They Create Worlds

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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

Tuesday Dec 15, 2020

Nintendo in 1985

Tuesday Dec 15, 2020

TCW Podcast Episode 128 - Nintendo in 1985

We look at that special time during 1985 when Nintendo did a holiday test market in New York City! By being in the right place at the right time they were able to, along with market forces, revive the dead home console industry. They had quite a challenge with retailers, and a public that were hostile towards games. Knowing this Nintendo worked to distance itself from the precious era with marketing that did not use the terms video game, or cartridges. Instead this was an entertainment system. You used Game Paks. Not to mention the introduction of R.O.B. everyone's favorite Robotic Operating Buddy! By the time of Christmas 1985 with a lot of hard work Nintendo was able to set the stage for a nationwide launch the following year.

TCW 104 - A Holistic View of ET: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/a-holistic-view-of-et/

TCW 014 - Nintendo Playing with Power: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/nintendo-playing-with-power/

TCW 110 - Books of History: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/books-of-history/
TCW 124 - The Visions of Coleco Part 1: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-1/

TCW 125 - The Visions of Coleco Part 2: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-2/

TCW 019 - The Great Video Game Crash Part 1: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-great-video-game-crash-part-1/

TCW 020 - The Great Video Game Crash Part 2: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-great-video-game-crash-part-2/

TCW 021 - The Great Video Game Crash Part 3: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-great-video-game-crash-part-3/

TCW 028 - Picking up the Pieces: The US Arcade Industry After the Crash: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/picking-up-the-pieces-the-us-arcade-industry-after-the-crash/

Nintendo Advanced Video System : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEA2ePG8m-4

The Story of R.O.B. the Robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2FuHErzhVE

First Nintendo Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1-ncmPiJk

Early Nintendo Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWZo56YK9gE