Video Game History Hour

VGHF librarian Phil Salvador chats with longtime contributor to video game archaeology Misty De Méo, author of CD-ROM Journal: a blog exploring multimedia games and software. We discuss her recent article A Chronology of First CD-ROM Games answering the question: What was the first CD-ROM game? In this episode: the first adventure, the magical dinosaur tour, trivia vs. genuine artistic relevance, getting into game history research, and to ROM or not to ROM. See more from Misty De Méo: Website: cdrom.ca Mastodon: digipres.club/@misty Twitter: @mistydemeo Screenshot Blog: https://cohost.org/compactdiscinteractive  Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Travis Brown, our very own director of technology, gets technical as we talk about his role with VGHF and how he got started in preservation. In this episode: The Varsity vs The Vortex, scanning 14k pieces of optical media, scaling with Nimbies, Power-Up Baseball restoration and MAME, writing our API glue, and Frank forgets just how many projects Travis has been a part of over the years. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

We share the details of our recent field trip to The Strong Museum of Play to celebrate their newest video game focused expansion. In this travel log episode: travel woes; Wegmans toilet paper; Transformers’ shrieks at a cocktail event; a giant, playable Donkey Kong cabinet; video games ARE real; Level Up and High Score; touring the labs, vaults, and library; and finally what inspired us. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Brandon Butler, Director of Information Policy at the University of Virginia Library and Law and Policy Advisor at the Software Preservation Network, joins us to talk about a major new study published jointly by the Video Game History Foundation and the SPN which shows 87% of classic games released in the United States are now out of print. In this episode we find out how these games have become critically endangered and why it matters. Blog post: https://gamehistory.org/87percent/  The Study: https://zenodo.org/record/8161056 The Study explained: https://gamehistory.org/study-explainer/  See more from Brandon Butler: Website: softwarepreservationnetwork.org  Law Firm: usefairuse.com Twitter: @bc_butler Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Author and historian Kevin Bunch returns to the familiar guest chair to educate us all on a somewhat obscure 1970’s consolputer from his recent video, The History of the Bally (and Astrocade) Professional Arcade: Archive Annex Episode 4. In this episode, tears are shed, wrapping these things in useless metal, accidental historical revisionism, what’s in a name?, the toy industry was too small for undercutting, Dog Patch: shotgun volleyball, ironic corporate rewards for good behavior, and making friends over this hardware. See more from Kevin Bunch: Twitter: @ubersaurus YouTube: /atariarchive Website: atariarchive.org Patreon: /atariarchive Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@yuberus Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/ ubersaurus Book: Atari Archive Vol. 1 https://limitedrungames.com/collections/atari-archive-vol-1 Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank gets a bit reflective and shares how he got where he is today; not just the video game stuff, but the life stuff, too. In this episode: a youth in Las Vegas, underage drinking and overage smoking, dropping out of school, the Wild West of game cataloging, Frank can do it better, how to get sh*t done, thanking your inspiring figures, being a kinder person, dreaming big(ger), trying to find boredom, looking toward Jerry Beck, comics historians are just killing it, and learning from your spouse. See more from Frank Cifaldi: Twitter: @frankcifaldi Email: frank@gamehistory.org  Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Historian and game developer Andy Cunningham shares his fantastic new book The World of Nintendo Book, Volume One: A World of Wonders, a visual history of Nintendo merchandising. This first in a series goes deep into the creation of Nintendo of America's merchandising team of the late 80's and early 90's, something often overlooked in videogame history. In this episode: merchandising: the boring and the enticing, the logistics of collecting retail displays, creating a store within a store, the original Director of Merchandising, selling a promise, Nintendo’s retail force of ‘87, and what made Nintendo staff better? See more from Andy Cunningham: Website: worldofnintendobook.com Twitter: @TheWONBook Instagram: @worldofnintendobook Facebook: /andycunninghamauthor Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Kyle Orland, author of the new Boss Fight Books’ Minesweeper, joins the show to talk about one of the most prolific 90’s games by the same name. In this episode: the Minesweeper generation, how Bill Gates got addicted to it, the ultimate time waster, it was a mouse tutorial, Microsoft’s internal conflicts, the moral panic around games like Minesweeper, and the clock is ticking. See more from Kyle Orland: Twitter: @KyleOrl  Sr. Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/author/kyle-orland/  Book: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/minesweeper-by-kyle-orland  Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Jack Yarwood, a writer and journalist from Time Extension known for his expertise in video game history and design, shares fascinating insights about the logos of Rare and Rockstar. He discusses the emotional connections players have with these designs and the creative processes behind them. The exploration includes anecdotes on branding evolution, the balance between simplicity and recognizability, and how everyday life influences logo design. Yarwood also delves into the nostalgic impact of these iconic logos on gaming culture.

Kelsey and Frank hit record on a Friday afternoon for an impromptu, off-the-cuff discussion about a scary recent development in the world of video game preservation regarding the preservation organization Forest of Illusion. Total bummer topics include how much we rely on individual people to work for free, how many fragile points of failure there are for keeping information alive, and how there aren't any great solutions yet. But don't worry! Things get positive again toward the end. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg