become. We delve into the dream teams for each company that created their seminal hits, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. We cover how they each had problems getting market penetration in the West until Square was able to with the release of Final Fantasy VII....
The Many Faces of Konami
October 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 052 - The Many Faces of Konami We go over the whole history of Konami at the macro level. The origin, founding, and the initial setup that continues to influence the company to the present day. Though much of the history is shrouded behind a language barrier, or simply lost, there is still plenty of information out there. We cover the hits they had in the video game arena, and show how they are in the middle of another transition to mobile. Konami Logo: https://vigne...
Sons of Pong
October 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 051 - Sons of Pong Starting off with a discussion of the unique setting of the time leading into Pong's debut, we transition over to the various companies that created clones of Pong, and their reasons for doing so. We discover that the company that created the most Pong-style games was not Atari, nor one of the big Chicago companies, but a company based in Florida called Allied Leisure. We then cover the various innovations that occurred to try to keep the fad market ...
Civilizing Sid Meier
September 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 050 - Civilizing Sid Meier We go over Sid's transition into the video game industry. Starting with meeting "Wild Bill" and their break out game HellCat Ace, and the iterations that lead to F-15 Strike Eagle that cemented MicroProse as a company. We cover the how/why of Sid Meier's name being on the boxes particularly for the simulation and 4X games. We wrap it all up with the seminal piece Sid Meier's Civilization, the industry changing concepts it brought to the tab...
Old and Elite
September 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 53.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 049 - Old and Elite We go over a classic from Great Britain! Elite is unique in the ambition and execution of creating a massive open world space, complete with a 3d perspective, on such limited hardware. The game has influenced a variety of others most notably Grand Theft Auto. Demo of Elite on a BBC B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owz7XExO-Wk Elite Comparison of BBC B VS Zx Spectrum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov4OAteeGWs Elite Gameplay Starting Out: htt...
Driving Games and Technology
August 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 048 - Driving Games and Technology We go over the wild ride of driving games. These games were used as a vehicle to demonstrate advances in graphics technology. Starting with electro-mechanical games, and ending up with textured polygons; we cover the whole track of an era where cars were king! There are a lot of examples in this episode drawn from the arcade, consoles, and computer games. Drive Mobile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw_N10xuv2Q Speedway: https://w...
Vestiges of Atari
August 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 047 - Vestiges of Atari In our fourth and final episode investigating the rise and fall of the original Atari we delve into the factors that caused the fall of Atari. We cover the lead up to and tipping point of the variety of factors that lead to the crash. No one entity can take the blame for it. The major factors including distribution, overzealous sales forecasts, and Warner interference came to a head by the end of 1982 leading to the fracturing of the compan...
Atari, Ray Kassar and Warner
July 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 98.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 046 - Atari, Ray Kassar and Warner We continue on to part three of our four part look into Atari. We delve into Atari under the leadership of Ray Kassar. It becomes apparent that while Ray did make mistakes the leadup to the fall of Atari cannot be entirely placed at his feet. We also explore the role of Warner in the direction Atari took and the difficult decision on whether to concentrate on home console or PC. We also delve into the Arcade side of things and h...
Atari, Ventures and Acquisitions
July 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 77 MBTCW Podcast Episode 045 - Atari, Ventures and Acquisitions In our second of four episodes detailing the rise and fall of the core Atari company we go over the rapid expansion of the company, and its ever increasing need for capital. Atari had to court venture capital, and got the patronage of Don Valentine. Later on to secure the funding needed for the VCS launch they had to be acquired by a larger company; that company was Warner Communications. This acquisition as we start to explor...
Founding, Syzygy to Atari
June 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 102 MBTCW Podcast Episode 044 - Founding, Syzygy to Atari Part one of our four-part dive into Syzygy/Atari! We cover the personal histories of the founders, and how the company would not really be a company without the efforts of Nolan Bushnell. We go into the controversy of where he learned of Spacewar. Then off to the debut hit for Atari of PONG. We cover the rocky road Atari had after its initial launch, and how it nearly could have just been a flash in the pan like many companies that c...
Personal Gaming Histories
June 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 043 - Personal Gaming Histories We go over some of our early memories of being introduced to video games. Joys, tragedies, and hilarity. Very much in the vein of what inspired us to start doing this podcast. This is a light hearted episode that may help you to reflect on favorite memories from your past. So stay a while and listen as we reminisce! Gray and Orange Zapper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQnYsEKzJKw Necromancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
Laser Craze
May 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 042 - Laser Craze We cover the brief, yearlong, craze that was the laserdisc. We go into great detail on Dragon's Lair the game that really kicked it off in the United States. Though many other companies tried to take advantage of the medium, unfortunately it was unable to sustain itself. There were a few games that did as well, if not better than Dragon's Lair, they all ended up being part of what was just a brief fad in the downward trend of the arcade scene. ...
Beating Them All Up
May 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 41 - Beating Them All Up We delve into beat 'em ups, and fighters. We cover why they did not take hold until computer technology progressed far enough to allow for human analogs to be animated well. We go into the beat 'em up craze, and then the transition to fighting games that occurred with the release of Street Fighter II. We touch on the fall of fighting games from the mainstream with Tekken and Soul Calibur. The scene is still out there, and has a dedicated f...
Sierra On-Line
April 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 73.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 40 - Sierra On-Line We delve into the second half of the story of Sierra. We cover how they managed to regroup, and rebuild from the company being close to a complete collapse. We cover many of the classics of the era. Even though many of them are not as fondly remembered today; they are still important for pushing gaming on the PC to new and impressive heights. Unfortunately we also cover how Sierra was torn apart after its acquisition, and Ken Williams leaving the ...
On-Line Systems
April 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 68.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 039 - On-Line Systems On-Line systems is the company that eventually becomes Sierra Online. The brainchild of Ken and Roberta Williams. We go over the reasons for the company's founding, and the unique makeup of the company's initial titles. Unfortunately due to backing the proverbial wrong horse multiple times after investment by a venture capital firm they are on the brink of failure during the mid to late 80's. Shadow of Yserbius: https://www.youtube.com/wa...
Origin Story
March 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 038 - Origin Story We cover the rise and fall of Origin Systems. A company that is very much defined by one of its founders Richard Garriott. We cover the company's pre-founding as Richard tried to get his games published, and distributed to the public. We then delve into its founding and growth into one of the great influencers of the video game industry. Ultimately ending up with the company's dissolution by EA in 2004, we see what factors led up to how we see O...
Nintendo and Gunpei Yokoi
March 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 037 - Nintendo and Gunpei Yokoi We go over the career of Gumpei Yokoi. From his falling into a job at Nintendo until his untimely death. We cover his contributions to Nintendo, and the game industry, and set the record straight on what he did, and did not have influence on. In the end his true legacy is the talent he mentored, philosophy, and vision that still influences Nintendo to this day. Game and Watch Collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HZiBtXwyH...
Raiding Eidos
February 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 77.5 MBTCW Podcast Episode 036 - Raiding Eidos We go over the rise and fall of Eidos. A company that rose high on the huge success of Tomb Raider, and due to a number of factors ended up being in such dire straits they were ultimately purchased by SquareEnix. C64 Rick Dangerous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwBIDlcMU5Y Sega CD/Mega CD Thunderhawk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPS6ObO7ZdM Tomb Raider Sega Saturn VS PlayStation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ZzjgJuo54 ...
EA The Teenage Years
February 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBTCW Podcast Episode 035 - EA The Teenage Years We go over the transition of EA from a small idealistic company where programmers are rock stars; to the start of the company becoming the large enterprise it is today. We cover Trip Hawkins later years at the helm of EA and the rising businessman Larry Probst who would later succeed him as president and CEO in the early 90's. We go over the founding of EA Sports one of the most recognizable franchises in videogame history. C64 one on ...
The Nutting Associates
January 15, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 74 MBTCW Podcast Episode 034 -The Nutting Associates We go into the murky history of Nutting Associates. This company's founding, and a large part of its history is still unclear due to the lack of proper documentation along with contradictory evidence and testimony. We look at how Nutting is more than just Computer Space, and by association Nolan Bushnell. Though Nutting Associates did not survive past the 70's it still had some influence in the arcade industry and paved the way for advan...
The Saga of Sega
January 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBTCW Podcast Episode 033 - The Saga of Sega A brief Namco Update, and then we delve into Sega. We covered them before in episode 5, this time we go into detail of the company's middle and later years. We cover how Sega changed hands from an American to Japanese company, and look at some of the products they produced during this era. Wild Gunman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzxcsaIxaZg Electro Dart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7EgQ0b8Q-Y Blockade: https://www.youtube...
The History of the Atari Brand
December 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 87.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 032 - History of the Atari Brand We go over the history of the Atari brand. We go from its inception all the way to modern times with the only Atari name being owned by a company in France. The brand changes many hands throughout the years. The initial name split occurring under Warner Communications. The Atari name has a bit of an allure and curse. Many companies see the value in the properties, but almost every company that buys the properties enters into finan...
An Epic Game
December 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.4 MBTCW Podcast Episode 031 - An Epic Game We cover the history of EPIC as one of the few remaining independent developers left. They are most known for the creation of the Unreal Engine, and Gears of War. They have an interesting history of having a distributed business that includes developers from around the world. Love the unreal engine or hate it. Epic's influence on middleware, and the game industry continues to this day. ZZT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pccbymHpZnU Kin...
DOOM!
November 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 83.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 030 - DOOM We discuss ID Software, and the lasting effects of the company on the video game industry, and society as a whole. We delve into the ramifications of the tech industry in general, and coders specifically with perpetual crunch time. We go into a lot of different subjects tangential to the ID story. Ultimately realizing the lasting effect a group of guys taking advantage of potentially one of the last times an independent developer could make it alone in th...
50 Years of Namco
November 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 82.5 MBTCW Podcast Episode 029 - 50 Years of Namco We delve in the fifty year history of Namco. Starting with its cloudy beginnings all the way to its acquisition by Ban-Dai. Namco is responsible for many classics including Pac-Man, Galaga, and a slew of racing games. Though they did not always have a visible presence in the US Arcade scene, they still had a presence in the arcade and console arenas. Periscope Namco: https://twitter.com/onionsoftware/status/604651887128805377 Perisc...
Picking up the Pieces: The US Arcade Industry After the Crash
October 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 77.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 028 - Picking up the Pieces: The US Arcade Industry After the Crash We go over the arcade industry after the crash. It has a surge in popularity with kits breathing new life into old cabinets. The JAMMA system standardization allowed for video arcade cabinets to penetrate into many locations. These two things along with other technologies allowed arcades to thrive until home consoles surpassed them in nearly every respect. Mr. Do: https://www.youtube.com/watch...
The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits
October 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 82.3 MBTCWPodcast Episode 027 - Magnavox Patent Lawsuits We coverthe lawsuits levied by Magnavox against other companies for patentinfringement. There were three majorcases expanding the scope of the patent over its seventeen year lifespan. The fascinating aspect of the lawsuits is howmany people thought they could challenge it and win. However all of the lawsuits resolved inMagnavox's favor. Even Nintendo had topay royalties and license fees. Ralph Baer on hispatents: http://www.ipm...
The Magnavox Odyssey
September 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 81 MBTCW Podcast Episode 026 The Magnavox Odyssey We delve into the Magnavox Odyssey the first home console video game system created by Ralph Bear. Alex's Blog Post: https://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/1tl200-a-magnavox-odyssey/ Ralph Bear's Website: http://www.ralphbaer.com/ Magnavox Odyssey Manuals: https://archive.org/details/magnavoxodysseymanuals Elliott Avedon Virtual Museum of Games - Odyssey Home Entertainment System: http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/...
Mattel Electronics?
September 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 025 - Mattel Electronics? We go into the mysteries of Mattel's venture into the videogame industry. We cover its inception and development into a very advanced system that was hampered by lack of big arcade titles. Ultimately failing and nearly taking Mattel with it in the great video game crash the that worked there people went on to spread their influenced throughout the video game industry. Gendered Marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JDmb_f3E2c Matel LE...
The Project and Others in the Field
August 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 46.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 024 - The Project and Others in the Field We cover the developments in Alex's work, and others doing research into video game history. We delve into history in general and question how accurate can it really be? Even though the work done now will be superseded by work done in the future it is still valuable, and we are in a unique time of being able to record historical figures give accounts in their own words. Ethan AKA George Henson : http://bit.ly/2aLUMGk ...
The Complete Tetris Story
August 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBTCW Podcast Episode 023 - The Complete Tetris Story We tell the complete story of Tetris! Created by a computer scientist in Russia by the name of Alexey Pajitnov. We go over the twists and turns of licensing and comedy of errors that was brining Tetris to the market. Tetris God - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alw5hs0chj0 Atari Tetris Arcade - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emy1D4P0XPo Tengen Tetris - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLTj9LTd-NA NES Tetris - https://w...
The Galaxy Game
July 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 022 - The Galaxy Game We go over the Galaxy Game. It was one of the first commercial attempts to bring video games to market. Though it was unable to get the venture capital needed to get off the ground, the two prototypes that were created proved that there was a market for video games. Space War Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP2OaKHaDxM Punch Cards Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG2M4ttzBnY Walter Cronkite Top 10: https://www.yo...
The Great Video Game Crash Part 3
July 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 021 - The Great Video Game Crash Part 3 We cover the severe correction of the arcade market. We also go into why the correction happened, and how it was not a crash. We also go into how this is independent from the home market crash. It went from 8.9 billion to 4 billion over a two years. We also go over some of the myths surrounding the crash, such as the E.T. dump, and discuss why Nintendo's business practices were essential to reviving the home market. Finally we ...
The Great Video Game Crash Part 2
June 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 45 MBTCW Podcast Episode 020 -The Great Video Game Crash Part 2 We discuss the fates of all the major home video game producers. As they tried, and generally failed, to transition to computers as the future game systems. This turned out to be the wrong way to go. With the distraction of computers no company made a transitional console for home users. Coleco got close to surviving the crash, but called it quits in 1985. We go over how computers are too complicated for the general public to u...
The Great Video Game Crash Part 1
June 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 44.7 MBTCW Podcast Episode 019 - The Great Video Game Crash Part 1 We go over the lead up to the crash, and the unique situation that caused it. We touch on who to blame for the crash. Is it all Atari's fault? What about retailers, and distributers? There is also the fly by night operations that could have been the straw that broke the camel's back. We cover this and more in part one! New York Times article on the start of the crash Dec 19, 1982: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/business/...
The British 8-Bit Computer Market: Software
May 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBTCW Podcast Episode 018 - The British 8-Bit Computer Market: Software We go at the British 8-Bit computer market again; this time looking at the software side of things. We go over the initial homebrew/hacker scene, and how it eventually evolved into a publisher/distributor business. This created a unique microcosm allowing Britain to have a different and unique game industry. However it was all absorbed into the global gaming scene with the introduction of 16 bit systems and outside co...
The British 8-Bit Computer Market: Hardware
May 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 60.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 017 - The British 8-Bit ComputerMarket: Hardware We discuss the early 8-bit computer hardware market in Britain, and the unique circumstances of the era before it was ended by the coming of 16 bit computers. Kids React to Old Computers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk Old school Graphics Part I Commodore 64 & Nintendo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfh0ytz8S0k Uridium C64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks5-Zq6XAN4 Uridium ZX Spectrum:h...
Early Computer Game Platforms: The Trinity, and The Disciples
April 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBTCW Podcast Episode 016 - Early Computer Game Platforms: The Trinity, and the Disciples We go over the early computer systems as they apply to games in the United States. Starting with the first home computer of note the Altair 8800. We then go into the Trinity of systems released in the same year for the home; the Apple II, the Commodore Pet, and the TRS 80. We then go into the systems that came after and how the Apple II was able to remain dominant as a gaming platform for much longer...
The Story of Chuck E Cheese
April 01, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 46.2 MBTCW Podcast Episode 015 - The Story of Chuck E Cheese We discuss the founding and development of Chuck E Cheese. We go over Showbiz pizza, and its founding as well as eventual acquisition of Chuck E Cheese. At a higher level we go over how companies need to go public in order to grow, but this is a major problem for the video game industry. Chuck E Cheese Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jLivjTOg0o Showbiz Pizza Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiN0pYSIeOU...
Nintendo: Playing with Power
March 15, 2016 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBTCW Podcast Episode 014 - Nintendo: Playing With Power We discuss the state of the industry after the crash before Nintendo came onto the scene, and the difficulties in relating with the modern viewpoint to the situation at the time. We cover how Nintendo entered the US market and set up policies that would be ridiculous today, but were necessary for the industry to recover and grow. We cover how as Nintendo grew they were eventually sued for anti-trust, and price fixing, but were exone...