Video Game History Hour

Hosts Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador chat with Mark and Michelle Flitman, a father-daughter duo, about Mark’s career, his donated collection at the VGHF, and his autobiography: "It’s Not All Fun and Games." As a semi-retired video game and toy producer, Mark shares his career highlights as a publisher producer throughout the 90’s and into the early 2000’s at Konami, Acclaim, Mindscape, Midway, and later, Atari. Most of his titles were licensed properties including The Simpsons (Bart's Nightmare, Virtual Bart), WWF (Royal Rumble and RAW), and several Marvel properties (Maximum Carnage). Michelle shares her efforts to preserve her father's collection, which includes concept art, design documents, and prototypes. You’ll hear highlighted notable items like the Eclipse demo by Argonaut and the Monster Dunk project. The conversation also touches on the importance of trust in producer-developer relationships and the challenges of managing licensed properties.Mentioned in the show:Mark Flitman's development papers: https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/205c628c-5d0a-4de8-a5a5-782f31706ac0.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Michelle Flitman:Website: www.flitman.siteSee more from Mark Flitman:Book - Hardcover (Limited Run - Collector’s Edition): “It’s Not All Fun And Games”Book - Hardcover (Amazon): “It’s Not All Fun And Games”Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

David Haywood, AKA Haze, discusses the MAME software preservation project: a collaborative, encyclopedic haven and emulator for all those ‘forgotten’ games of our past. In December 2020, while most of us were cowering under a table feebly awaiting the fresh start of the new year, David took a look back at the community’s accomplishments within the project over the last seven years and what still needs attention in his article Looking Back at a List. He joins the Video Game History Hour to discuss the inner workings of recovering old code (including risky chemistry, dangerous plastic-melting acids, and literally reading 1’s and 0’s with a microscope), the value of Plug and Plays, and what can be learned from poorly designed games. See more from David Haywood: Twitter: @mamehaze YouTube: /mamehaze Twitch: /mamehaze Website: mamedev.emulab.it/haze/ 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/

From vacuum tubes to virtual worlds, Dr. Flori Pierri, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum, joins us to explore their unexpected journey into the world of video game preservation. Dr. Pierri oversees diverse collections from science photography to physics  homework, and, of course, video games. MIT Museum has had a recent focus on computer games and a focus on play, starting with the Michael Dornbrook Collection and plans for a 2028 computer game exhibition. Dr. Pierri shares the importance of using original equipment for exhibits and the new challenges of preserving born-digital objects. They also discuss the museum's efforts to engage with both the public and with researchers, including a collection of unreleased Infocom game materials.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Mentioned in the show:Whirlwind I: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlwind_IRoyal Game of the Dolphin: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Game_of_the_Dolphin,_1821.jpg Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseClaude Elwood Shannon, Bell Labs, “father of information theory”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon See more from Dr. Flori Pierri:Bluesky: @flori-p.bsky.socialWebsite: https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/collections-search Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s our 9th birthday and our 150th episode all at once; let’s party! Host and VGHF Director Frank Cifaldi is joined by two founding board members Simon Carless and Steve Lin. This casual retrospective meanders through the foundation's origins, its mission to preserve and interpret video game history, and its growth over the years. Our three hosts highlight the foundation's journey from a small, resource-constrained organization to a robust digital library with over 100,000 unique users. The conversation covers their initial challenges, the importance of community support, and future goals, including expanding the team, increasing interpretive content, and addressing recent digital preservation issues. Thank you to everyone who supports the work we do through Patreon, individual donations and support, our annual fundraisers, and so much more. Happy Birthday!You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Simon Carless:Website: http://www.gamediscover.co/See more from Steve Lin:Bluesky: @stevelin.bsky.socialVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank is joined by Guest Host Kate Willaert, author, historian, and YouTuber, to interview Jeremy Parish, media curator at Limited Run Games, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. Jeremy has a series of “Works” books and videos as part of a massive project to chronologize the 8-bit era. Jeremy’s work covers various consoles, including Game Boy, NES, SG-1000, and Famicom, highlighting the significance of third-party developers and the impact of the NES on game design. We share a universal complaint of the challenges of maintaining a comprehensive and accurate release list for systems like the SG-1000 and the importance of community feedback in refining our work. The conversation touches on the potential for both future projects and genre-specific series, such as Metroidvania and Shmup games.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Mentioned in the show: Jaws Retro Edition (pre-orders closed): https://limitedrungames.com/collections/all-in-production/products/jaws-retro-edition-bigger-boat-edition-switch-ps5?_pos=3&_sid=a0a6bd1b1&_ss=r See more from Jeremy Parish:Bluesky: @jparish.bsky.social Youtube: @JeremyParish Podcast: patreon.com/retronauts Website: limitedrungames.com  See more from Kate Willaert:Bluesky: @katewillaert.bsky.socialYouTube: /a critical hitWebsite: acriticalhit.comPatreon: /acriticalhitVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Our podcast Producer Robin Kunimune sits down with Director Frank Cifaldi and Library Director Phil Salvador to wrap up the final quarter of 2025. Listen to some of our behind-the-scenes thoughts on the NES panel we put together for the Portland Retro Gaming Expo; the many facets of this year’s Winter Fundraiser, including a new old game release, updated VHS recovery technology, and our $30k goal with some surprise donations; and finally our look ahead to 2026. Enjoy the show!You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Atari game developer John Van Ryzin and Digital Eclipse Technical Director Kevin Wilson both join host Frank Cifaldi to reminisce about the Atari 2600 title, and Frank’s favorite game, H.E.R.O.. We also explore John’s early career, his entry into game development, programming limitations of the 2600 (RAM, timing issues, etc.), the spiritual sequel to H.E.R.O. and John’s most recent title Alien Abduction!, the differences in modern development, and so much more.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from John Van Ryzin:Alien Abduction!: https://adgm.us/See more from Kevin Wilson:Website: digitaleclipse.comMortal Kombat Legacy Kollection: https://www.digitaleclipse.com/games/mortal-kombat-legacy-kollectionVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Phil Salvador hosts a discussion with Dr. Wendi Sierra, author of Todd Howard: World Building in Tamriel and Beyond, and Emily Higgs Kopin. Dr. Sierra’s, associate professor of games studies at Texas Christian University, book follows the career history of the Bethesda Game Studios executive producer and his influence on game design throughout the years. Emily Kopin, head of digital collections strategy at the Swarthmore College Libraries, joins us as our guest expert on the Elder Scrolls franchise to make up for Phil’s tragic lack of extended time spent in this expansive universe. Wendi and Emily take Phil through discussions of Howard’s impact on world building through micro narratives, challenges of documenting emergent gameplay, importance of scoping research, and the influence of Howard’s design philosophy on modern gaming.*This episode has a follow-up bonus episode available to our paid tier Patreon members.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Dr. Wendi Sierra:TCU Profile: https://honors.tcu.edu/view/wendi-sierra  Recent Publication: Gaming for the seventh generation: Indigenous Futurisms in games See more from Emily Higgs Kopin:Bluesky: @ehkopin.bsky.socialLatest Published Work: American ArchivistSwarthmore Profile: swarthmore.edu Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

At this year’s Portland Retro Gaming Expo, VGHF director Frank Cifaldi had the pleasure of hosting a panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System launch. Frank moderated 3 guests who were at Nintendo of America during this time: Gail Tilden, Marketing; Bruce Lowery, Sales; and Lance Barr, Product Design. This event was particularly special as two of these three guests had never before attended a retro convention. The panel discussion includes many visual elements, including many never shown publicly before, and some pre-recorded messages from additional people of note. If you’re able, you may instead prefer to watch the video on the PRGE YouTube channel, which we highly encourage: We Launched the NES 40 Years Ago Today - Gail Tilden, Lance Barr, Bruce Lowry - PRGE 2025 Portland. Either way, please enjoy this momentous event in our collective gaming history.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Let’s all learn what makes our Library Director, Phil Salvador, Phil Salvador! Producer Robin Kunimune sat down with Phil to learn all about his life as a youth, an early path to his passions, creating chaos inside the lines, the mental health struggles many face in early adulthood, finding his community, and making his way to VGHF. And, don’t forget the birds! Phil candidly shares his failures, successes, and everything in-between in this week’s episode. Take a listen.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Phil Salvador:Bluesky: @philsalv.bsky.socialVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Phil Salvador introduces the new Andrew Nelson papers collection with guest, you guessed it, Andrew Nelson, himself. Guest-host Alex Greenberg joins to chat with Nelson, co-founder and creative director of CyberFlix, known for its 1996 title Titanic: Adventure Out of Time. Andrew discusses his transition from magazine journalism to game development, the creation of CyberFlix, and the development of Titanic, which included extensive research and character development. Nelson also reflects on the impact of the game and his subsequent career, including work at Britannica and National Geographic.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Mentioned in the show:Andrew Nelson Collection: https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/5dcf7309-5e3f-4609-b264-62f44da8e79fVGHF Blog post: https://gamehistory.org/andrew-nelson-papers/See more from Andrew Nelson:Book: Here Not There: 100 Unexpected Travel DestinationsInstagram: @andrewtyrrellnelsonSee more from Alex Greenburg:Website: alexgreenberg.netVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s another quarterly update! Host Robin Kunimune talks with Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador about our recent work. From Chicago travel to launching Computer Entertainer, from our new Booth-in-a-Box to 4,000 magazines archived, from NES’s 40th to building Lego; come find out just how many new collections we've added in the last few months.  You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Phil Salvador interviews Dr. Stephanie Harkin, lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) School of Design Games Program in Australia, about her research on femininity in gaming, particularly in girls' lifestyle magazines. Dr. Harkin discusses her journey from media studies to focusing on feminine games. She highlights her findings on the lack of representation of feminine games in traditional gaming magazines and her discovery of Girl Gamer magazine, which promoted Nintendo games in a lifestyle format. We explore the coverage of games in magazines like Total Girl and the broader cultural context of game representation.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Mentioned in the show:Girl Gamer cover: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/e6beceaa-f36f-46d7-bc2a-f4599773e10eMCV pink issue: https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/39c2181c-d395-44b7-9e64-2f1c8333a922Pokémon Personality Quiz: https://gamehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Pokemon-personality-quiz-1200x847.jpgPac-Man Nail Art: https://gamehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Stephanie-Harkin-Pac-man-nail-art.jpgBig Bowser House (mistakenly referred to as "Donkey Kong Big Brother House"): https://gamehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Big-Bowser-House-cropped.jpgK-Zone: https://archive.org/details/K-ZoneJanuary2006 Imagine Magazines: https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/6187132e-315c-4be5-8498-8c55ac478ebe?sortField=date&sortDir=asc See more from Dr. Stephanie Harkin:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/saharkin.bsky.socialGames Exhibition: https://www.feminineplay.org/ Upcoming book: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9783111560939/htmlVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Host Frank Cifaldi is joined by documentarian, historian, hacker, and all around cool guy SynaMax to talk about their documentary Resurrecting Sinistar: A Cyber-Archaeology Documentary. The 1983 top-down space shooter arcade game’s unique 49-way joystick allowed players to pilot their spaceship to prevent a giant skull, Sinistar, from forming. SynaMax interviewed developers, restored cut content, and emulated the game itself to better explore the challenges the development team faced due to limited storage and to highlight the importance of source code preservation. SynaMax recently hosted a panel with said developers at the annual classic arcade game show California Extreme - a panel Frank, sadly, missed! You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from SynaMax:YouTube: youtube.com/synamaxBluesky: bsky.app/profile/synamax.bsky.socialPatreon: patreon.com/synamaxVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

We’re joined by pioneer video game historian Leonard Herman, author and publisher of several video game history books including the first comprehensive book chronicling the history of the videogame industry, Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Home Videogames, and its subsequent series. We touch on Leonard’s early career, the challenges of self-publishing, and the evolution of his Phoenix series through various editions, including his most recent Phoenix Five. Leonard also highlights his collaborations with Ralph Baer and his efforts to correct historical misconceptions, particularly those around the co-founders of Atari.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Leonard Herman:Website: thegamescholar.com Facebook: Leonard HermanFacebook (book): Phoenix 5 - The History of the Videogame Industry Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Host Phil Salvador is joined by Derek Alexander, of the YouTube channel Stop Skeletons From Fighting, and Zarithya, of the YouTube channel Zarithya, to talk about the fan-restored 16-player mode for the 1991 Game Boy game Faceball 2000 as laid out in My 2 Year Journey to Solve the 30-Year Myth of Faceball 2000 | SSFF. In this bit of video game archeology, Derek and Zari take us through the collaborative effort, the technical expertise required to create custom adapters and controllers, and the investigation into historical claims to execute this endeavor. But in the end, did it even work?You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Derek Alexander:Bluesky: @stopskeletons.bsky.socialYouTube: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingTwitch: /stop skeletons from fightingPatreon: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingSee more from Zarithya:YouTube: @ZarithyaTwitch: /ZarithyaBluesky: @zarithya.onlineVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank Cifaldi and guest-host Kate Willaert (of A Critical Hit) are joined by Marylou Badeaux to discuss the history of the vitally important Computer Entertainer, also known as The Video Game Update: a monthly newsletter which covered video game availability information and reviews in the 1980’s. Co-created with Marylou’s sister Celeste Dolan, this publication has helped provide historians with game information found from no other source, especially during the time of the 1983 game crash. Marylou reflects on the challenges they faced running a mail-order video game business as well as how they were able to gather such detailed information at the time. Marylou also touches briefly on her career working closely with Prince.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Marylou Badeaux:Website: www.memories4you.com.auBook: Moments - Remembering PrinceSee more from Kate Willaert:Bluesky: @katewillaert.bsky.socialYouTube: /a critical hitWebsite: acriticalhit.comPatreon: /acriticalhitVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s time for a little review of what we’ve been up to, so far, this year. With the official launch of our digital library archive, livestreams of game magazine unboxing and EPROM dumping, the newest collections of Craig Stitt and Kirk Henderson, a Trade Magazine Week special event, and teasing some special new acquisitions we have SO much to catch you up on!You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Veteran game designer and author Lawrence Schick shares stories from his early 80's work with the ColecoVision, Atari 2600, and Intellivision. With over four decades of experience in the industry, Schick details how he helped pioneer a multi-discipline, team-based approach to game development designing games like Smurf: Rescue and Tarzan while pulling from a wealth of experience in pen-and-paper RPGs.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Lawrence Schick:Website: https://swashbucklingadventure.net/Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

On this special video episode of the Video Game History Hour, we sat down with Craig Stitt, retired game artist and designer. Craig worked on games including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Kid Chameleon, Ratchet & Clank, and Spyro the Dragon. He gave us a tour of his portfolio and talked about working at Sega in America, creating Spyro, dealing with burnout, and what it means for fans to connect with his work.Access the Craig Stitt art and design papers at the VGHF Library: https://archive.gamehistory.org/folder/cbcc6ed2-324c-43f0-9002-8e07455484bc*This episode was recorded as a video, with visual components, available on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAN6AD2_fs0.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg