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

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023

The KOEI Dynasty

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023

TCW Podcast Episode 182 - The KOEI Dynasty

We continue our look at KOE and their move onto the console space. This transition is rocky due to the increased costs of cartridge manufacturing. They were able to secure funding by holding a luncheon at the Imperial Hotel for distributors. They were able to start production on Nobunaga's Ambition for the NES. From there they continue to improve setting up development groups to explore new opportunities. The company was still niche until Dynasty Warriors 2 where they could finally move to mainstream gaming. When KOEI acquired Taito, doors opened to other companies' intellectual properties. This led to games like Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Hyrule Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes, and Fire Emblem Warriors. The company continues to expand and thrive today by helping Nintendo produce the popular Fire Emblem Three Houses, and the RPG NIOH. Still led by the founders in their 70s Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa are truly the power couple of the video game industry!

Ishin no Arashi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DPZoxThbiA

Pictures of Nobunaga's Ambition Famicom Cart: https://japanretrodirect.ocnk.com/product/1834
Imperial Hotel Advertisement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKbnsY3uxO4

Imperial Hotel Tokyo Dinning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG0tOFciWRw

Uncharted Waters NES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbwY4TGd5M4

Winning Post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMoXa_hgmns

Angelique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXdUcDBM0s4

WinBack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwELCSF0YBg

Dynasty Warriors 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p0keIVNNHA

Dynasty Warriors 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4GpDnf4wqk

Nobunaga's Ambition Online Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kqx101PC3w

Dynasty Warriors Gundam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqtJwFIv3OQ

Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L79pjJAZ14Q