They Create Worlds

https://feed.theycreateworlds.com/feed.xml

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The games we love reveal something true about who we are, and about the world that made them. They Create Worlds is a podcast about the people, technology, and forces that built the video game industry.

Through video game history, the show looks at how culture, business, and technology shaped what we play, tracing the choices and circumstances that led to the games so many people around the world enjoy.

Each episode digs into where games came from, who made them, and why they were made the way they were. Business decisions, technological shifts, and creative choices all shaped what ended up on screen, and the show covers all of it together, not just one piece in isolation.

Hosted by Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum, They Create Worlds grew out of long conversations about the strange corners of the industry and the patterns that only show up when you look across companies, platforms, and decades. That conversational feel remains, built on careful research, clear structure and editing that makes even the deepest topics easy to listen to.

History turns out to be less settled than it looks. New documents surface, memories conflict, and the clean stories about why things happened the way they did rarely survive contact with the evidence. The show digs into all of that, following the creative and business forces that pushed and pulled on each other, and uncovering the human stories that lie beneath the games so many people around the world enjoy.

New episodes are released twice a month.

Episodes

Monday Jan 15, 2018

EA Sports: It's in the Game!

Monday Jan 15, 2018

TCW Podcast Episode 058 - EA Sports: It's in the Game!

We revisit EA with a deep dive into EA Sports. Some information that was in our EA: The Teenage Years episode, but with more detail! We start off with some of the early ventures into sports, and how EA evolved into the sports juggernaut it is today. We cover the origins of the EA sports brand, how hats were a deciding factor in getting the name to be accepted by other developers, and how a trademark dispute with ESPN led to the mass market appeal of Madden Football. We also cover the origin of EA Sports hockey, and FIFA. Finally wrapping up with how the current head of EA being from the sports division is taking those concepts and trying to apply them to the rest of the industry.

C64 one on one Dr. J VS Larry Bird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URobcuTcBFU

John Madden Miller Lite Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD81-vYUt2E

John Madden Football Apple II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EbPghLpK6c

Gridiron Bethesda Softworks (Atari ST): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvzLpJkY5e0&t=18s

Amiga Earl Weaver Baseball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKp_fP06f0Q

Space Jam Website: http://spacejam.com

5 Version of Jordan VS Bird One on One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQS5VuUANJg

PC Lakers vs Celtics NBA Playoffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHw9Xu89jEM

TV Sports Football: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvA0qlecPNI

Sega Joe Montana Football: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNYZuJ_Lblg

Sega John Madden Football: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaSTAGEGwB4

PGA Tour Golf (PC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAQDRc8H8Wg