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A Close Look at SEGA & Parent Company CSKAlex Smith of They Create Worlds , a podcast focused on documenting the video game industry as a whole, has released a two-part series on SEGA and its parent conglomerate, CSK Corporation (Computer Service Kabushiki-Kaisha) . The series offers a well-researched and nuanced look at Isao Okawa , the owner of CSK & subsidiary SEGA Enterprises and the ultimate downfall of SEGA during the Dreamcast era. Part 1 covers the origin of CSK and major players involved, Okawa’s bold move to pivot CSK during uncertain times, the purchase of SEGA from Gulf and Western, the decade-long corporate transition from U.S. company to a traditional Japanese company, and SEGA becoming publicly traded in Japan. 
The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall – They Create WorldsTCW Podcast Episode 254 – The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall Bethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era! TCW 156 – Madden for Some Football: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156 Gridiron (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU Wayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ Tell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU (Explicit) Sodan & Magician 42 – TechTech (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A Terminator 2029 (PC/DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo Flesh+Blood (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw Jason And The Argonauts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY Khajit/Khajiit Has Wares: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares Ultima Underworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8 The Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox The Elder Scrolls: Arena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM What Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0 Walk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month! TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1 Intro Music: Josh Woodward – Airplane Mode – Music – "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode Outro Music: RoleMusic – Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall 01:15:31 Masanobu End 01:17:51 A Guitar Hero 01:32:15 Virgin Games 01:30:57 Mastertronic 01:05:55 {"attributes":{"url":"http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/sega-and-csk-part-1","selectedEpisodes":[],"itemsToShow":5,"showCoverArt":true,"showEpisodeTitle":true,"showEpisodeDescription":true},"title":"They Create Worlds","description":"Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith \u0026 Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, \u0026 other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 240+ hours!","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/","cover":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/798099/tcw-2400-red.jpg","tracks":[{"id":"podcast-track-1","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-elder-scrolls-arena-daggerfall/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/r8br3ez6dt59uqrx/TCW254.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 254 - The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall\n\u00a0\nBethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era!\n\u00a0\nTCW 156 - Madden for Some Football: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156\nGridiron (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU\nWayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ\nTell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU\n(Explicit) Sodan \u0026 Magician 42 - TechTech (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A\nTerminator 2029 (PC/DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo\nFlesh+Blood (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw\nJason And The Argonauts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY\nKhajit/Khajiit Has Wares: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares\nUltima Underworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8\nThe Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox\nThe Elder Scrolls: Arena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM\nWhat Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0\nWalk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww\nThe Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nBlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social \nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 254 - The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 156 - Madden for Some Football: \u003Ca href='https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156'\u003Ehttps://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGridiron (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E(Explicit) Sodan \u0026 Magician 42 - TechTech (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETerminator 2029 (PC/DOS): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EFlesh+Blood (Trailer): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EJason And The Argonauts: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EKhajit/Khajiit Has Wares: \u003Ca href='https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares'\u003Ehttps://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EUltima Underworld: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): \u003Ca href='https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox'\u003Ehttps://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Arena: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWhat Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWalk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social \u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/fd9c0ed5-171a-3483-986b-e09d106c60cd","publish_date":"2026-03-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:15:31"},{"id":"podcast-track-2","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/masanobu-endo/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/iv2tptux3d2rt2gm/TCW253.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 253 - Masanobu End\u014d\n\u00a0\nMasanobu End\u014d is one of Japan's most important game designers, yet remains relatively unknown in the West. Starting from an uncertain role at Namco, he first made his mark by turning Dig Dug play notes into an official strategy booklet, then shifted into programming work where he learned from Namco's maze games, including Pac-Man. Assigned as a programmer on Xevious, he stepped into the lead role when the original planner left, pushing for a coherent world where every enemy and structure had a purpose in a larger mythology. The secrets, patterns, and hidden elements he built into Xevious encouraged dedicated players to map routes, chase glitches, and hunt for new techniques in a way that feels very similar to how modern communities approach speedrunning and score optimization today. End\u014d then expanded these ideas in The Tower of Druaga, fusing Dungeons and Dragons style dungeon crawling with Babylonian and Sumerian myth, cryptic treasure requirements, and a real ending instead of an endless loop. The result helped shape how Japanese designers approached action adventure, including early thinking around what would become \"The Legend of Zelda.\"\n\u00a0\nA Super Basic Summary of Gundam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA\nBlockade (Gremlin 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY\nAtari Football (Atari Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU\nBattlezone (Atari Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc\nTCW 029 - 50 Years of Namco: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/\nTCW 116 - The Atari Games You Are Looking For: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/\nDig Dug (Atari): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes\nPole Position (Atari/Namco): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA\nLearn Assembly in 10 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU\nScramble (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE\nGalga (Stupidly Explained): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0\nSpace Runaway Ideon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY\nThe Nazca Lines (SciShow): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew\nThe Nazca Lines Part 1 (Astonishing Legends): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8\nThe Nazca Lines Part 2 (Astonishing Legends): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg\nXevious (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4\nHaruomi Hosono - Video Game Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT\nXevious (Famicom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk\nDungeons \u0026 Dragons ET: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w\nPac Man Ghosts: https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/\nTower of Druaga (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 253 - Masanobu End\u014d\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EMasanobu End\u014d is one of Japan's most important game designers, yet remains relatively unknown in the West. Starting from an uncertain role at Namco, he first made his mark by turning Dig Dug play notes into an official strategy booklet, then shifted into programming work where he learned from Namco's maze games, including Pac-Man. Assigned as a programmer on Xevious, he stepped into the lead role when the original planner left, pushing for a coherent world where every enemy and structure had a purpose in a larger mythology. The secrets, patterns, and hidden elements he built into Xevious encouraged dedicated players to map routes, chase glitches, and hunt for new techniques in a way that feels very similar to how modern communities approach speedrunning and score optimization today. End\u014d then expanded these ideas in The Tower of Druaga, fusing Dungeons and Dragons style dungeon crawling with Babylonian and Sumerian myth, cryptic treasure requirements, and a real ending instead of an endless loop. The result helped shape how Japanese designers approached action adventure, including early thinking around what would become \"The Legend of Zelda.\"\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EA Super Basic Summary of Gundam: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBlockade (Gremlin 1976): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAtari Football (Atari Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBattlezone (Atari Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 029 - 50 Years of Namco: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 116 - The Atari Games You Are Looking For: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDig Dug (Atari): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPole Position (Atari/Namco): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ELearn Assembly in 10 minutes: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EScramble (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGalga (Stupidly Explained): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESpace Runaway Ideon: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Nazca Lines (SciShow): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew\u003C/a\u003E\nThe Nazca Lines Part 1 (Astonishing Legends): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Nazca Lines Part 2 (Astonishing Legends): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg\u003C/a\u003E\nXevious (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EHaruomi Hosono - Video Game Music: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT\u003C/a\u003E\nXevious (Famicom): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDungeons \u0026 Dragons ET: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPac Man Ghosts: \u003Ca href='https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/'\u003Ehttps://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETower of Druaga (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Masanobu End\u014d","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/0a804576-a361-3149-a134-8bc1593e83f9","publish_date":"2026-03-01T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:17:51"},{"id":"podcast-track-3","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-guitar-hero/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/iqh9ceh7kef22v4y/TCW252.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero\n\u00a0\nThe rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane could barely keep up with demand. The franchise's success drew corporate attention: Activision acquired Red Octane, MTV Networks acquired Harmonix, and a lingering dispute between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek license split the partnership in two, giving Activision Guitar Hero and Harmonix Rock Band. Both landed blockbuster bands from Aerosmith to the Beatles, but an endless flood of sequels and add-ons saturated the market, and what once felt like a cultural phenomenon burned out almost as fast as it arrived.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nTCW 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/\nTCW 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/\nTCW 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/\nDance Dance Revolution (PSX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE\nTCW 052 - The Many Faces of Konami: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/\nGuitar Freaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM\nPaRappa The Rapper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases\nTribe on Conan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo\nBimini Run (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\nSystem Shock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\nThief - The Dark Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ\nSimpsons - I can See the Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE\nFrequency (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY\nAmplitude (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c\nKaraoke Revolution - Drive - Incubus (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg\nThe NES Hotseat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE\nAntiGrav for EyeToy (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc\nGuitar Hero 1 IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us\nGuitar Hero 1 (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk\nGuitar Hero 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg\nGuitar Hero 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI\nRock Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ\nGH3 - DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA\nRock Band - The Beatles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.comD\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane could barely keep up with demand. The franchise's success drew corporate attention: Activision acquired Red Octane, MTV Networks acquired Harmonix, and a lingering dispute between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek license split the partnership in two, giving Activision Guitar Hero and Harmonix Rock Band. Both landed blockbuster bands from Aerosmith to the Beatles, but an endless flood of sequels and add-ons saturated the market, and what once felt like a cultural phenomenon burned out almost as fast as it arrived.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDance Dance Revolution (PSX): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 052 - The Many Faces of Konami: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/\u003C/a\u003E\nGuitar Freaks: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPaRappa The Rapper: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETribe on Conan: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBimini Run (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESystem Shock: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\u003C/a\u003E\nThief - The Dark Project: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESimpsons - I can See the Music: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EFrequency (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAmplitude (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EKaraoke Revolution - Drive - Incubus (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe NES Hotseat: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAntiGrav for EyeToy (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 1 IGN: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 1 (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 2: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 3: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERock Band: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGH3 - DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERock Band - The Beatles: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003ED\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"A Guitar Hero","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/098bc6a0-65f0-37e4-8478-ecb7e20a4091","publish_date":"2026-02-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:32:15"},{"id":"podcast-track-4","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/virgin-games/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/xp54dcixgj2hr2pb/TCW251.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 251 - Virgin Games\n\u00a0\nAs a companion piece to our Mastertronic episode, we look at the rise and fall of Virgin Games. Beginning with Richard Branson\u2019s mail-order record business and the success of Virgin Records, the company expanded into games under executive Nick Alexander, whose interest in the industry led to the creation of a Virgin gaming subsidiary. Early successes included the Dan Dare series and computer adaptations of board games. In 1987 Virgin took a stake in Mastertronic, and in 1988 fully acquired the company, gaining both its budget software business and its role in the SEGA Master System launch. From there Virgin Games developed into two distinct arms. In Europe, the company focused on distribution, bringing major publishers and licenses into the region. In the United States, Virgin built on Mastertronic\u2019s development studio, centering on strong talent and overlooked licenses, producing titles such as Spot, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators, and later major Disney games including Aladdin and The Lion King. On PC, the company found success with The 7th Guest and through the acquisition of Westwood Studios, gaining Command and Conquer. Virgin Games also had a hand in publishing Dune and Dune II. In the mid-1990s the Virgin Group began seeking a buyer, leading to Blockbuster\u2019s acquisition of Virgin Interactive, which soon placed the company under Viacom following the Paramount merger. Heavy corporate debt and shifting priorities resulted in the sale of Westwood to Electronic Arts. What remained was largely a European distribution business that later entered an agreement with Interplay and was ultimately acquired by Titus Interactive. After the collapse of the dot-com bubble, mounting debt forced Titus to shutter the company, and in 2005 Virgin Interactive quietly disappeared\n\u00a0\nTCW 105 - The Big Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/\nTCW 106 - The Small Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/\nTCW 026 - The Magnavox Odyssey: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/\nTCW 027 - The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/\nMike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Live BBC 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA\nDan Dare - Pilot of the Future (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ\nDan Dare II - Mekons` Revenge (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4\nDan Dare III - The Escape (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s\nMonopoly - Virgin Games (DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw\nSpot - The Video Game (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM\n7-Up Spot Commercials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c\nTCW 229 - US Gold: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/\nTCW 023 - The Complete Tetris Story: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/\nLure of the Temptress (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ\nJimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs\nCannon Fodder (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc\nPrevious High Scores C\u0026C Ad: https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/\nRobin Hood Prince of Thieves (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY\nRobin Hood Men in Tights - English Accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk\nGlobal Gladiators (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA\nCool Spot (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4\nAladin (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg\nThe Jungle Book (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM\nAladin (SNES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY\nThe Lion King (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k\nTCW 194 - The 7th Guest: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/\nThe 7th Guest (PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI\nThe Legend of Kyrandia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM\nTCW 208 - Two Dunes the Battle for Arrakis: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/\nTCW 082 - An Unlikely Pairing of Siliwood: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/\nTCW 064 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/\nTCW 065 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 251 - Virgin Games\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAs a companion piece to our Mastertronic episode, we look at the rise and fall of Virgin Games. Beginning with Richard Branson\u2019s mail-order record business and the success of Virgin Records, the company expanded into games under executive Nick Alexander, whose interest in the industry led to the creation of a Virgin gaming subsidiary. Early successes included the Dan Dare series and computer adaptations of board games. In 1987 Virgin took a stake in Mastertronic, and in 1988 fully acquired the company, gaining both its budget software business and its role in the SEGA Master System launch. From there Virgin Games developed into two distinct arms. In Europe, the company focused on distribution, bringing major publishers and licenses into the region. In the United States, Virgin built on Mastertronic\u2019s development studio, centering on strong talent and overlooked licenses, producing titles such as Spot, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators, and later major Disney games including Aladdin and The Lion King. On PC, the company found success with The 7th Guest and through the acquisition of Westwood Studios, gaining Command and Conquer. Virgin Games also had a hand in publishing Dune and Dune II. In the mid-1990s the Virgin Group began seeking a buyer, leading to Blockbuster\u2019s acquisition of Virgin Interactive, which soon placed the company under Viacom following the Paramount merger. Heavy corporate debt and shifting priorities resulted in the sale of Westwood to Electronic Arts. What remained was largely a European distribution business that later entered an agreement with Interplay and was ultimately acquired by Titus Interactive. After the collapse of the dot-com bubble, mounting debt forced Titus to shutter the company, and in 2005 Virgin Interactive quietly disappeared\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 105 - The Big Voice of Magnavox: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 106 - The Small Voice of Magnavox: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 026 - The Magnavox Odyssey: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 027 - The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/\u003C/a\u003E\nMike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Live BBC 1973): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare - Pilot of the Future (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare II - Mekons` Revenge (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare III - The Escape (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EMonopoly - Virgin Games (DOS): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESpot - The Video Game (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E7-Up Spot Commercials: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 229 - US Gold: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 023 - The Complete Tetris Story: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ELure of the Temptress (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EJimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECannon Fodder (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPrevious High Scores C\u0026C Ad: \u003Ca href='https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/'\u003Ehttps://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERobin Hood Prince of Thieves (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERobin Hood Men in Tights - English Accent: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGlobal Gladiators (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECool Spot (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAladin (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Jungle Book (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAladin (SNES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Lion King (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 194 - The 7th Guest: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe 7th Guest (PC): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Legend of Kyrandia: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 208 - Two Dunes the Battle for Arrakis: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 082 - An Unlikely Pairing of Siliwood: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 064 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 1: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 065 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 2: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Virgin Games","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/cca52904-8660-332e-a362-45489989ad44","publish_date":"2026-02-01T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:30:57"},{"id":"podcast-track-5","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/mastertronic/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/3ukgy3r438rm87bd/TCW250.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 250 - Mastertronic\n\u00a0\nFrom budget software publisher to the gateway for SEGA\u2019s entry into Europe, we look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic. Initially shunned by high street retailers, the company found success supplying discount games to chains like Woolworths while importing and reselling titles from other publishers for the European market. A failed attempt to bring budget games to the United States pushed Mastertronic to look toward consoles after seeing the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo rejected them due to their low-cost reputation. This led to a partnership with SEGA to launch the Master System in the United Kingdom, but a delayed release after Christmas triggered a financial crisis that forced Virgin to buy out the rest of the company. As Virgin Mastertronic, the firm gained a foothold in France and Germany while struggling with limited SEGA supply. The story ends when SEGA acquired the console side of the business and created SEGA Europe, closing the final chapter on Mastertronic.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nTCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Hardware: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/\nTCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Software: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/\nTCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/\n\u00a0\nVagas Jackpot (VIC-20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U\nBMX Racers (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08\nGhostbusters (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto\nWay of the Exploding Fist (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY\nAlians (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 250 - Mastertronic\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom budget software publisher to the gateway for SEGA\u2019s entry into Europe, we look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic. Initially shunned by high street retailers, the company found success supplying discount games to chains like Woolworths while importing and reselling titles from other publishers for the European market. A failed attempt to bring budget games to the United States pushed Mastertronic to look toward consoles after seeing the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo rejected them due to their low-cost reputation. This led to a partnership with SEGA to launch the Master System in the United Kingdom, but a delayed release after Christmas triggered a financial crisis that forced Virgin to buy out the rest of the company. As Virgin Mastertronic, the firm gained a foothold in France and Germany while struggling with limited SEGA supply. The story ends when SEGA acquired the console side of the business and created SEGA Europe, closing the final chapter on Mastertronic.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Hardware: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Software: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVagas Jackpot (VIC-20): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBMX Racers (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGhostbusters (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWay of the Exploding Fist (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlians (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Mastertronic","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/e3746e51-2174-3519-b641-a9a42aeec763","publish_date":"2026-01-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:05:55"}],"playerId":"jetpack-podcast-player-block-32161-11"}Part 2 examines the circumstances leading to Okawa’s direct control as CEO of SEGA and the financial difficulties resulting from SEGA’s internal money lending, Okawa’s dream to make CSK and SEGA more network focused and his planned contingencies for potential failure.
The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall – They Create WorldsTCW Podcast Episode 254 – The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall Bethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era! TCW 156 – Madden for Some Football: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156 Gridiron (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU Wayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ Tell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU (Explicit) Sodan & Magician 42 – TechTech (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A Terminator 2029 (PC/DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo Flesh+Blood (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw Jason And The Argonauts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY Khajit/Khajiit Has Wares: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares Ultima Underworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8 The Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox The Elder Scrolls: Arena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM What Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0 Walk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month! TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1 Intro Music: Josh Woodward – Airplane Mode – Music – "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode Outro Music: RoleMusic – Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The Elder Scrolls: Arena & Daggerfall 01:15:31 Masanobu End 01:17:51 A Guitar Hero 01:32:15 Virgin Games 01:30:57 Mastertronic 01:05:55 {"attributes":{"url":"http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/sega-and-csk-part-2","selectedEpisodes":[],"itemsToShow":5,"showCoverArt":true,"showEpisodeTitle":true,"showEpisodeDescription":true},"title":"They Create Worlds","description":"Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith \u0026 Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, \u0026 other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 240+ hours!","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/","cover":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/798099/tcw-2400-red.jpg","tracks":[{"id":"podcast-track-12","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-elder-scrolls-arena-daggerfall/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/r8br3ez6dt59uqrx/TCW254.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 254 - The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall\n\u00a0\nBethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era!\n\u00a0\nTCW 156 - Madden for Some Football: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156\nGridiron (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU\nWayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ\nTell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU\n(Explicit) Sodan \u0026 Magician 42 - TechTech (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A\nTerminator 2029 (PC/DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo\nFlesh+Blood (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw\nJason And The Argonauts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY\nKhajit/Khajiit Has Wares: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares\nUltima Underworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8\nThe Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox\nThe Elder Scrolls: Arena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM\nWhat Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0\nWalk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww\nThe Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nBlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social \nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 254 - The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBethesda Softworks, founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver with sports titles like Gridiron and Wayne Gretzky Hockey along with licenses like The Terminator, pivoted to RPGs. Demo scene legend Julian LeFay hired Vijay Lakshman as designer and buffer to management so LeFay could focus on games. Together they birthed The Elder Scrolls: Arena, a gladiator combat simulator that morphed, nine months into a 13-month development cycle, into a first-person 3D epic inspired by Ultima Underworld. Arena evolved from a combat management game to a full RPG with a procedurally generated world, unique races like Argonians and Khajiit, and a plot to topple the wizard Tharn. With the second game, LeFay, challenged by Sandy Petersen's claim that CRPGs could never match tabletop RPGs, made Daggerfall a massive world the size of Great Britain: 15,000 cities, towns, and dungeons; 44 regions; 100 factions; skill leveling based on what players actually did; and reputation grinds to unlock quests and plot. Ted Peterson, who took over lead design after Lakshman left, wove a complex plot with gray themes, diverse motivations, and moral quandaries into a simulator packed with layered systems rather than pure RPG simplicity. It sold out the initial run, hit 700,000 units, and became Bethesda's best game yet, bringing fresh air to a fallow RPG era!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 156 - Madden for Some Football: \u003Ca href='https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156'\u003Ehttps://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW156\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGridiron (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0q7sc_T3FU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWayne Gretzky Hockey (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Apj9IRcpQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETell Me Your Name (Russia Heat): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYpcZ2NfMYU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E(Explicit) Sodan \u0026 Magician 42 - TechTech (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5CujcTN8A\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETerminator 2029 (PC/DOS): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PBi-N1hQo\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EFlesh+Blood (Trailer): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyLe-k16gw\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EJason And The Argonauts: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4requMqvY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EKhajit/Khajiit Has Wares: \u003Ca href='https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares'\u003Ehttps://knowyourmeme.com/memes/khajiit-khajiit-has-wares\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EUltima Underworld: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4PUcpGSn8\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Arena (Box Art): \u003Ca href='https://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox'\u003Ehttps://bigboxcollection.com/TESArena.3DBox\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Arena: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEn6ETA7EM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWhat Do You Do With a B.A. in English? (Avenue Q): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYenQEjvlD0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EWalk Across the Entire Map in Dragonfall Unity (Timelapse 512x): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTvdK88cww\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpX5y6jiafg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social \u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"The Elder Scrolls: Arena \u0026 Daggerfall","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/fd9c0ed5-171a-3483-986b-e09d106c60cd","publish_date":"2026-03-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:15:31"},{"id":"podcast-track-13","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/masanobu-endo/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/iv2tptux3d2rt2gm/TCW253.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 253 - Masanobu End\u014d\n\u00a0\nMasanobu End\u014d is one of Japan's most important game designers, yet remains relatively unknown in the West. Starting from an uncertain role at Namco, he first made his mark by turning Dig Dug play notes into an official strategy booklet, then shifted into programming work where he learned from Namco's maze games, including Pac-Man. Assigned as a programmer on Xevious, he stepped into the lead role when the original planner left, pushing for a coherent world where every enemy and structure had a purpose in a larger mythology. The secrets, patterns, and hidden elements he built into Xevious encouraged dedicated players to map routes, chase glitches, and hunt for new techniques in a way that feels very similar to how modern communities approach speedrunning and score optimization today. End\u014d then expanded these ideas in The Tower of Druaga, fusing Dungeons and Dragons style dungeon crawling with Babylonian and Sumerian myth, cryptic treasure requirements, and a real ending instead of an endless loop. The result helped shape how Japanese designers approached action adventure, including early thinking around what would become \"The Legend of Zelda.\"\n\u00a0\nA Super Basic Summary of Gundam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA\nBlockade (Gremlin 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY\nAtari Football (Atari Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU\nBattlezone (Atari Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc\nTCW 029 - 50 Years of Namco: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/\nTCW 116 - The Atari Games You Are Looking For: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/\nDig Dug (Atari): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes\nPole Position (Atari/Namco): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA\nLearn Assembly in 10 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU\nScramble (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE\nGalga (Stupidly Explained): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0\nSpace Runaway Ideon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY\nThe Nazca Lines (SciShow): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew\nThe Nazca Lines Part 1 (Astonishing Legends): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8\nThe Nazca Lines Part 2 (Astonishing Legends): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg\nXevious (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4\nHaruomi Hosono - Video Game Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT\nXevious (Famicom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk\nDungeons \u0026 Dragons ET: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w\nPac Man Ghosts: https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/\nTower of Druaga (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 253 - Masanobu End\u014d\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EMasanobu End\u014d is one of Japan's most important game designers, yet remains relatively unknown in the West. Starting from an uncertain role at Namco, he first made his mark by turning Dig Dug play notes into an official strategy booklet, then shifted into programming work where he learned from Namco's maze games, including Pac-Man. Assigned as a programmer on Xevious, he stepped into the lead role when the original planner left, pushing for a coherent world where every enemy and structure had a purpose in a larger mythology. The secrets, patterns, and hidden elements he built into Xevious encouraged dedicated players to map routes, chase glitches, and hunt for new techniques in a way that feels very similar to how modern communities approach speedrunning and score optimization today. End\u014d then expanded these ideas in The Tower of Druaga, fusing Dungeons and Dragons style dungeon crawling with Babylonian and Sumerian myth, cryptic treasure requirements, and a real ending instead of an endless loop. The result helped shape how Japanese designers approached action adventure, including early thinking around what would become \"The Legend of Zelda.\"\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EA Super Basic Summary of Gundam: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16tDMkmZKiA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBlockade (Gremlin 1976): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUacA8Dj3BY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAtari Football (Atari Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZOtqMWHoU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBattlezone (Atari Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfKy4c7yuc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 029 - 50 Years of Namco: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/50-years-of-namco/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 116 - The Atari Games You Are Looking For: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-atari-games-you-are-looking-for/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDig Dug (Atari): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZD7VCiBes\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPole Position (Atari/Namco): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeYZGtwydIA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ELearn Assembly in 10 minutes: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S5KRJv-7RU\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EScramble (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p08J-AK-BE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGalga (Stupidly Explained): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pE2SbPgzd0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESpace Runaway Ideon: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYI251fFCAY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Nazca Lines (SciShow): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILw-mKefew\u003C/a\u003E\nThe Nazca Lines Part 1 (Astonishing Legends): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYIUJuFj9h8\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Nazca Lines Part 2 (Astonishing Legends): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F9UMJcSCRg\u003C/a\u003E\nXevious (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stjrz3CM8R4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EHaruomi Hosono - Video Game Music: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO7qAggk6-I\u0026list=PL4NXUZspQ7Bxi8nsNylZBWBK392FgMlAT\u003C/a\u003E\nXevious (Famicom): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_bS_SAzknk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDungeons \u0026 Dragons ET: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJdhL1Ni_w\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPac Man Ghosts: \u003Ca href='https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/'\u003Ehttps://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1136hi/pac_man_post_from_rgaming_i_thought_it_belonged/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETower of Druaga (Arcade): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCCGIP4SifE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Masanobu End\u014d","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/0a804576-a361-3149-a134-8bc1593e83f9","publish_date":"2026-03-01T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:17:51"},{"id":"podcast-track-14","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-guitar-hero/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/iqh9ceh7kef22v4y/TCW252.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero\n\u00a0\nThe rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane could barely keep up with demand. The franchise's success drew corporate attention: Activision acquired Red Octane, MTV Networks acquired Harmonix, and a lingering dispute between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek license split the partnership in two, giving Activision Guitar Hero and Harmonix Rock Band. Both landed blockbuster bands from Aerosmith to the Beatles, but an endless flood of sequels and add-ons saturated the market, and what once felt like a cultural phenomenon burned out almost as fast as it arrived.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nTCW 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/\nTCW 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/\nTCW 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/\nDance Dance Revolution (PSX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE\nTCW 052 - The Many Faces of Konami: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/\nGuitar Freaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM\nPaRappa The Rapper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases\nTribe on Conan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo\nBimini Run (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\nSystem Shock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\nThief - The Dark Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ\nSimpsons - I can See the Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE\nFrequency (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY\nAmplitude (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c\nKaraoke Revolution - Drive - Incubus (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg\nThe NES Hotseat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE\nAntiGrav for EyeToy (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc\nGuitar Hero 1 IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us\nGuitar Hero 1 (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk\nGuitar Hero 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg\nGuitar Hero 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI\nRock Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ\nGH3 - DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA\nRock Band - The Beatles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.comD\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane could barely keep up with demand. The franchise's success drew corporate attention: Activision acquired Red Octane, MTV Networks acquired Harmonix, and a lingering dispute between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek license split the partnership in two, giving Activision Guitar Hero and Harmonix Rock Band. Both landed blockbuster bands from Aerosmith to the Beatles, but an endless flood of sequels and add-ons saturated the market, and what once felt like a cultural phenomenon burned out almost as fast as it arrived.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDance Dance Revolution (PSX): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 052 - The Many Faces of Konami: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/\u003C/a\u003E\nGuitar Freaks: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPaRappa The Rapper: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETribe on Conan: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EBimini Run (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESystem Shock: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE\u003C/a\u003E\nThief - The Dark Project: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESimpsons - I can See the Music: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EFrequency (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAmplitude (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EKaraoke Revolution - Drive - Incubus (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe NES Hotseat: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAntiGrav for EyeToy (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 1 IGN: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 1 (PS2): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 2: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAUCBDU4Qg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGuitar Hero 3: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elOxCIpg4rI\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERock Band: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AavdHq3pemQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGH3 - DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMkjmiVo6jA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERock Band - The Beatles: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGF3uAYCW0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003ED\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"A Guitar Hero","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/098bc6a0-65f0-37e4-8478-ecb7e20a4091","publish_date":"2026-02-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:32:15"},{"id":"podcast-track-15","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/virgin-games/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/xp54dcixgj2hr2pb/TCW251.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 251 - Virgin Games\n\u00a0\nAs a companion piece to our Mastertronic episode, we look at the rise and fall of Virgin Games. Beginning with Richard Branson\u2019s mail-order record business and the success of Virgin Records, the company expanded into games under executive Nick Alexander, whose interest in the industry led to the creation of a Virgin gaming subsidiary. Early successes included the Dan Dare series and computer adaptations of board games. In 1987 Virgin took a stake in Mastertronic, and in 1988 fully acquired the company, gaining both its budget software business and its role in the SEGA Master System launch. From there Virgin Games developed into two distinct arms. In Europe, the company focused on distribution, bringing major publishers and licenses into the region. In the United States, Virgin built on Mastertronic\u2019s development studio, centering on strong talent and overlooked licenses, producing titles such as Spot, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators, and later major Disney games including Aladdin and The Lion King. On PC, the company found success with The 7th Guest and through the acquisition of Westwood Studios, gaining Command and Conquer. Virgin Games also had a hand in publishing Dune and Dune II. In the mid-1990s the Virgin Group began seeking a buyer, leading to Blockbuster\u2019s acquisition of Virgin Interactive, which soon placed the company under Viacom following the Paramount merger. Heavy corporate debt and shifting priorities resulted in the sale of Westwood to Electronic Arts. What remained was largely a European distribution business that later entered an agreement with Interplay and was ultimately acquired by Titus Interactive. After the collapse of the dot-com bubble, mounting debt forced Titus to shutter the company, and in 2005 Virgin Interactive quietly disappeared\n\u00a0\nTCW 105 - The Big Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/\nTCW 106 - The Small Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/\nTCW 026 - The Magnavox Odyssey: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/\nTCW 027 - The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/\nMike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Live BBC 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA\nDan Dare - Pilot of the Future (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ\nDan Dare II - Mekons` Revenge (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4\nDan Dare III - The Escape (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s\nMonopoly - Virgin Games (DOS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw\nSpot - The Video Game (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM\n7-Up Spot Commercials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c\nTCW 229 - US Gold: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/\nTCW 023 - The Complete Tetris Story: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/\nLure of the Temptress (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ\nJimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs\nCannon Fodder (Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc\nPrevious High Scores C\u0026C Ad: https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/\nRobin Hood Prince of Thieves (NES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY\nRobin Hood Men in Tights - English Accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk\nGlobal Gladiators (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA\nCool Spot (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4\nAladin (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg\nThe Jungle Book (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM\nAladin (SNES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY\nThe Lion King (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k\nTCW 194 - The 7th Guest: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/\nThe 7th Guest (PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI\nThe Legend of Kyrandia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM\nTCW 208 - Two Dunes the Battle for Arrakis: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/\nTCW 082 - An Unlikely Pairing of Siliwood: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/\nTCW 064 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/\nTCW 065 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 251 - Virgin Games\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAs a companion piece to our Mastertronic episode, we look at the rise and fall of Virgin Games. Beginning with Richard Branson\u2019s mail-order record business and the success of Virgin Records, the company expanded into games under executive Nick Alexander, whose interest in the industry led to the creation of a Virgin gaming subsidiary. Early successes included the Dan Dare series and computer adaptations of board games. In 1987 Virgin took a stake in Mastertronic, and in 1988 fully acquired the company, gaining both its budget software business and its role in the SEGA Master System launch. From there Virgin Games developed into two distinct arms. In Europe, the company focused on distribution, bringing major publishers and licenses into the region. In the United States, Virgin built on Mastertronic\u2019s development studio, centering on strong talent and overlooked licenses, producing titles such as Spot, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators, and later major Disney games including Aladdin and The Lion King. On PC, the company found success with The 7th Guest and through the acquisition of Westwood Studios, gaining Command and Conquer. Virgin Games also had a hand in publishing Dune and Dune II. In the mid-1990s the Virgin Group began seeking a buyer, leading to Blockbuster\u2019s acquisition of Virgin Interactive, which soon placed the company under Viacom following the Paramount merger. Heavy corporate debt and shifting priorities resulted in the sale of Westwood to Electronic Arts. What remained was largely a European distribution business that later entered an agreement with Interplay and was ultimately acquired by Titus Interactive. After the collapse of the dot-com bubble, mounting debt forced Titus to shutter the company, and in 2005 Virgin Interactive quietly disappeared\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 105 - The Big Voice of Magnavox: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 106 - The Small Voice of Magnavox: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 026 - The Magnavox Odyssey: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-odyssey/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 027 - The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/\u003C/a\u003E\nMike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Live BBC 1973): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYQYOM66MA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare - Pilot of the Future (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUEDOu5ewIQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare II - Mekons` Revenge (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lheo_ao8K4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EDan Dare III - The Escape (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK62NSaE75s\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EMonopoly - Virgin Games (DOS): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6iagpCwWw\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ESpot - The Video Game (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Ezmf6z3kM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E7-Up Spot Commercials: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNTMHqz6_c\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 229 - US Gold: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/us-gold/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 023 - The Complete Tetris Story: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-complete-tetris-story/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ELure of the Temptress (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSS5zA74jQ\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EJimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pr3IsnqxGs\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECannon Fodder (Amiga): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFP8WUrBVHc\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPrevious High Scores C\u0026C Ad: \u003Ca href='https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/'\u003Ehttps://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolRidiculous/comments/x1k61n/could_you_even_imagine_if_westwood_studios/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERobin Hood Prince of Thieves (NES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1AGDZiLVY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ERobin Hood Men in Tights - English Accent: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9tEH7iWOyk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EGlobal Gladiators (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9_-iEdXAA\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECool Spot (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTROI2ODRM4\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAladin (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqx0rq7ACg\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Jungle Book (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivK2swrtqM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAladin (SNES): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9m2gAuWkOY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Lion King (Genesis): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-U4RObki-k\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 194 - The 7th Guest: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-7th-guest/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe 7th Guest (PC): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Z-Q5KVTyI\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EThe Legend of Kyrandia: \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6BE4HOjnM\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 208 - Two Dunes the Battle for Arrakis: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/two-dunes-the-battle-for-arrakis/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 082 - An Unlikely Pairing of Siliwood: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/an-unlikely-pairing-of-siliwood/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 064 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 1: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ETCW 065 - The Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 2: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Arial;font-size: 11.25pt\"\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in\"\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt;color: black\"\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp style=\"margin: 0in;font-family: Calibri;font-size: 11.0pt\"\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Virgin Games","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/cca52904-8660-332e-a362-45489989ad44","publish_date":"2026-02-01T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:30:57"},{"id":"podcast-track-16","link":"https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/mastertronic/","src":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/3ukgy3r438rm87bd/TCW250.mp3","type":"audio/mpeg","description":"TCW Podcast Episode 250 - Mastertronic\n\u00a0\nFrom budget software publisher to the gateway for SEGA\u2019s entry into Europe, we look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic. Initially shunned by high street retailers, the company found success supplying discount games to chains like Woolworths while importing and reselling titles from other publishers for the European market. A failed attempt to bring budget games to the United States pushed Mastertronic to look toward consoles after seeing the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo rejected them due to their low-cost reputation. This led to a partnership with SEGA to launch the Master System in the United Kingdom, but a delayed release after Christmas triggered a financial crisis that forced Virgin to buy out the rest of the company. As Virgin Mastertronic, the firm gained a foothold in France and Germany while struggling with limited SEGA supply. The story ends when SEGA acquired the console side of the business and created SEGA Europe, closing the final chapter on Mastertronic.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nTCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Hardware: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/\nTCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Software: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/\nTCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/\n\u00a0\nVagas Jackpot (VIC-20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U\nBMX Racers (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08\nGhostbusters (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto\nWay of the Exploding Fist (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY\nAlians (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g\n\u00a0\nNew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\n\u00a0\nTCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\nTwitter: @tcwpodcast\nPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\nAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\nAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u00a0\nOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u00a0\n\u00a0\nCopyright: Attribution:\u00a0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","description_html":"\u003Cp\u003ETCW Podcast Episode 250 - Mastertronic\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom budget software publisher to the gateway for SEGA\u2019s entry into Europe, we look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic. Initially shunned by high street retailers, the company found success supplying discount games to chains like Woolworths while importing and reselling titles from other publishers for the European market. A failed attempt to bring budget games to the United States pushed Mastertronic to look toward consoles after seeing the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo rejected them due to their low-cost reputation. This led to a partnership with SEGA to launch the Master System in the United Kingdom, but a delayed release after Christmas triggered a financial crisis that forced Virgin to buy out the rest of the company. As Virgin Mastertronic, the firm gained a foothold in France and Germany while struggling with limited SEGA supply. The story ends when SEGA acquired the console side of the business and created SEGA Europe, closing the final chapter on Mastertronic.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Hardware: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Software: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: \u003Ca href='https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/'\u003Ehttps://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVagas Jackpot (VIC-20): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBMX Racers (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGhostbusters (ZX Spectrum): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWay of the Exploding Fist (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlians (C64): \u003Ca href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g'\u003Ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETwitter: @tcwpodcast\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPatreon: \u003Ca href='https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds'\u003Ehttps://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlex's Video Game History Blog:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/'\u003Ehttp://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: \u003Ca href='http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1'\u003Ehttp://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIntro Music:\u00a0Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - \u00a0Music - \"Airplane Mode\" by Josh Woodward. Free download: \u003Ca href='http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode'\u003Ehttp://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOutro Music:\u00a0RoleMusic - Bacterial Love:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love'\u003Ehttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love\u003C/a\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECopyright: Attribution:\u00a0\u003Ca href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'\u003Ehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","title":"Mastertronic","image":"","guid":"tcwpodcast.podbean.com/e3746e51-2174-3519-b641-a9a42aeec763","publish_date":"2026-01-15T00:00:00+00:00","duration":"01:05:55"}],"playerId":"jetpack-podcast-player-block-32161-22"}With Okawa’s passing in 2001, CSK shifted in a financial services direction, and ended up selling their stake in SEGA to Sammy, who then used this leverage to completely buy out SEGA a year later. 
Alexander Smith is a reference librarian with a background in history, research, and law who has been delving into the history of the video game industry for over ten years. He has played a crucial role in the preservation of certain documents and artifacts in early video game history and has conducted over 100 oral history interviews with key executives in the evolution of the industry. Currently, he co-hosts a bi-monthly podcast dedicated to the history of the industry (also called “They Create Worlds”) and serves as a researcher and consultant for the Video Game Pioneers Archive oral history project of the Smithsonian Institution. Smith claims his information is derived from “rare primary sources” including little-studied trade publications, personal papers collections, and oral history interviews with designers and executives, many of whom have never told their stories before.
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