They Create Worlds

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

524.1K

Downloads

257

Episodes

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 Feb 01, 2022

Nintendo Playing With Toys

Tuesday Feb 01, 2022

TCW Podcast Episode 155 Nintendo Playing With Toys

In our final look at Nintendo in the early years, we see the transition into toys and electronic games. Nintendo brought over some popular western games such as Twister in partnership with Milton Bradly. The legendary engineer Gunpei Yokoi invented some of Nintendo's first toys. These toys included; the Ultra Hand, the Ultra Machine, and the Ultra Scope. Nintendo progressed further into electronic entertainment by focusing on light gun technology with photovoltaic cells. The home light gun games were a hit. Nintendo decided to develop a larger version to be used in bowling alleys. However, the oil embargo of the 1970s caused such economic turmoil that most orders were canceled. It is at this point that Nintendo refactored the technology for use in the traditional coin-op space.

TCW 037 - Nintendo and Gunpei Yokoi: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/nintendo-and-gunpei-yokoi/

Nintendo Rabbit Coaster Game: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/02/nintendo-rabbit-coaster-game-mid-60s.html

Time Bomb Commercial 1964: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfHdq-pTDuQ

Twister 50 Years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pysdD9JSs2w

How Johnny Carson Saved Twister: https://www.history.com/news/how-johnny-carson-saved-twister

Before Mario Nintendo Ultra Hand: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/03/nintendo-ultra-hand-1966.html

Before Mario Nintendo Ultra Machine: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/03/nintendo-ultra-machine-1967-1974.html

Nintendo Ultra Machine TV Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL7QAVCgF64

Before Mario Nintendo Blocks: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/10/nintendo-n-block-introduction-1968-71.html

Nintendo N&B Block Ringer Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9cLRoiJAFw

Before Mario Nintendo Cotton Candy Machine: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/09/nintendo-candy-machine-1970.html
Before Mario Nintendo Photocopier: http://blog.beforemario.com/2012/12/nintendo-copilas-part-2-1971.html
Before Mario Ultra Scope: http://blog.beforemario.com/2011/06/nintendo-automatic-ultra-scope-ultra.html
Nintendo Automatic Ultra Scope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY9QFOnlatc

Ultra Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApGnXOIZB0o