Video Game History Hour

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 18: The Lost Power-Up Baseball with Brian Smolik Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

We uncover lost stories of the never released Power-Up Baseball, sometimes referred to as “MLB Jam,” with then programmer, now arcade game developer, Brian Smolik. Back in those days, Smolik lived the life only a young 25 year old could: programming and testing until 6 a.m. while riding a sugar high brought on by giant Slurpees. This breakneck paced work cycle was mirrored in the sweat inducing, get a running start for you pitch, maybe even break your hand on the screen style of gameplay involved in Power-Up Baseball.

See more from Brian Smolik:

Profile: Collector’s Call

Website: teamplayinc.com

Website: bigsquidrc.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 17: Dear Animal Crossing Diary with The National Videogame Museum, UK Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

Iain Simons from The National Videogame Museum, UK joins us to discuss their current project: Animal Crossing Diaries. We learn how the museum evolved itself into being over the years, ponder what video games mean, ask, “how do we preserve that meaning through history,” and learn how Animal Crossing may be the perfect vehicle to set that example.

The call for your stories and experiences in Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been made; submit your story: https://animalcrossing.thenvm.org/

See more from The National Videogame Museum, UK:

Website: thenvm.org

Twitter: @nvmuk

Twitter: @iainsimons

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 16: The Elusive WorkBoy with Liam Robertson Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

In his recent video, WorkBoy: Lost Game Boy Add-on FOUND After 28 Years - Game History Secrets, Liam Robertson not only found possibly the only WorkBoy left in existence, but also got it working! This version is certainly a step up from our cardboard cut-out version we had on display at PRG in 2019 (you thought it was real, didn’t you? Gotcha!) If only we had our own Fabtek WorkBoy, we could listen to our 8-bit national anthem, look up the term ‘breakfast wine’ in other languages, schedule sniping times for our eBay auction shopping, and calculate how many more sets of ‘day pajamas’ we can afford (almost a year of quarantine has been...interesting).

See more from Liam Robertson:

Twitter: @Doctor_Cupcakes

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 15: Speedrunning Around with Summoning Salt Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

THE speedrun historian and world’s fastest Mike Tyson’s Punch-out!! record holder, Summoning Salt, gives us an inside look at the niche, but expanding, world of competitive speedruns. His newest video, The History of Super Mario Bros. 2 World Records, depicts one of many yet unfinished dramatic battles for first place on the leaderboard. We learn how Summoning Salt got into researching speedruns, how he even goes about tracking down this information, and what he advocates for in the space.

See more from Summoning Salt:

YouTube: /summoningsalt

Twitter: @summoningsalt

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 14: Alex Smith Discusses They Create Worlds Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Alex Smith, author of They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. 1: 1971-1982 and fellow podcaster, joins us to discuss the North American console crash of the early 80’s: its causes, its effects, and the lessons we’ve learned since then.

See more from Alex Smith:

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Podcast: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 12: Thank You to Our Listeners and Q & A Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

Frank and Kelsey close out the year 2020 by answering your burning questions. We touch on topics of policy, found oddities, white whales, what we’ve accomplished this year, and what we’re looking forward to in the year to come. Thank you to everyone for all your support of the podcast, for sending in your questions, and for the amazing love and support shown during our winter fundraiser. Happy New Year!

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 11: SimRefinery Simulated by a Refined Phil Salvador Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode features the bizarre origins of SimRefinery as well as other Sim titles which never came to be. Phil Salvador joins the Video Game History Hour to discuss a branch of Maxis, Business Simulations Division, which gives us a glimpse into a path-not-taken, alternate reality where Maxis might have only made a name for themselves in the world of business. A world where powerhouse franchises like SimCity and The Sims never existed. But alas, perhaps we could have had, but now never will have, SimArby’s. </3

See more from Phil Salvador:

Twitter: @itstheshadsy

Website: obscuritory.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 10: Nintendo’s Gunpei Yokoi’s History with Matt Alt Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Much the way we all set our status to not show when we’re in a game, the Game and Watch was originally created to allow Japanese sallarymen to play games at work while their boss was none the wiser. This week we’re joined by Matt Alt as he discusses his article, “How Gunpei Yokoi Reinvented Nintendo,” which is pulled from a chapter in his new book Pure Invention.

See more from Matt Alt:

Twitter: @matt_alt

Instagram: @altmattalt

Website: mattalt.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 9: Midway Games, as seen by Josh Tsui Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

In his documentary, Insert Coin, Josh Tsui explored the good, the bad, and the ugly of Midway Games' Studio from varying management styles and their resulting culture to the magic formula for sequel games. Listen in with the guy who knows where all the skeletons are buried and learn how the NBA may owe much of its current popularity to NBA Jam.

See more from Josh Tsui:

Twitter: @insertcoindoc

Instagram: @insertcoindoc

Website: insertcoindoc.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-9-midway-games-as-seen-by-josh-tsui/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep. 8: Sid Meier’s Episode of the Video Game History Hour! Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

In this turn-based interview, Sid Meier takes us from zero to 255 and brings the show nuclear! Well, at least that’s the rumor. Sid opens up his lifelong dev notes to discuss how he got started in games, why he decided to write his recent book, Sid Meier’s Memoir!, and how he’s better at Red Baron than an actual fighter pilot. On a personal note, we can officially say Sid agrees: dinosaurs are the coolest thing, ever! (We see you, Argentavis).

See more from Sid Meier:

Website: sidmeiersmemoir.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-8-sid-meiers-episode-of-the-video-game-history-hour/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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