Video Game History Hour

• Episode 140: The 49 Ways of Sinistar

  Host Frank Cifaldi is joined by documentarian, historian, hacker, and all around cool guy SynaMax to talk about their documentary Resurrecting Sinistar: A Cyber-Archaeology Documentary. The 1983 top-down space shooter arcade game’s unique 49-way joystick allowed players to pilot their spaceship to prevent a giant skull, Sinistar, from forming. SynaMax interviewed developers, restored cut content, and emulated the game itself to better explore the challenges the development team faced due to limited storage and to highlight the importance of source code preservation. SynaMax recently hosted a panel with said developers at the annual classic arcade game show California Extreme - a panel Frank, sadly, missed! You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from SynaMax:YouTube: youtube.com/synamaxBluesky: bsky.app/profile/synamax.bsky.socialPatreon: patreon.com/synamaxVideo Game History Foundation:Email: [email protected]: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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• Episode 139: Phoenix: The Rise of Leonard Herman

  We’re joined by pioneer video game historian Leonard Herman, author and publisher of several video game history books including the first comprehensive book chronicling the history of the videogame industry, Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Home Videogames, and its subsequent series. We touch on Leonard’s early career, the challenges of self-publishing, and the evolution of his Phoenix series through various editions, including his most recent Phoenix Five. Leonard also highlights his collaborations with Ralph Baer and his efforts to correct historical misconceptions, particularly those around the co-founders of Atari.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Leonard Herman:Website: thegamescholar.com Facebook: Leonard HermanFacebook (book): Phoenix 5 - The History of the Videogame Industry Video Game History Foundation:Email: [email protected]: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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• Episode 138: Playing Faceball 2000 With 15 of Your Closest Friends

  Host Phil Salvador is joined by Derek Alexander, of the YouTube channel Stop Skeletons From Fighting, and Zarithya, of the YouTube channel Zarithya, to talk about the fan-restored 16-player mode for the 1991 Game Boy game Faceball 2000 as laid out in My 2 Year Journey to Solve the 30-Year Myth of Faceball 2000 | SSFF. In this bit of video game archeology, Derek and Zari take us through the collaborative effort, the technical expertise required to create custom adapters and controllers, and the investigation into historical claims to execute this endeavor. But in the end, did it even work?You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Derek Alexander:Bluesky: @stopskeletons.bsky.socialYouTube: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingTwitch: /stop skeletons from fightingPatreon: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingSee more from Zarithya:YouTube: @ZarithyaTwitch: /ZarithyaBluesky: @zarithya.onlineVideo Game History Foundation:Email: [email protected]: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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• Episode 137: Computer Entertainer

  Frank Cifaldi and guest-host Kate Willaert (of A Critical Hit) are joined by Marylou Badeaux to discuss the history of the vitally important Computer Entertainer, also known as The Video Game Update: a monthly newsletter which covered video game availability information and reviews in the 1980’s. Co-created with Marylou’s sister Celeste Dolan, this publication has helped provide historians with game information found from no other source, especially during the time of the 1983 game crash. Marylou reflects on the challenges they faced running a mail-order video game business as well as how they were able to gather such detailed information at the time. Marylou also touches briefly on her career working closely with Prince.You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.See more from Marylou Badeaux:Website: www.memories4you.com.auBook: Moments - Remembering PrinceSee more from Kate Willaert:Bluesky: @katewillaert.bsky.socialYouTube: /a critical hitWebsite: acriticalhit.comPatreon: /acriticalhitVideo Game History Foundation:Email: [email protected]: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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• Episode 136: Halfway Through 2025: A Mid-Year Update

  It’s time for a little review of what we’ve been up to, so far, this year. With the official launch of our digital library archive, livestreams of game magazine unboxing and EPROM dumping, the newest collections of Craig Stitt and Kirk Henderson, a Trade Magazine Week special event, and teasing some special new acquisitions we have SO much to catch you up on!You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: [email protected]: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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