Phil Adam - Spectrum Holobyte, SPA, Interplay, Amico
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Release Date: 03/12/2026
Marylou Badeaux - Warner Records, Computer Entertainer, Video Game Update, Video Take-Out
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
The history of video game magazines have given us some amazing publications that have helped historians understand the past in ways we otherwise would never be able to. One publication, a newsletter produced by mail-order retailer Video Take-Out, has emerged as probably the most significant source for information about the industry in the 80s, Video Game Update and Computer Entertainer. Marylou Badeaux and her sister Celeste Dolan, miticulously catalogued the turbulent early years of consoles and home computers for their readers. The fact that this amazing publication was Marylou's...
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November 1994
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Video Game profits collapse, PC sales boom & The Next Gen battle begins in Japan These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in November 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile device: Android:...
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November 1984
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Comdex belongs to IBM Xmas sales outlook dismal Games get protected in Japan These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in November 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile device: Android:...
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Gary Bracey - Part 2 - Ocean, Telstar, Digimask
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
For computer gamers in the 1980s and 90s, few companies were more ever-present than Ocean, a powerhouse in publishing, through their massive ad campaigns and amazing film licenses and coin-op conversions. Our guest today, Gary Bracey, was the VP of Development at Ocean and oversaw the production of many a classic, such as Batman, Green Beret and Robocop, to say nothing of being their in-house go-to guy for judging film licenses. Gary tells us about life in the Ocean dungeon, the amazing youngsters that coded the titles and what it took to get them to market and life after Ocean at...
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Gary Bracey - Part 1 - Ocean
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
For computer gamers in the 1980s and 90s, few companies were more ever-present than Ocean, a powerhouse in publishing, through their massive ad campaigns and amazing film licenses and coin-op conversions. Our guest today, Gary Bracey, was the VP of Development at Ocean and oversaw the production of many a classic, such as Batman, Green Beret and Robocop, to say nothing of being their in-house go-to guy for judging film licenses. Gary tells us about life in the Ocean dungeon, the amazing youngsters that coded the titles and what it took to get them to market. Recorded: May 2025...
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Phil Adam - Spectrum Holobyte, SPA, Interplay, Amico
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Phil Adam's career has spanned more than 40 years, from pioneering work marketing titles for Spectrum Holobyte, playing a pivotal role in bringing Tetris to the West, working at Interplay during the RPG renaisance and his current work as head of Amico. Highs and lows in a career that has seen gaming grow up and maybe, find its youthful core once again. Recorded May-July 2025 Video Version: https://youtu.be/iK3wUGg213s Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS:...
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October 1994
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Japan goes after arcades, Nintendo's Famicon gets its first licensee & Gamers come together online These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in October 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile...
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Tom Kalinske - Mattel, Sega, Leap Frog
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Few events in video game history are more legendary than the Console War between Sega and Nintendo. Our guest today was one of the generals of that war, the head of Sega of America, Tom Kalinske. Tom's story is not just a story of Sega though, he started out in advertising, helping create the still iconic Flintstone's vitamins, he redefined Barbie's image, helped save Mattel from bankruptcy after the video game crash and lead one of the most important educational tech companies of our time, Leap Frog. Tom's insight into the world of toys, games and education over a career spanning...
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October 1984
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Japan goes after arcades, Nintendo's Famicon gets its first licensee & Gamers come together online These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in October 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile...
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Richard Bartle - Part 2 - Designing Virtual Worlds
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
After spending almost 2 decades trying to make MUD a viable commercial project, Richard returns to academia after publishing his seminal book, Designing Virtual Worlds, and begins teaching and researching game worlds and player behavior. We delve deep into the study of games, talk about why it's important and the future of virtual worlds, the morality of being a god, both as a designer and a gamer, and where the industry can go from here. Recorded: February 2025 Get us on your mobile device: Android:...
info_outlinePhil Adam's career has spanned more than 40 years, from pioneering work marketing titles for Spectrum Holobyte, playing a pivotal role in bringing Tetris to the West, working at Interplay during the RPG renaisance and his current work as head of Amico.
Highs and lows in a career that has seen gaming grow up and maybe, find its youthful core once again.
Recorded May-July 2025
Video Version: https://youtu.be/iK3wUGg213s
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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Ward
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa
https://www.mobygames.com/game/224/gato/
https://www.mobygames.com/company/689/sphere-inc/
https://www.mobygames.com/person/3490/gilman-louie/
https://www.mobygames.com/company/151/microprose-alameda/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maxwell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CP/M
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP/M
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_and_Information_Industry_Association
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-chip
https://celestialseasonings.com
BBC Tetris documentary - https://youtu.be/6ohCy4ktA5w?si=ntZ50BWV2gAQFQu4
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1655/red-storm-rising/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/2637/flight-of-the-intruder/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1222/simcity-enhanced-cd-rom/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Pajitnov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Gordon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplay_Entertainment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_Entertainment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidson_%26_Associates
https://www.interplay.com/
https://www.indiedb.com/company/big-world-technology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chameleon_(console)
https://amicoentertainment.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-chip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhMdhcdfMY&pp=ygUVYW1pY28gY29uc29sZSBoYW5kc29u
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RalliSport_Challenge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Pool_(video_game)
Copyright Karl Kuras 2026