They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 261 - StarFox

 

Before Star Fox, there was a developer in Britain building copy protection tools, a dinner party that opened the right door, and a Game Boy prototype game that could do something it was never supposed to do. Jez San's Argonaut Software caught Nintendo's attention at CES and was invited to Japan. The meeting led to a two million dollar deal to build a custom chip to bring real 3D to the SNES. A team of Argonaut programmers moved to Japan and worked alongside Shigeru Miyamoto and Katsuya Eguchi to build one of the most technically ambitious games on the system. The Super FX chip made it possible, and a Kyoto fox shrine gave it its identity. Star Fox sold well, but its late arrival in the SNES lifecycle meant a nearly completed Star Fox 2 was shelved and not released until the SNES Classic. The collaboration that made it all possible did not end on the warmest terms. Nintendo retained some of Argonaut's programmers, and San walked away feeling the partnership had given Nintendo far more than it had given Argonaut.

 

TCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market - Hardware: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW017-the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware

TCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market - Software: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW018-the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software

TCW 049 - Old and Elite: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW049-old-and-elite

Skyline Attack (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXb1IlVOTVM

Star Wars (Atari - Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJv94FPRddA

StarGlider (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nxTSc-4os
TCW - 130: Uncle Clive's Radionics: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW130-uncle-clives-radionics
TCW 131 - Sir Clive of ZX: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW131-sir-clive-of-zx

Sinclair C5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjiiayrKiuk

Micro Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM

TCW 244 - The History of Commodore Pt 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW244-the-history-of-commodore-pt-1

TCW 245 - The History of Commodore Pt 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW245-the-history-of-commodore-pt-2

TCW 246 - The History of Commodore Pt 3: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW246-the-history-of-commodore-pt-3

TCW 247 - The History of Commodore Pt 4: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW247-the-history-of-commodore-pt-4

Nintendo president Yamauchi gives a speech at Spaceworld 95: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V8tUea4Hbs&t=36s
TCW 198 - The History of Handheld Games Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW198-the-history-of-handheld-games-part-1
TCW 199 - The History of Handheld Games Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW199-the-history-of-handheld-games-part-2

TCW 200 - The History of Handheld Games Part 3: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW200-the-history-of-handheld-games-part-3

Pilotwings (SNES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A1hX1rGRfY

X (Game Boy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LETr1NoteMM

Scmuplations - Star Fox 1993 Developer Interview: https://shmuplations.com/starfox/

Starblade (Arcade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWhFddNopM

Starglider 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg3uQM83dl8

Thunderbirds S1E1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLiH4xrCITI

Starfox SNES Box Art: https://gamesdb.launchbox-app.com/games/images/1659-star-fox

Fushimi Inari Shrine: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html
StarFox Coms (SNES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkjR_9WVAHc
Starfox Prototype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rsRTCExBLA
StarFox (SNES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EkVHxE0Y8I

 

 

 

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

 

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com 

BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

 

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TCW Podcast Episode 260 - Vivendi Electric Boogaloo

 

How does a Canadian liquor company end up owning Universal Studios and, eventually, help create Activision Blizzard? Seagram chased diversification as liquor sales softened, tried to take over Conoco, and instead wound up with a 25% stake in DuPont that generated most of its earnings. Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold that stake to buy MCA from Matsushita, inheriting a mismanaged Universal. He then doubled down on music with a $10.6 billion PolyGram deal just as Napster, the dot com bubble, and changing listening habits blew up the old record business model. With media stocks riding high, the rest of the Bronfman family wanted out, and Jean-Marie Messier at Vivendi stepped in, using Canal+ and an all‑stock transaction to fold Seagram into Vivendi and create Vivendi Universal. On the games side, Havas Interactive and the former CUC and Cendant software assets were combined with Universal’s own games business, including the franchises of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, under a new label: Vivendi Universal Games. Then the bubble burst, Vivendi’s debt and deceptive cash accounting caught up with Messier, and he was forced out, leaving his successors to sell assets and manage the fallout. Inside the games group, Blizzard’s success defined the division, culminating in World of Warcraft’s launch and the later decision to combine Vivendi’s games business with Activision. That deal created Activision Blizzard, gave Vivendi a way to tap cash when its telecom business went bad, and set the stage for Activision Blizzard's eventual separation from Vivendi. Vivendi made one last, mostly unsuccessful push into games through moves on Ubisoft and the takeover of Gameloft.

 

TCW 064 - Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW064-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-1
TCW 065 - Rise and Fall of Infogrames Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW065-the-rise-and-fall-of-infogrames-part-2

TCW 114 - The Wizards of Sir-Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW114-the-wizards-of-sir-tech

TCW 115 - The Return of the Sdraziw of Sir Tech: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW115-the-return-of-the-sdraziw-of-sir-tech

TCW 251 - Virgin Games: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW251-virgin-games

TCW 184 - A Very Naughty Dog Pt 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW184-a-very-naughty-dog-pt-1

TCW 185 - A Very Naughty Dog Pt 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW185-a-very-naughty-dog-pt-2

Spyro the Dragon (PSX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrVKjNR0-SE

Crash Bandicoot (PSX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HtPF0ers1w

TCW 162 - Spinnaker Software: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW162-spinnaker-software
TCW 071 - A Story of Brøderbund: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW071-a-story-of-broderbund

TCW 072 - The Mysteries of Brøderbund: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW072-the-mysteries-of-broderbund
TCW 039 - On-Line Systems: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW039-on-line-systems

TCW 040 - Sierra On-Line: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW040-sierra-on-line

TCW 221 - North to Hellgate London: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW221-north-to-hellgate-london

TCW 249 - New World Computing: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW249-new-world-computing

TCW 055 - Blizzard Hellfire and the World of Warcraft: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW055-blizzard-hellfire-and-the-world-of-warcraft

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment: https://www.amazon.com/Play-Nice-Future-Blizzard-Entertainment/dp/1538725428

Disney's Dreamlight Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOuZFZOVLmc

 

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

 

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com 

BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

 

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TCW Podcast Episode 259 - A Cendant to Vivendi

 

CUC International looked like a company that never missed. Quarter after quarter, just barely beating estimates, right up until the moment Henry Silverman got access to their books and found out why. When a new customer signed up, CUC booked a full year of revenue immediately, even though billing was monthly. If that customer left before the year was up, CUC never corrected the books. The money just stayed there. Perfectly functional assets were declared worthless on paper, with the supposed losses paid off using money from merger funds. That same merger money was then counted again as incoming revenue, making the company look larger and more profitable than it was. Over $500 million in income that never existed. Walter Forbes was forced to resign and was eventually convicted of the largest accounting scandal of the time. Cendant realized the software and games division itself had been part of the machinery. They sold it to French media company Havas. That sale landed in the orbit of Vivendi, a sprawling conglomerate that had started as a 19th century French waterworks company. Its CEO Jean-Marie Messier had bigger things in mind. AOL had just merged with Time Warner, and Messier was not going to watch an American walled garden of films, music, and games swallow the market he wanted to own.

 

TCW 258 - The Shenanigans of CUC Software: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW258-the-shenanigans-of-cuc-software

TCW 039 - On-Line Systems: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW039-on-line-systems

TCW 040 - Sierra On-Line: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW040-sierra-on-line

TCW 054 - Blizzard: Vikings and Warcraft: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW054-blizzard-vikings-and-warcraft
TCW 055 - Blizzard: Hellfire and the World… of WarCraft: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW055-blizzard-hellfire-and-the-world-of-warcraft

TCW 219 - Diablo 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW219-diablo-1
TCW 220 - Diablo 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW220-diablo-2

TCW 221 - North to Hellgate London: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW221-north-to-hellgate-london

TCW 230 - Crafting the World of WarCraft: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW230-crafting-the-world-of-warcraft
Space Jam Website: https://www.spacejam.com/1996/

The Digital Antiquarian - The End of Sierra as We Knew It - Part 1 - The Acquisition: https://www.filfre.net/2025/04/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-1-the-acquisition/

The Digital Antiquarian - The End of Sierra as We Knew It - Part 2 - The Scandal: https://www.filfre.net/2025/04/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-2-the-scandal/

The Digital Antiquarian - The End of Sierra as We Knew It - Part 3 - The Dog Days of Oakhurst: https://www.filfre.net/2025/05/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-3-the-dog-days-of-oakhurst/

The Digital Antiquarian - The End of Sierra as We Knew It - Part 4 - Chainsaw Monday: https://www.filfre.net/2025/05/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-4-chainsaw-monday/

TCW 139 - Tec Toy and Brazil: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW139-tec-toy-and-brazil


 

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

 

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com 

BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

 

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TCW Podcast Episode 258 - The Shenanigans of CUC Software

 

Walter Forbes built CUC International from Comp-U-Card, a phone-in discount shopping club that cut out the middleman with a small markup and annual fee, not unlike a proto-Amazon Prime. As computer networks like CompuServe, Prodigy, and GEnie rose, CUC pivoted online and Forbes set his sights on the games business, joining the Sierra On-Line board and buying out Ken Williams and Davidson and Associates for a combined 1.7 billion dollars in stock swaps. Despite promises to Williams that he would not be secondary to a competitor, Bob Davidson of Davidson and Associates ended up running the software division, and when Davidson discovered something troubling enough to dump his stock and left. The cracks were beginning to show. Williams tried to take over, was not given the time of day, and eventually left. Forbes meanwhile pursued a merger with Henry Silverman's HFS, a hospitality giant owning Days Inn, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Avis, forming the new conglomerate Cendant. The true depth of the shenanigans were only starting to show. How could a company consistently just barely beat analyst/market estimates?

 

Comp-U-Card News Brief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6H5mdSHyNQ

Credit Card Impression Machines: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S5c2mA1cnv4

New Innovations in Credit Cards (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TBD8HTssRA

The Simpsons - The Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nc88_ZEfxg

TCW 039 - On-Line Systems: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW039-on-line-systems

TCW 040 - Sierra On-Line: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW040-sierra-on-line

Word Attack (PC-DOS 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJf13H9Wbnk

Math Blaster (PC-DOS 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKi_g0g8EWQ

TCW 162 - Spinnaker Software: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW162-spinnaker-software

TCW 054 - Blizzard: Vikings and Warcraft: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW054-blizzard-vikings-and-warcraft

TCW 071 - A story of Brøderbund!: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW071-a-story-of-broderbund

TCW 072 - The MYSTeries of Brøderbund! - : https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW072-the-mysteries-of-broderbund

 

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

 

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com 

BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

 

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TCW Podcast Episode 257 - Nine Atari Games

 

The Atari VCS launched with nine games to entice consumers into the new gaming medium, and Combat set the trend of packing multiple "games" into a single cartridge. Featuring a wide array of game modes, Combat holds its own even today and served as the console's official tie-in title. Atari's partnership with Sears, however, rebranded all but one of the launch titles under different names, including Target Fun, released elsewhere as Air-Sea Battle. Many of the launch games carried multiple modes to stretch their value, and even these early titles pulled clever tricks to push past the VCS's five sprite limit. To justify the console's cost to families, Atari aimed squarely at adults with Blackjack while also including the educational game Basic Math. While many of these early titles were forgotten as more advanced games arrived over the course of the Atari VCS's life, their influence on a foundational system cannot be disputed.

 

Atari Archive: https://www.atariarchives.org/

Atari Archive (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/c/AtariArchive

Combat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNtI90yiOOU

Air-Sea Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l0AQ5LuvQM

Video Olympics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rie4hsUeDuA

Indy 500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_POr4OdHhiI

Street Racer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSYY1kK9so

Star Ship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4zySJ96a4U

Blackjack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nvWBin7_Rc

Basic Math: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv7T4ya9hcg

Surround: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhZ1wfGLq1w

How to do long form Square Roots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6evC4klO_lI

TCW 051 - Sons of Pong: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW051

TCW 201 - Advanced Balls and Paddles Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW201

TCW 202 - Advanced Balls and Paddles Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW202

TCW 009 - History of Mediagenic Part 1: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW009

TCW 010 - History of Mediagenic Part 2: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW010

 

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

 

TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com 

BlueSky: @theycreateworlds.bsky.social

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

 

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/