

Video Game History Hour
Video Game History Foundation
Industry expert Frank Cifaldi, Executive Director of the Video Game History Foundation, brings on fellow content creators, game developers, video game historians, and storytellers to teach us a little bit about video game history. Our casual, “chatting over coffee” style interviews let us see the true life of a researcher: bang-your-head-against-a-wall dead-ends, “I can’t believe no one’s told this story before” moments, the thrill of sharing incredible history with the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join us!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 14, 2022 • 47min
Ep. 98: The Sacred Pools
Dylan Mansfield, gaming historian and archivist, joins the show to share an odd piece of Sega history from his recent article Saving Sacred Pools: Sega’s Million Dollar Adult Game. This mid 90’s FMV game with adult themes was, until recently, considered lost. In this episode: we want to know why crappy games are crappy; once again, we get sucked into doing research live on the air; Frank doesn’t have much time left to do his work; Kelsey likes to “...well, actually…”; and a bit of smack talk.
See more from Dylan Mansfield:
Twitter: @thatdylanfellow
Website: www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/
Additional work on DidYouKnowGaming?: LOST Nintendo DS Game FOUND After 15 Years (by us)
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Nov 30, 2022 • 1h 12min
Ep. 97: Club Penguin
Chris Gliddon, archivist and producer at RocketSnail Games, takes a look back at the inception and evolution of Club Penguin, an MMO virtual world filled with games and activities from 2005. In this episode: Chris and Kelsey can barely contain their excitement, no one wants war - everybody just wants to chat and walk around, preserving a living game: it’s clean (but it’s a mess), business cases for archiving, and if you don’t have Leeroy Jenkins you don’t have World of Warcraft.
See more from Chris Gliddon:
Twitter: @redkeytar
Website: redkeytar.com
Twitter - Successor to CP: @PlayPartyParrot
Website: partyparrotworld.com
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Nov 21, 2022 • 3min
We Need Your Memories!
As the end of the year approaches, so does our 100th episode and we can't wait to celebrate by hearing about your favorite memories from the last 99 shows. Please send your stories, questions, and comments to podcast@gamehistory.org or by submitting through our google form: https://forms.gle/62tKAsQW6VRKUNUN6
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Nov 16, 2022 • 1h 8min
Ep. 96: Margot Comstock - “The Glue” of the Early Apple II Era
Computer and video game historian, NYU assistant professor, and all-around rad friend of the show Laine Nooney discusses their recent article One of the most important women in Apple’s history never worked for Apple. In this episode: Bitcoin, ham radios, VR, and the Apple II - it’s all related; Softalk magazine; the 1977 Trinity; and ideation on the purpose of history.
See more from Laine Nooney:
Twitter: @Sierra_OffLine
Podcast: Unboxing: https://anchor.fm/unboxingplayandprofit/
Book: The Apple II Age: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-apple-ii-age-laine-nooney/1142333554
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Nov 2, 2022 • 1h 2min
Ep. 95: PRGE 2022 Post-Mortem (Don’t worry, it’s very alive!)
Chris Kohler returns to the show, this time to chat with Frank Cifaldi about the Portland Retro Gaming Expo held annually in Portland, Oregon. In this episode: a creepy merry-go-round, PRGE museum iterations, a drive-by pre-announcement, the current collector atmosphere, and the preservation ecosystem.
See more from Chris Kohler:
Twitter: @kobunheat
Website: www.chriskohler.biz
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Kohler/e/B001IOFJPI%3F
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Oct 19, 2022 • 1h 47min
Ep. 94: Magnavox: The Great Voice
Alex Smith hijacks the show from co-hosts Kelsey and “the other Kelsey” to dive deep into the history of Magnavox, manufacturer of the first commercial home video game console: Odyssey. In this episode: a ‘loudspeaker’ really is a person who speaks loudly, Futurama, Star Trek, the government creates a monopoly, we’re going to need a lot of wire to go wireless, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra.
See more from Alex Smith:
Website: theycreateworlds.com
Blog: videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Podcast: podcast.theycreateworlds.com
Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Oct 5, 2022 • 43min
Ep. 93: Street Fighter II: What’s in a Name?
Drew Mackie, author and owner of gaming blog Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games, joins the show this week to share the history of some of Street Fighter II’s character names. We start off with a recent article of his, If His Name Is Blanka, Why Is He Green?, taking a look at the biggest theories surrounding this odd naming choice. Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun-Li, M. Bison, and Vega all make an appearance. Don’t worry, everyone communicates using their words, not fists, on this show.
See more from Drew Mackie:
Website: thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com
Twitter: @drewgmackie
Instagram: @kidicarus222
Production Company: tablecakes.com
Podcast: gayestepisodeever.com - LGBTQ+ analysis of episodes of classic sitcoms
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Sep 21, 2022 • 44min
Ep. 92: SharkWire Online
Ernie Smith, editor of website and newsletter Tedium and chum of the show, hooked our attention with his recent article Surf Like A Shark highlighting the SharkWire Online, a totally unlicensed device which brought internet connectivity to the Nintendo 64. In this episode: edgy 7-years-olds are a marketing demographic, Fisher-Price “My First Internet,” Dad is on the computer and we’re not fancy enough people, and Dan keeps the game cheats legacy alive (thanks Dan!).
See more from Ernie Smith:
Website: tedium.co
Twitter: @ShortFormErnie
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Sep 7, 2022 • 43min
Ep. 91: Life Before Final Fantasy VII
Journalist and critic Kim justice recently released a video, The Story of JRPG's in the UK BEFORE FFVII: Super Play Magazine | Kim Justice, challenging the traditional narrative about how JRPGs were introduced in the UK, perhaps paralleling how it happened in the US. In this episode we shop for hardware live on-air, underserved import culture, Donkey Kong Country takes a back seat, spoilers gonna spoil, and it takes gumption to tell people what’s really cool.
Mentioned in the show:
https://www.codejunkies.com/Products/SD-Media-Launcher__EF000580V.aspx
outofprintarchive.com
See more from Kim Justice:
YouTube: /kimblejustice
Twitch: /kim_justice
Patreon: /kimblejustice
Twitter: @kimxxxjustice
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Aug 24, 2022 • 1h 6min
Ep. 90: Colossal Cave Adventure with Roberta Williams
Designer and Sierra On-Line co-founder Roberta Williams shares how Adventure inspired her own career in creating/designing the King's Quest and Phantasmagoria series as well as her newest work: Colossal Cave 3D Adventure, a reimagined version of the original title.In this episode we’re joined by a very vocal special guest, avid readers become avid storytellers, we’re all acutely aware of our own age, and looking under the hood bears greater appreciation for design.
See more from Roberta Williams:
Twitter: @thecolossalcave
Website: colossalcave3d.com
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg


