CompuServe brings online services to the masses! The Battle for Tetris begins in court! Sega flounders heading into the Dreamcast launch!

These stories and many more on this month's episode of the Video Game Newsroom Time Machine.

This month we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in August of 1979, 1989, 1999. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events..

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Show Notes:

1979: Summer CES in Chicago oversahdows the National Computer Conference https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908/page/n21

APF Electronics introduces the Imagination Machine https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908/page/n23 http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=584 http://hcvgm.org/APF_Imagination_Machine.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APF_Imagination_Machine https://www.fastcompany.com/3063298/ed-smith-and-the-imagination-machine-the-untold-story-of-a-black-vid Mattel shows off the Intellivision... sort of https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908/page/n25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivision#Keyboard_Component https://web.archive.org/web/20170629111841/http://www.intellivisionlives.com/bluesky/hardware/keyboard_tech.html

RCA follows up their COSMAC VIP with the VIP II https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908/page/n27 http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/VIP2.php

Texas Instruments enters the home microcomputing game https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingbetterScan197908/page/n23 Atari gets FCC approval for the 400 and 800 computers https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ij4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&hl=de&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false

Softside warns: there’s no money in software https://archive.org/details/softside-magazine-11/page/n3

CompuServe begins offering its services to home microcomputer users https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ij4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&hl=de&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false

BYTE talks about the tech of the future https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1979-08-rescan/page/n91 https://obsoletemedia.org/data/disk/

1989: Battle between Mirrorsoft and Nintendo starts https://archive.org/details/CommodoreUserIssue711989Aug/page/n97 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fQtxKmgJC8 https://archive.org/details/ACEIssue23Aug89/page/n129 https://www.filfre.net/2017/07/a-tale-of-the-mirror-world-part-7-winners-and-losers/ https://player.fm/series/they-create-worlds/the-complete-tetris-story

Atari and Gameboy shown off at CES. https://archive.org/details/thegamesmachine-21/page/n13

Nintendo and Atari both debut their handhelds at the Summer CES in NY https://archive.org/details/1989-09-compute-magazine/page/n9

Atari announces the STE https://archive.org/details/ACEIssue23Aug89/page/n8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST#STE_models

Atari shows off the STacy and the Portfolio https://archive.org/details/1989-08-compute-magazine/page/n61 https://archive.org/details/1989-08-compute-magazine/page/n78 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_STacy https://web.archive.org/web/20071126105942/http://www.atari-portfolio.co.uk/aboutpf/ta-aboutpf.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cfQKxUffqA

Rainbow Arts releases first game compilation on CD for the C64! https://archive.org/details/CommodoreUserIssue711989Aug/page/n7 https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/1st_CD-Edition_(Collection)

Broderbund shows off SimCity https://archive.org/details/ACEIssue23Aug89/page/n27

Microprose jumps into arcade development https://archive.org/details/thegamesmachine-21/page/n19 https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7746 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQfcLl0poOA

Battletech centers announced at CES https://archive.org/details/thegamesmachine-21/page/n19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJA5C_Po4U

1999: BLEEM! Comes to Germany (and everywhere else... thanks Internet!) https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1999-08/page/n10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGHul1PrXCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleem!

Nintendo reverses corse on Dolphin strategy https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n11 https://money.cnn.com/2001/05/21/companies/gamecube/

Yamauchi to step down https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_121_August_1999 page 28 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Yamauchi

Will Nintendo's hold on the handheld market finally be broken? https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n13 https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/07/30/top-15-best-selling-video-game-consoles-of-all-time

Microsoft buys Shadowfactor https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_79_August_1999/page/n29 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamevoice

EA is prepping the launch of a little game called The Sims https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_79_August_1999/page/n45

Firaxis to develop Civilization sequel https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_181/page/n169 Interactive Magic abandons physical media https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n13 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microprose-ientertainment-network-inc-announce-152100191.html More firings at ION Storm https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_181/page/n33 https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,26588/ https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,492/

Ed Boon promises a radical departure for the Mortal Kombat Series with part 5 https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_121_August_1999 https://www.mobygames.com/game/mortal-kombat-deadly-alliance Sega lowers the price of Dreamcast in Japan https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n13

Sega losses pile up https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n15

Sony announces production of the Emotion Engine https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration56Aug1999/page/n13