

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

May 4, 2022 • 1h 3min
Ep. 82: MOTHER 3 for Nintendo 64
Jonathan piqued the interest of our co-hosts with his recent video EarthBound 64/MOTHER 3 N64 Spaceworld ‘99 breakdown/analysis, a detailed account of everything we know about the Spaceworld demo of MOTHER 3, a game well documented as our ‘holy grail’ in preservation. In this episode Kelsey and Jonathan must defend Cabbage, Frank pleads with you, a time traveler saves our life, Frank is haunted by what could have been, and Jonathan puts out a call for two missing magazines.
See more from Jonathan:
Twitter: @DaEgg123
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPo8kqM51sBD0USOjouTrQ/featured
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

7 snips
Apr 27, 2022 • 1h 2min
Ep. 81: Ghosts ‘N Goblins… ’N Ghouls… ’N Demons
Chris Baines shares his recently published documentary, The History of Ghosts 'n Goblins (and Makaimura 魔界村) - Full Series Retrospective | ChrisB Crisps, covering the extensive (if confusingly titled) franchise and its creator Tokuro Fujiwara. In this episode: cringing from ‘go,’ clout is expensive, women are hard to find, we visit Kelsey’s WonderSwan Corner, and Frank ruins Chris’ video. Oh, and a “Woooooow” moment from a beautiful evolution line through history.
See more from Chris Baines:
Twitter: @ChrisBCrisps
YouTube: /ChrisBCrisps
Instagram: @ChrisBCrisps
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Apr 20, 2022 • 1h 6min
Ep. 80: The Strong National Museum of Play
Jon-Paul Dyson, the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong, where he is also the VP of exhibits, shares all about the museum and its 2022 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists. In this episode Disneyland is one of the best level designs ever made, collectors make a whole greater than the sum of their parts, potted palms and vending machines bring a new perspective, and Moon Patrol gets left out in the cold.
See more from Jon-Paul Dyson:
Twitter: @jpdysonplay
See more from The Strong National Museum of Play:
Twitter: @museumofplay
Instagram: @museumofplayroc
Facebook: /TheStrongMuseum
YouTube: /MuseumofPlay
International Center for the History of Electronic Games Facebook: /ICHEG
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Apr 13, 2022 • 44min
Ep. 79: Nintendo’s Page Boy
Gaming historian Liam Robertson returns as almost a sequel to Ep. 16 to share how Nintendo’s Page Boy was almost a sequel to their unreleased Work Boy, as shown in his recent video Page Boy: Nintendo's LOST Game Boy Add-on | Game History Secrets. Man, that’s a lot of boys! We stack add-ons to get an operating system, find the origin of the selfie, assign Nintendo employees a scavenger hunt item, and Liam brings Kelsey a new secret - all at 400 characters a minute.
See more from Liam Robertson:
Twitter: @Doctor_Cupcakes
Game History Secrets series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO9mxFELVbbHM1dR6VumpP60zBENfQr0b
Video Game History Foundation:
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Apr 6, 2022 • 1h 18min
Ep. 78: Fan Culture Through Final Fantasy V
Author Chris Kohler explores the evolution of niche fan culture from analog to digital through stories from his book Final Fantasy V (Boss Fight Books Book 18). “Young Chris” learns uploading to America Online makes it live forever, all the cool games stay in Japan, you can use Mario Paint as a Rosetta Stone for Japanese, and searching the internet for information about Final Fantasy has no results. “Now Chris” manifests Frank into existence with his thoughts and will always have his back.
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

4 snips
Mar 30, 2022 • 1h 22min
Ep. 77: A Life of Game Design: Noah Falstein
Veteran game designer Noah Falstein looks back on his 42 year long, and counting, career and reflects on the evolution of both the role and industry over these four decades. We find Noah’s cassette tape, Simon is in Silicon Valley, $30 brings utter horror, Noah has to rein in the fun or else you’ll get hurt, and we put out a call for your tattoos.
See more from Noah Falstein:
Twitter: @nfalstein
Website: theinspiracy.com
Video Game History Foundation
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Mar 23, 2022 • 50min
Ep. 76: C:\>QBASIC /run GORILLA.BAS
Benj Edwards - journalist, tech historian, and recovering retro computer hoarder - teaches us a little about MS-DOS and QBasic through their How-To Geek article: GORILLA.BAS: How to Play the Secret MS-DOS Game From Your Childhood. Frank and Benj reminisce back to day zero, Snacks 'n Jaxson gets swatted, we hack a powerful secret instead of learning our lesson, and Frank sings the theme song for history.
Mentioned in the show:
Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California - https://computerhistory.org/
https://oldcomputers.net/
https://www.vintagecomputing.com/
See more from Benj Edwards:
Twitter: @benjedwards
Website: http://vintagecomputing.com/
How-To Geek: https://www.howtogeek.com/author/benjedwards/
Video Game History Foundation
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Mar 16, 2022 • 2h 26min
Ep. 75: Nintendo Power Reunion
A couple months ago we hosted a ticketed event as a fundraiser we called Nintendo Power Reunion - Stories from the Original Nintendo Power Staff. Nintendo Power was one of the most popular and iconic video game magazines in the US, and its original staff have gathered together for the first time to talk about it! Our panelists are Gail Tilden, Howard Philips, Leslie Swan, and Jeff Bafus. Please enjoy the audio from an incredible afternoon of stories and behind-the-scenes making of the classic Nintendo magazine.
Our Panelists:
Gail Tilden - Nintendo of America’s first VP of Brand Management, creator and first Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Power.
Howard Phillips - Nintendo of America’s Game Master, co-star of the Howard & Nester comics in Nintendo Power.
Leslie Swan - Second Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Power, and first Localization Director at Nintendo of America.
Jeff Bafus - Former Sales and Marketing manager at Nintendo of America, writer/editor for Nintendo Power and Nintendo Power Strategy Guide.
Video Game History Foundation
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Mar 9, 2022 • 1h 13min
Ep. 74: Pokémon’s Translator: Nob Ogasawara
Translator, localizer, and writer Nob Ogasawara shares highlights of his career working with the Pokémon franchise and at EGM. He shares his birthday with two funny coincidences, gets called a “god,” inadvertently creates a fashion legend, and laments a lost Brittney Spearow.
See more from Nob Ogasawara:
Twitter: @DougDinsdale
Video Game History Foundation
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Mar 2, 2022 • 1h 10min
Ep. 73: What is Source Code?
Dimitris Giannakis, well-known for creating excellent videos on the technical aspect of video game preservation, explains. Luckily, he wears a T-shirt as a perfect example, we ponder at what point the code becomes Michael Jordan, and a boy dancing with a baguette solves a problem.
See more from Dimitris Giannakis:
Twitter: @ModernVintageG
YouTube: /ModernVintageGamer
Patreon: /ModernVintageGamer
Video Game History Foundation
Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg


