Video Game Newsroom Time Machine

Juan 'Juanete' Jose Muglia

As microcomputers opened up a world of programming, digital art and games to kids in North America, Europe and Japan, the developing world was left out of the plans of most software developers. Crackers and software pirates filled this void creating future generations of talented coders and artists, to say nothing of legions of computer game fans. Juan 'Juanete' Jose Muglia was one of those that entered this brave new world, cofounded the legendary Buenos Aires computer store Megasoft and is still active in the demo and cracker scene for the C64 and Amiga to this day. We dive deep into his roots in computing, what the business of piracy was like in the 80s, how it evolved with the arrival of publishers and how the demo scene continues to push old hardware to new limits.

Youtube version with English CC: https://youtu.be/OlpuDehH-0g

Recorded: April 2026

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Links: https://megasoftretro.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Sinclair_1000#ts1500 https://megasoftargentina.com.ar/ https://csdb.dk/scener/?id=39377 https://csdb.dk/group/?id=13371 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microman%C3%ADa https://binaryinsecurity.epizy.com/intermegadlx/?i=1 https://muglia-mocasines.com/

Copyright Karl Kuras

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 side gig while she was an executive at Warner Records, working with the likes of Quincy Jones and Prince, makes the magazine's excellence even more astounding. Marylou takes us back to those heady days and we find out what it was like to be a retailer at that time, how news was gathered and what it was like to be dealing with some of the greatest musicians of the age.

Recorded: April 2026

Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or https://bsky.app/profile/vgnrtm.bsky.social Or [email protected]

Links:

Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM/posts/marylou-badeaux-162489729 https://www.memories4you.com.au/ https://www.amazon.com/Moments-Remembering-Prince-Marylou-Badeaux/dp/0648189112 Computer Entertainer/Video Game Update Archive - https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Computer+Entertainer%22&sort=-date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyville_(nightclub) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Records https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones Listen Up - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102315/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11 Larry Graham - One in a Million You - https://youtu.be/SxCBu45HgjE?si=z8YKetaMDOTmlntt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarnerMedia#AOL_Time_Warner_(2001%E2%80%932003) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Benson

Copyright Karl Kuras

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: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or [email protected] Or Discord https://discord.gg/mYdkBJe8

Links: If you don't see all the links, find them here: https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM/posts/november-1994-161464050

7 Minutes in Heaven: Jazz Jackrabbit Video Version: https://youtu.be/IIom2LSch6w https://www.mobygames.com/game/902/jazz-jackrabbit/

Corrections: Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ November 1984 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM/posts/november-1984-157521521 Great Exhibition Digital Recreation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wNEgZDetNk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_VS._System Moondust 7 Minutes - https://youtu.be/jT3QzYpUEck?si=MbYsjB7cDptFfIBY

November 1994: Video Game Industry profits plummet Sega Reports 47 Percent Drop in Earnings in Fiscal First Half, Associated Press Worldstream, November 11, 1994; Friday 07:03 Eastern Time, Section: Financial pages SEGA PROFITS PLUNGE 43PC AS VIDEO GAME RIVALRY HOTS UP, The Guardian (London), November 12, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN HOME PAGE; Pg. 1, Byline: Nicholas Bannister In London And Kevin Rafferty In Tokyo EDITORS:Associated Press Worldstream, November 21, 1994; Monday 07:13 Eastern Time, Section: Financial pages KOEI LOWERS PROFIT ESTIMATES, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 4, 1994, FRIDAY NAMCO SUFFERS LOWER PROFITS IN 1ST HALF, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 4, 1994, FRIDAY KONAMI TO LOG 3.1-B.-YEN LOSS FOR FY '94, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 9, 1994, WEDNESDAY KONAMI SLIPS INTO RED IN 1ST HALF, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 25, 1994, FRIDAY CAPCOM SUFFERS SHARP DROPS IN PROFIT, SALES, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 24, 1994, THURSDAY Play Meter November 1994, pg. 22 TAKARA RETURNS TO BLACK IN 1ST HALF, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 18, 1994, FRIDAY T-HQ announces third-quarter results, s'ipment of the XBAND Video Game, Modem aNd new equity financing, Business Wire, November 14, 1994, Monday SOFTWARE ETC. STORES, INC. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS, PR Newswire, November 10, 1994, Thursday - 13:59 Eastern time, Section: Financial News

Software Etc. and Babbage's to merge SOFTWARE ETC. STORES, INC. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS, PR Newswire, November 10, 1994, Thursday - 13:59 Eastern time, Section: Financial News

Big money bets against Atari CBS rich with takeover rumors, USA TODAY, November 7, 1994, Monday, FINAL EDITION, Section: MONEY; Dan Dorfman; Pg. 4B, Byline: Dan Dorfman https://mdsass.com/our-team/ ATARI RESPONDS TO DAN DORFMAN ARTICLE IN USA TODAY, PR Newswire, November 8, 1994, Tuesday - 09:10 Eastern Time Atari stock plummets,The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), November 8, 1994, Tuesday,DAILY EDITION, Section: SECTION 1, NEWS; Pg. 14; APPOINTMENT NOTICE, Byline: Bloomberg ATARI CORP. ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER AND NINE MONTHS 1994 RESULTS, PR Newswire, November 14, 1994, Monday - 05:59 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News COMPANY NEWS; ATARI STOCK RISES AS DEAL WITH SEGA IS COMPLETED, The New York Times, November 17, 1994, Thursday, Late Edition - Final, Distribution: Financial Desk , Section: Section D; ; Section D; Page 4; Column 1; Financial Desk ; Column 1;

Siliwood deals abound! Activision, Henson in Multimedia Muppets Deal, Ad Day, November 7, 1994, Section: NEWS ROUNDUP; Pg. 12 Move over, nerds - Hollywood's here, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), November 15, 1994 Tuesday, Late Edition, Section: COMPUTERS; Frontier Media; Pg. 43 https://archive.org/details/electronic-games-1994-11z

Baby Bells form Multimedia Colossus 3 BABY BELLS FORM MULTIMEDIA COLOSSUS 1994, Reuters News Service, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), November 1, 1994, TUESDAY, FIVE STAR Edition, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. 6C TELEPHONE FIRMS AIM AT CABLE BELL ATLANTIC AND TWO OTHER, BABY BELLS PLAN A MULTIMEDIA VENTURE. , USERS COULD ORDER, VIDEOS.The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1994 Tuesday FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. C01 Info highway dream team / Ovitz wants Hollywood on high-tech map, USA TODAY, November 1, 1994, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: MONEY; Pg. 1B; Cover Stor William Morris goes Interactive William Morris Courts Agencies, ADWEEK, November 14, 1994, Western Edition, Byline: By Cathy Taylor Siemens gets into settop boxes 2 Companies Join Siemens In Video Plan, The New York Times, November 8, 1994, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final, Distribution: Financial Desk, Section: Section D; ; Section D; Page 5; Column 1; Financial Desk ; Column 1;Byline: By Bloomberg Business News Intel, Backed On ITV, Sails For CablePort, Electronic Buyers News, November 28, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 3; ISSN: 0164-6362, Byline: Jonathan Cassell

TCI buys into Acclaim TCI AND ACCLAIM FORM PARTNERSHIP FOR INTERACTIVE, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE, M2 PRESSWIRE, November 4, 1994 TeleWest goes public Time is right to float, says TeleWest, The Herald (Glasgow), November 8, 1994, Section: Pg. 25, Byline: Nicola Reeves

BCE Holdings to buy Rage and Software Creations NEW GAME PLAN AT £25M BCE, Daily Mail (London), November 2, 1994, Section: Pg. 65 BCE HOLDINGS TO BUY SOFTWARE CREATIONS (HOLDINGS): 2, Extel Examiner, November 1, 1994, Tuesday - 03:04 Eastern Time, Section: Company News; Takeovers and Acquisitions COMPUTER GAMES MERGER GOES TO EUROPEAN LEVEL, The Guardian (London), November 5, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN CITY PAGE; Pg. 38, Byline: Jim Levi Consoled by a £10m fortune, Mail on Sunday (London), November 6, 1994, Section: Pg. 5, Byline: Jason Nisse Computer games 'set for surge in sales', The Times, November 9, 1994, Wednesday, Section: Business, Byline: By Neil Bennett

Warner buys Renegade Amiga Games, November 1994, pg. 34 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renegade_Software

Mindscape to buy Atreid Concept L'editeur Mindscape rachete Atreid Concept, Echos, November 19, 1994 https://www.mobygames.com/company/661/kalisto-entertainment-sa/ Video game ratings system still a thorn in coinop's side Play Meter, November 1994, pg. 20 https://arcade.fandom.com/wiki/Parental_Advisory_System

Sega goes big with VR-1 Japanese take virtual reality for a ride; Sega has combined fairground rides, with hi-tech wizardry, writes Arnold Redhead, The Independent (London), November 21, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 25, Byline: ARNOLD REDHEAD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_rf9FiwBUk

Japanese Next Gen Holiday Lineup Set Video-game makers out to zap 32-bit rivals, Nikkei Weekly, November 7, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 9; Vol. 32; Multimedia video game wars begin, The Daily Yomiuri, November 8, 1994, Tuesday, Byline: Terumitsu Otsu; Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Nintendo's super 'game boy' from Dundee, The Scotsman, November 16, 1994, Wednesday, Section: Pg. 32 NINTENDO, U.S. FIRM TO DEVELOP 3-D SOFTWARE, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 22, 1994, TUESDAY https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Paradigm_Entertainment

Saturn release date set INDUSTRY TREND: CONSUMER ELECTRONICS FIRMS JOIN VIDEO GAME, ORGY, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 18, 1994, FRIDAY New Video Machines Battle For Supremacy, The Associated Press, November 30, 1994, Wednesday, AM cycle, Section: Business News, Byline: By BRAVEN SMILLIE,

Matsushita announces next gen system for 1995 Matsushita likely to market 64-bit game machines in '95, Japan Economic Newswire, NOVEMBER 15, 1994, TUESDAY Matsushita and IBM team up Matsushita, IBM in multimedia project, United Press International, November 20, 1994, Sunday, BC cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_M2#Technical_specifications

3DO announces massive loss Video Game Maker 3DO Reports $ 12.8 Million Second-Quarter Loss, The Associated Press, November 4, 1994, Friday, BC cycle (THDO) 3DO announces second quarter financial results, Business Wire, November 4, 1994, Friday Goldstar launches 3DO in USA Goldstar Co, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), November 8, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. B4; Vol. 224; No. 91; ISSN: 0099-9660 Creative to launch 3DO Blaster Unveiling the latest in computer magic / Film and fun: Morphing and more, USA TODAY, November 17, 1994, Thursday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 4D 3DO Blaster Video - Retro Collective - https://youtu.be/qaHAuGmN3Tk?si=OHf5v3Z9vfJ3RZfl

Nintendo launches massive DKC blitz https://youtu.be/SbHL8-XkXMA?si=d3GNpw2n57mTQBuL https://youtu.be/OGqUF02zVt4?si=XFO_2LUnM157ayC5 Burnett Seeks to Make Donkey Kong King, AdWeek Midwest; AdWeek, November 21, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 2; Vol. XXXV; No. 47; Yen and old product cause slide in Nintendo profits, The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), November 22, 1994, Tuesday,, DAILY EDITION, Section: SECTION 1, NEWS; Pg. 15; APPOINTMENT NOTICE Video Games Showdown: Will Sega Zap Nintendo?, Christian Science Monitor 8Boston, MA), November 28, 1994, Monday, Section: ECONOMY; Pg. 4, Byline: Mark Trumbull, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Nation Goes Ape For Donkey Kong Country; Runaway Sales for Hit Video, Game Exceed Box Office Gross for Current Number One Movie, Business Wire, November 30, 1994, Wednesda

Atari to spend big in Europe Atari Tackles Games Giants In Pounds 5m Spend, Marketing, November 10, 1994

Jaguar launches in Japan Atari's Jaguar Enters Japanese Retail Markets 11/22/94, Newsbytes News Network, November 22, 1994 https://forums.atariage.com/topic/330871-the-japanese-atari-jaguar/

Sony announces Liverpool dev centre SONY CREATES 250 NEW JOBS FOR MERSEYSIDE, Press Association, November 7, 1994, Monday SONY ELECTRONIC INVESTMENT IN, The Guardian (London), November 8, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN CITY PAGE; Pg. 14, Byline: Martyn Halsall, Northern SONY TO SET UP U.K. GAME SOFTWARE CENTER, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 8, 1994, TUESDAY JAPANESE GIANT TO MAKE GAMES AND 250 JOBS ON MERSEYSIDE, M2 PRESSWIRE, November 28, 1994

Nintendo signs Russian Distribution deal Russia: Nintendo has selected Steepler as an exclusive distributor of Nintendo video games., Kommersant, November 1, 1994 https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Steepler_Ltd.#1994:_Dendy:_The_New_Reality,_partnership_with_Nintendo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendy Mortal Kombat 2 launch is massive Mortal moral: Gore sells, money yells, Computer Retail Week, November 14, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 116; Vol. 4; Ad budget Rises Ad/Media Bulletin: Computer games ad push targets grown-ups, Marketing, November 17, 1994

Movie tie-ins getting tighter (SNAPSHOT), The Age (Melbourne, Australia), November 12, 1994 Saturday, Late Edition, Section: SATURDAY EXTRA; SNAPSHOT; Pg. 15 Another Big U.S. Deal Turns Sour for Japanese Firm, Associated Press Worldstream, November 18, 1994; Friday 06:09 Eastern Time, Section: International news, Byline: PETER LANDERS Hard lessons from Sony's software underbelly, The Independent (London), November 18, 1994, Friday, Section: BUSINESS & CITY PAGE; Page 34, Byline: HAMISH McRAE Leisure Concepts reports third quarter, nine-month results, Business Wire, November 14, 1994, Monday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye_007

Nintendo premiers VirtualBoy Nintendo Unveils Virtual Reality Game, The Associated Press , November 14, 1994, Monday, AM cycle, Section: Business News https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-ganofsky-15873/ Nintendo announces investment in Reflection Technology Inc.; home video game leader also acquires exclusive worldwide license for proprietary LED, display technology, Business Wire, November 14, 1994, Monday VIRTUALITY PLAYS DOWN IMPACT OF RIVAL NINTENDO PRODUCT, Extel Examiner,November 16, 1994, Wednesday - 07:16 Eastern Time, Section: Company News; Other https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Boy PC sales boom Spurred by many factors, home PC sales are soaring, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), November 10, 1994, Metro Edition, Section: Special; Pg. 2S, Byline: Steve Alexander; Staff Writer

Bandai and Apple team up for children's PC BANDAI, APPLE TO JOINTLY DEVELOP PC FOR CHILDREN, Jiji Press Ticker Service, NOVEMBER 10, 1994, THURSDAY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Pippin Apple sets sights on video games, The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), November 11, 1994, Friday,, DAILY EDITION, Section: SECTION 1, NEWS; Pg. 5; COLUMN

Apple to sell MacOS at retail MICROFILE, The Guardian (London), November 17, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN ONLINE PAGE; Pg. 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v4BaWwoyA0

Commodore Sale delayed... AGAIN! DELAY IN THE SALE OF COMMODORE CREATES ANXIETY A LONG WAIT COULD KILL PROSPECTS FOR THE FIRM'S AMIGA COMPUTERS. AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT ITS ADHERENTS SAY., The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 7, 1994 Monday FINAL EDITION, Section: PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS; Pg. G01, byline: Dan Stets, Amiga Games, November 1994, pg. 19

Australia funds multimedia development Multimedia funding is welcome news, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), November 1, 1994 Tuesday, Late Edition, Section: COMPUTERS; Frontier Media; Pg. 34

Korea invests in games Korea Makes Huge Game Industry Investment, Newsbytes, November 21, 1994, Monday

Looking Glass goes VC LOOKINGGLASS RECEIVES $3.8 MILLION IN VENTURE CAPITAL FROM INSTITUTIONAL VENTURE PARTNERS, MATRIX PARTNERS, PR Newswire, November 21, 1994, Monday - 14:24 Eastern Time, Section: Entertainment, Television, and Culture PC Player November 1994, pg. 17

Humongous bets on hand drawn art "FREDDI FISH AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING KELP SEEDS(TM) SWIMS INTO STORES,PR Newswire, November 7, 1994, Monday - 12:52 Eastern Time"

Staples stocks games Office Superstores Emphasize 'Play" with Software, Discount Store News, November 7, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. S4; Vol. 33; No. 21; ISSN: 0012-3587

Amstrad targets direct market Marketing Technique: Key movers - Publishers are still paying mega bucks for titles on mega bytes. So why does computer publishing continue to thrive, asks Michael Kavanagh, Marketing, November 24, 1994, Byline: By MICHAEL KAVANAGH

IBM moves to online software distribution IBM to beam up satellite-based software delivery, Network World, November 7, 1994, Section: TOP NEWS; Pg. 10, Byline: Michael Cooney

IBM introduces multilevel disc IBM's multilevel optical disk named "Best of What's New", Business Wire, November 9, 1994, Wednesday https://research.ibm.com/publications/multilevel-volumetric-optical-storage

AT&T buys Imagination network AT&T buys interactive computer games unit, Financial Times (London,England), November 16, 1994, Wednesday, Section: International Company News; Pg. 34, Byline: By LOUISE KEHOE and REUTER Xband launches PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY New video game service for kids ready to come on line Thursday, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, November 13, 1994, Sunday, Section: BUSINESS; Section R; Page 3, Byline: By Kris Jensen STAFF WRITER

Sega Channel to get nationwide rollout Sega Channel test a success -- service prepares for national rollout in December; Final test results far exceed expectations, Business Wire, November 30, 1994, Wednesday

Jaguar to go online CUC BUYS ITS WAY INTO INTERNET TRANSACTIONS; IMAGINE AT&T OWNING THE COMPANY; NOT MOSAIC, NETSCAPE; COMMERCE THROUGH COMPUSERVE; OTHER NEWS: Advertising Age, November 21, 1994, Section: Pg. 15

Sega goes online Sega goes on-line with CompuServe & World Wide Web; real-time conferences, video clips, contests, chat rooms all part of new interactive, services for Sega fans, Business Wire, November 2, 1994, Wednesday "CHRYSLER CD-ROMS GROOVE TO GENERATION X; TREKKING TO THE INTERNET; ONLINE VIDEOGAME NETWORK BOWS; AOL BOOSTS INTERNET STRATEGY; OTHER NEWS: Advertising Age, November 14, 1994, Section: Pg. 22"

Mosaic Communications changes name to Netscape CUC BUYS ITS WAY INTO INTERNET TRANSACTIONS; IMAGINE AT&T OWNING THE COMPANY; NOT MOSAIC, NETSCAPE; COMMERCE THROUGH COMPUSERVE; OTHER NEWS: Advertising Age, November 21, 1994, Section: Pg. 15

AOL goes shopping "CHRYSLER CD-ROMS GROOVE TO GENERATION X; TREKKING TO THE INTERNET; ONLINE VIDEOGAME NETWORK BOWS; AOL BOOSTS INTERNET STRATEGY; OTHER NEWS: Advertising Age, November 14, 1994, Section: Pg. 22"

CUC buys netMarket CUC BUYS ITS WAY INTO INTERNET TRANSACTIONS; IMAGINE AT&T OWNING THE COMPANY; NOT MOSAIC, NETSCAPE; COMMERCE THROUGH COMPUSERVE; OTHER NEWS: Advertising Age, November 21, 1994, Section: Pg. 15

Paul Allen invests in Cnet Vulcan gets C/NET, The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), November 4, 1994, Friday,, DAILY EDITION, Section: SECTION 1, NEWS; Pg. 47, Business Briefs; CORRECTION

Bill Gates touts information future at Comdex https://youtu.be/7fJWMsgxzvA?si=VzEkgqkFwbDHUzRz Microsoft chief sees new era in computing, St. Petersburg Times (Florida), November 21, 1994, Monday, City Edition, Times Publishing Company, Section: BUSINESS; TECHNOLOGY; TECH TALK; Pg. 8; DIGEST, Byline: DAVE GUSSOW Publishing

Pearson Buys Future PEARSON ACQUIRES FUTURE PUBLISHING, M2 PRESSWIRE, November 28, 1994

Street Fighter the RPG Play Meter November 1994, pg. 170 Fighter History suit settled Computer game makers settle copyright dispute, Japan Economic Newswire, NOVEMBER 1, 1994, TUESDAY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_East_USA,_Inc._v._Epyx,_Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capcom_U.S.A._Inc._v._Data_East_Corp. Nintendo wins again NINTENDO WINS THIRD SUMMARY JUDGMENT THIS YEAR IN PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE, PR Newswire, November 30, 1994, Wednesday - 14:45 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

GATT changes coming BAN ON CD, GAMES HIRE, The Sydney Morning Herald, November 20, 1994 Sunday, Late Edition, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. 58, Byline: BRUCE JONES VOTES IN FAVOR OF GATT, Congressional Press Releases, November 29, 1994, Tuesday, Section: PRESS RELEASE, Byline: STEPHEN HORN https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Agreement_on_Tariffs_and_Trade

US Government to fund Software Protection Efforts in China Business Report ON TECHNOLOGY China shines as new market, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, November 2, 1994, Wednesday, Section: BUSINESS; Section G; Page 2, Byline: By Bill Husted

Cyber crime booming Crimes of the 'Net', Newsweek, November 14, 1994 , UNITED STATES EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Software; Pg. 46 Internet Cafe profiled Are You Ready For The Future?, The Sunday Times (London), November 20, 1994, Sunday, Section: Features, Byline: Christopher Lloyd

Hate moves online Report Assesses Extremist Groups in Europe, Associated Press Worldstream, November 15, 1994; Tuesday 10:34 Eastern Time, Section: International news, Byline: MARILYN AUGUST Cybermania 94 awards Interactivities, Playback, November 07, 1994, Section: Pg.9, Byline: Pamela David

Lego awards video game resistance Lego awards annual prize for services to children, Agence France Presse -- English, November 15, 1994 11:14 Eastern Time, Section: International news

CNN visits Brittannia Manor Haunted House Owner Goes All Out to Create Hell at Home, CNN NEWS 3:14 am ET, November 1, 1994

VR goes Dental "https://vrarwiki.com/wiki/Virtual_i-O_i-glasses! Dentist's drill or a 3D thrill The Age (Melbourne, Australia), November 8, 1994 Tuesday, Late Edition, Section: COMPUTERS; Pg. 50, Byline: Alan Sayre"

Casio debuts digital camera New still camera puts your memories on silicon chips, The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia), November 17, 1994, Thursday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. D4 Interview with game translator PC Joker, pg. 61

William A. Higinbotham has passed William A. Higinbotham, 84; Helped Build First Atomic Bomb, The New York Times, November 15, 1994, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final, Distribution: National Desk , Section: Section D; ; Section D; Page 29; Column 5; National Desk ; Column 5; ; Obituary (Obit); Biography, Byline: William A. Higinbotham https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Higinbotham https://archive.org/details/sim_creative-computing_1982-10_8_10/page/190/mode/1up

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras

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: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or [email protected]

Links: If you don't see all the links, find them here:

7 Minutes in Heaven: KnightLore Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/157513930 https://www.mobygames.com/game/14733/knight-lore/

Corrections: Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ October 1984 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/october-1984-137843011 October 1994 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/october-1994-151072694 Mortal Kombat Live Tour - https://youtu.be/nbOQIheheDc

1974: 1974 - Creative Computing debuts https://archive.org/details/CreativeComputingv01n01NovemberDecember1974

1984: Atari claims Coleco to exit UK console market https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-15/mode/1up

Coleco exits the UK market https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-29/mode/1up

Parker Brothers abandons UK https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-29/page/n4/mode/1up https://www.sinclaircollection.site/?page_id=520 http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface2/Cartridges/Interface2_RC_Unreleased.htm

Hi-Tech isn't UK's savior Financial Notebook: Hi-tech myth / Employment falls in information, technology industry, The Guardian (London), November 2, 1984 Coinop earnings crater Play Meter November 1, 1984, pg. 32.

Nintendo pushes VS. Paks and standards Play Meter November 15, 1984, pg. 24 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_VS._System

Atari Games gets into systems RePlay November 1984, pg. 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Games https://www.mobygames.com/game/3929/star-wars/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/21280/star-wars-the-empire-strikes-back/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/17500/star-wars-return-of-the-jedi/

Konami buys Interlogic https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19841115p/page/n13/mode/2up Gung Ho - https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt0091159/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_gung%20ho

Twin Galaxies looking for world records https://archive.org/details/guinness1985book00mcwh/page/570/mode/2up?q=video+game Play Meter, November 1, 1984 pg. 25

Colecovision rides Cabbage Patch Kid coattails Rainbow Brite, Robots Give Cabbage Patch Kids Run for Money, The Associated Press, November 20, 1984, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Domestic News, Byline: By ROGER GILLOTT, AP Business Writer Cabbage Patch/Colecovision Ad - https://youtu.be/lqZsOeEWDtw?si=k3zoqYsDuL00pxmB

IBM conquers Comdex I.B.M. ENTRY UNCHALLENGED AT SHOW, The New York Times, November 19, 1984, Monday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section D; Page 1, Column 3; Financial Desk, Byline: By DAVID E. SANGER Current well-behaved packages leave user dreams unfulfilled, Computerworld, November 19, 1984, Section: MICROCOMPUTERS; Small Talk; Pg. 57, Byline: Eric Bender, CW Senior Editor Denise Carabet, The San Diego Union-Tribune, November 26, 1984 Monday, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. A-16 Comdex host to myriad micro debuts; Show features few surprises, Computerworld, November 19, 1984, Section: NEWS; Pg. 1, Byline: By Eric Bender, CW Staff PERIPHERALS;THE ALLURE OF LASER PRINTERS, The New York Times, November 20, 1984, Tuesday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section C; Page 7, Column 1; Science Desk, Byline: By PETER H. LEWIS Foreign vendors showcase wares at Comdex;Japanese, Australian, English vendors highlight product introductions in '84, Computerworld, November 26, 1984,Section: NEWS; Pg. 40, Byline: By Susan Blakeney, CW Staff

Apple ad spree continues Apple Goes After Share of Mind Over Market; 'Event Marketing' Has Become Core Of No. 2's Strategy, ADWEEK, November 19, 1984, Eastern Edition, Byline: By Betsy Sharkey and Paul Farhi APPLE'S MAC TAKING ON I.B.M. The New York Times, November 22, 1984, Thursday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section D; Page 1, Column 3; Financial Desk, Byline: By ANDREW POLLACK No Headline In Original, U.S. News & World Report, November 19, 1984, Section: NEWSLETTERS: U.S. Business; TRENDS THAT SHAPE THE FUTURE; Pg. 75

Home computer sales slump in Xmas build up https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-22/page/n4/mode/1up Leisure Sector Gives Madison Ave. Big Xmas Gift, ADWEEK, November 5, 1984, Eastern Edition, Byline: By Amy Saltzman, Bob Peischel, Jack Feuer, Betsy Sharkey, Paul Farhi, Dottie Enirco and Fran Brock

Atari cuts price of 800XL https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-22/page/n4/mode/1up Computer Wars: Atari Announces Price Slash The Associated Press, November 13, 1984, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Domestic News, Byline: By DIANE CURTIS, Associated Press Writer ATARI MAKES PLANS FOR STOCK OFFERINGS, The New York Times, November 14, 1984, Wednesday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section D; Page 4, Column 5; Financial Desk https://discord.com/channels/431269689918750731/618928892232859659/1483821277230792834 Vaughn, Mullen Get CD Posts at WRG, ADWEEK, November 19, 1984, Eastern Edition, byline: By Gail Belsky

UK is"meh" on MSX https://ia600609.us.archive.org/31/items/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1984-11-01.pdf pg. 29

India says "yes" to BBC Micro Acorn User, November 1984, pg. 10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Conductor_Laboratory https://bbcmicro.computer/scl-unicorn

USSR copies Apple Byte November 1984, pg. 134 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agat_(computer)

Sinclair working on portable https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-08/page/n4/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-29/mode/1up

ICL goes QL https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Per_Desk https://youtu.be/FdmoXjmPPHk?si=-djAjZ1Es0wDCKV2 No Headline In Original, The Associated Press, November 1, 1984, Thursday, AM cycle, Section: Business News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROLM Rolm workstations tie phone, micro;Desktop systems integrate voice, data communicationsions tie phone, micro, Computerworld, November 5, 1984, Section: NEWS; Pg. 2, Byline: By Eric Bender, CW Staff https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-22/mode/1up

QL gets 3rd party upgrades https://ia600609.us.archive.org/31/items/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1984-11-01.pdf

PC Jr gets new lease on life THE USER-FRIENDLY VOTING BOOTH IS POISED TO COME ON LINE, The New York Times, November 4, 1984, Sunday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section 4; Page 6, Column 1; Week in Review Desk, Byline: By DAVID E. SANGER Local governments tap micros for electoral activities, Computerworld, November 5, 1984, Section: NEWS; Pg. 16, Byline: By James Connolly, CW Staf PCjr's second Halloween, Computerworld, November 5, 1984, Section: VIEWPOINT; Lecht on Science; Pg. 59, Byline: Charles P. Lecht;

Tandy 1000 debuts Tandy Unveils $1,199 IBM-Compatible Computer, The Associated Press, November 8, 1984, Thursday, BC cycle, Section: Business News

Hitachi shoots for 32-bit supremacy Hitachi Plans To Challenge U.S. Makers of 32-Bit Processors, The Associated Press, November 29, 1984, Thursday, BC cycle, Section: Business News Byte November 1984, pg. 159 XTAR introduces 3D accelerator Byte November 1984, pg. 179 https://archive.org/details/PC_Tech_Journal_vol03_n09/page/n27/mode/2up?q=xtar+polygone https://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Digital_Design/Digital_Design_V15_N08_198508.pdf

Thorn-EMI fires internal devs https://ia600609.us.archive.org/31/items/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1984-11-01.pdf pg. 8 https://www.mobygames.com/company/5174/creative-sparks/

Games Workshop gets into computer games https://www.mobygames.com/game/63565/tower-of-despair/ https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-22/page/n68/mode/1up https://www.mobygames.com/company/3136/games-workshop-ltd/games/title:1/ Firebird buys Elite rights https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-29/page/n4/mode/1up https://www.mobygames.com/game/1324/elite/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/46533/elite/

Timothy Leary gets into games Timothy Leary: LSD `guru' leaps to floppy discs, The San Diego Union-Tribune, November 11, 1984 Sunday, Section: LIFESTYLE; Pg. D-1, Bline: Frank Green https://www.mobygames.com/game/254/timothy-learys-mind-mirror/ PlayNet profiled No Headline In Original, United Press International, November 4, 1984, Sunday, BC cycle, Section: Financial, Byline: By STEVE GEIMANN, UPI Business Writer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayNET

BBS gets busted FREE-SPEECH ISSUES SURROUND COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD USE, The New York Times, November 12, 1984, Monday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section A; Page 1, Column 1; Financial Desk, Byline: By ANDREW POLLACK https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/04/magazine/of-bytes-and-bulletin-boards.html The Night of the Hackers, Newsweek, November 12, 1984, UNITED STATES EDITION, Section: DISPATCHES; Pg. 17, Byline: RICHARD SANDZA

French paper Le Canard hacks French Nuclear program Computer secrets tapped / France, The Guardian (London), November 29, 1984, From PAUL WEBSTER

Hackers unpack Admitted hacker says he discovered Pentagon plans, United Press International, November 22, 1984, Thursday, AM cycle, Section: Domestic News, byline: By MICHAEL D. HARRIS

Move over modems, here come satellites! SATELLITE BROADCAST NETWORK, INC.; Satellite receiver system, Computerworld, November 19, 1984, Section: COMMUNICATIONS; Network Services; Pg. 41 New service for personal computers offers direct link to satellite, Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), November 20, 1984, Tuesday, Section: National; Pg. 11, Byline: By David F. Salisbury, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

You haven't lived until you've died in MUD ad https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-22/page/n46/mode/1up

Hackers reviewed by New York Times PERSONAL COMPUTERS; THE BOOKS GET BETTER ON NONTECHNICAL TOPICS, The New York Times, November 6, 1984, Tuesday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section C; Page 5, Column 1; Science Desk, Byline: By ERIK SANDBERG-DIMENT IN SHORT, The New York Times, November 11, 1984, Sunday, Late City Final , Edition, Section: Section 7; Page 32, Column 1; Book Review Desk; Review

Micro Hobby launches in Spain https://archive.org/details/MicroHobby057/MicroHobby/MicroHobby_001/page/n31/mode/2up https://microhobby.speccy.cz/mhforever/

Japan recognizes video game copyirghts https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19841101p/page/n16/mode/1up Commodore sees loophole in Amiga battle https://ia600609.us.archive.org/31/items/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1984-11-01.pdf

Game music gets busted https://ia600609.us.archive.org/31/items/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-01/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1984-11-01.pdf https://youtu.be/6kFu5ojgnQU?si=3E6Tqg2Mi1vMQEnX https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-08/page/n4/mode/1up

UK PC clones get busted https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-08/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_86 IBM eyes Mexico for factory BUSINESS DIGEST,The New York Times,November 28, 1984, Wednesday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section D; Page 1, Column 1; Financial Desk; summary https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/19/business/mexico-rejects-ibm-control-for-new-plant.html Computer Museum finds permanent home First Computer Museum Opens On Boston's Waterfront, The Associated Press, November 14, 1984, Wednesday, PM cycle, Section: Domestic News, Byline: By BART ZIEGLER, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Museum,_Boston

Acorn Video profiled https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-11-15/page/n13/mode/1up

Datacopy announces Model 700 scanner DATACOPY; Announces major new product and software offerings, Business Wire, November 1, 1984, Thursday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datacopy

IBM mainframe strategies revealed IBM seeks mart leverage via customer revenue, Computerworld, November 26, 1984, Section: COMPUTER INDUSTRY; Pg. 97, Byline: By John Desmond, CW Staff

Hong Kong transfer disrupts toy supplies Playthings, November 1984, pg. 61 Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy goes Fourth COSMIC HITCHHIKER, United Press International, November 24, 1984, Saturday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Byline: By WILLIAM C. TROTT, United Press International Visicorp RIP VISICORP IS MERGING INTO PALADIN, The New York Times, November 3, 1984, Saturday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section 1; Page 29, Column 3; Financial Desk, Byline: By ANDREW POLLACK Spreadsheets cited most used micro software, Computerworld, November 26, 1984, Section: MICROCOMPUTERS; Pg. 90 https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1984-11-rescan/page/n11/mode/1up

Franklin RIP Franklin to free assets in effort to settle with creditors; Legal battles with Apple placed New Jersey-based manufacturer in financial, straits, Computerworld, November 12, 1984, Section: COMPUTER INDUSTRY; Pg. 138

Mylstar RIP Play Meter November 15, 1984, pg. 8

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras

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 Telstar and the startup he cofounded Digimask.

Recorded: May and August 2025

Find Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/03T9HZ7iYys?si=iBzrOnHbNR30gSCy

Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or https://bsky.app/profile/vgnrtm.bsky.social Or [email protected]

Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybracey/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Software https://www.mobygames.com/company/544/bandai-namco-entertainment-uk-ltd/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Software#Licensed_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64_Games_System https://www.mobygames.com/group/3031/renegade-series/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/12765/sleepwalker/ https://www.mobygames.com/company/84/digital-image-design-ltd/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/2913/jurassic-park/ Dinosaur Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Lk7idveeU https://www.mobygames.com/game/140034/lone-soldier/ https://www.mobygames.com/company/1415/telstar-electronic-studios-ltd/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWp1FuXXjcg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digimask https://web.archive.org/web/20080701124519/https://www.digimask.com/ https://virtua.gitbook.io/virtua-wiki/welcome-to-the-metaverse/the-virtua-team https://www.mobygames.com/game/45660/the-addams-family/

Copyright Karl Kuras

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

Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/c/VGNRTM

Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or https://bsky.app/profile/vgnrtm.bsky.social Or [email protected]

Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybracey/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Projects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_Software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Software https://www.mobygames.com/game/31581/miami-vice/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/33164/street-hawk/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/48091/knight-rider/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/6233/f29-retaliator/ https://www.mobygames.com/company/84/digital-image-design-ltd/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/13812/head-over-heels/ Robocop ad on UK VHS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGLskD5sFHA Robocop ad in Spectrum game: https://www.indieretronews.com/2016/05/zx-spectrum-classics-robocop-retro.html https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/99v8l/new_zealand_story_the_1988_arcade_game/ https://www.mobygames.com/person/14498/dawn-drake/

Copyright Karl Kuras

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: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or https://bsky.app/profile/vgnrtm.bsky.social Or [email protected]

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

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 device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or [email protected]

Links: If you don't see all the links, find them here:

7 Minutes in Heaven: Mortal Kombat 2 (SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, Game Boy) Video Version: https://youtu.be/KI-X2NobWF0 https://www.mobygames.com/game/600/mortal-kombat-ii/

Corrections: September 1994 Ep - https://youtu.be/CvMg_FUb3p0 Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131646/ https://www.mobygames.com/company/8/software-toolworks-inc-the/ Console Wars Readthrough - https://youtu.be/wYhpTBPXZkI LGR Never Obsolete PC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQo0yOqOb_4 George Morrow - Krzysztof Kieslowski - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001425/

1994 Nintendo caves to E3 Nintendo of America to attend E3 show in Los Angeles, Business Wire, October 4, 1994, Tuesday

CES interactive postponed Nintendo of America to attend E3 show in Los Angeles, Business Wire, October 4, 1994, Tuesday

Nintendo lowers investor expectations NINTENDO TO SEE 2ND SALES, PROFIT DROPS, Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 4, 1994, TUESDAY Nintendo revises FY '94 performance downward, Report From Japan, October 5, 1994 Nintendo sales, profits to post 2nd yearly fall,The Daily Yomiuri, October 5, 1994, Wednesday Nikkei lower on new issue worries, Financial Times (London,England), October 5, 1994, Wednesday, London, Section: World Stock Markets (Asia Pacific); Pg. 41, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO SEGA HITS '94 LOW ON TSE,Jiji Press Ticker Service,OCTOBER 4, 1994, ,TUESDAY

Thornton warns of UK video game market decline THORNTON ISSUES WARNING AS VIDEO GAMES SALES PLUMMET, The Guardian (London), October 6, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN , CITY PAGE; Pg. 19

CentreGold buys Core CentreGold picks up Core, The Independent (London), October 27, 1994, Thursday, Section: BUSINESS & CITY PAGE; Page 42

Convergance is the name of the game Merging on The Information Superhighway The New Comfort Zone Where Public Meets Private - Correction Appended, The New York Times, Correction Appended, Distribution: Home Design MagazineHome Design Magazine, Section: Section 6; ; Section 6; Part 2; Page 40; Page 21; Column 3; Column 2; Home Design MagazineHome, Design Magazine ; Part 2; ; Column 3; Column 2;Byline: By Phil Patton; By JULIE V. IOVINE "Media Futures: SRI denounces superhighway claims, Financial Times (London,England), October 31, 1994, Monday, Section: Pg. 13 Length: 507 words, Byline: By RAYMOND SNODDY" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Simon

Microsoft to buy Intuit Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Shareholder Sues, Newsbytes News Network, October 14, 1994 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Money BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY; Banks Going Interactive to Fend Off New Rivals, The New York Times, October 19, 1994, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final, Distribution: Financial Desk, Section: Section D; ; Section D; Page 1; Column 3; Financial Desk ; Column 3; First Virtual Holdings brings banking into cyberspace A Credit Card for On-Line Sprees, New York Times (National Edition), October 15, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. Y17; Vol. 144; No. 49,850; ISSN: 0362-4331 https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/first-virtual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einar_Stefferud HOME SHOPPING NETWORK STORE LAUNCH ON PRODIGY SUCCESSFUL, PR Newswire, October 18, 1994, Tuesday - 10:04 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

MicroTime Media is bringing ads to games Media: Watch out Sonic, the admen are coming; Maggie Brown meets the founder of an advertising agency that is putting commercials into computer games, The Independent (London), October 18, 1994, Tuesday, Section: MEDIA PAGE; Page 29 https://danielbobroff.com/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/1777/push-over/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/581/james-pond-2-codename-robocod/

Dreamworks announced Spielberg, Katzenberg, Geffen Troika Launch Entertainment Venture. The Associated Press. October 13, 1994, Thursday, PM cycle. Section: Business News. Byline: By JOHN HORN, AP Entertainment Writer https://archive.org/details/menwhowouldbekin0000lapo

Sega expands Model 2 offerings https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/10/mode/1up?view=theater https://segaretro.org/Sega_Model_2

Namco's Empire of Egg ups the ante https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/16/mode/1up?view=theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Eggs

Sega VR parks coming to Canada --The Business Report--, Broadcast News (BN), October 25, 1994 Tuesday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playdium https://web.archive.org/web/19970223190650/http://www.playdium.com/ Aussie arcades go family friendly ARCADE GAMES ARRIVE, The Courier Mail (Australia), October 30, 1994 Sunday, 2 - STATE, Section: Pg. 13, Byline: VEITCH C Next Gen battle lines drawn at Japan Electronics Show Next-Generation Game Machines Battle at Japan Electronics Show, The Associated Press, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Business News, Byline: By DAVID THURBER, Associated Press Writer https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_063_October_1994 pp178 JVC to Enter Video Game Machine Market Through Sega OEM, Japan Industrial Journal, October 5, 1994 https://segaretro.org/JVC JVC to market Sega's Saturn video game machines, Japan Economic Newswire, OCTOBER 24, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, Oct. 24 Kyodo https://segaretro.org/Sega_Saturn#Models

Sega announces Saturn launch price Sega to sell new generation of video game machines, Japan Economic Newswire, OCTOBER 7, 1994, FRIDAY SEGA SHARES FALL BELOW 5,000 YEN ON TSE,Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 17, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, OCT. 17 SEGA HITS NEW 1994 LOW ON TSE, Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 24, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, OCT. 24 Shanghai A shares decline by 8.1 per cent, Financial Times (London,England), October 27, 1994, Thursday, Section: World Stock Markets (Asia Pacific);,pg. 49, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/9/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/7/mode/1up?view=theater

Matsushita announces cheaper 3DO Matsushita introduces cheaper game machine, The Daily Yomiuri, October 21, 1994, Friday, Byline: Yomiuri Shimbun https://archive.org/details/egm-2-october-1994/page/n39/mode/1up

Sony announces PSX price Sony to Launch New Video Game Machine, Associated Press Worldstream, October 27, 1994; Thursday 08:44 Eastern Time Sony to introduce next-generation video game machine, Report From Japan, October 28, 1994

NEC reveals PC-FX launch date and price NEC joins video game war, Agence France Presse -- English, October 31, 1994 05:54 Eastern Time

3DO to charge developers $3 fee 3DO kicks off holiday season with aggressive national advertising campaign, Business Wire, October 21, 1994, Friday

3DO devs revolt 3DO FACES REVOLT BY GAME DEVELOPERS OVER FEE TO CUT MANUFACTURERS' LOSSES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: Section B; Page 3, Column 1, Byline: BY JIM CARLTON

Toys R Us to stock Jaguar Toys R Us stocks up on Jaguar, the world's first 64-bit video game system; Atari launches multi-million dollar marketing campaign for Jaguar, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday https://youtu.be/ndcTWeaVbLQ?si=kX5qo8st8oPI1wT0 https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_063_October_1994 pp178 https://songbird-productions.com/jagdomain/jvmfaq.html

Nintendo retakes 16 bit crown "Nintendo Retakes 16-Bit Sales Crown, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 28, 1994, Business and Industry Section: Pg. B3; Vol. LXXVI; No. 11; ISSN: 0099-966"

Nintendo nixes Play it Loud campaign PLAY IT GONE, ADWEEK, October 31, 1994, Western Advertising News Edition https://youtu.be/FArjEUhBgP4?si=JkfYhRH8hkeB8-_M

Nintendo mails out 2 million video cassettes Mario Homes in on D-Base, Ad Day, October 10, 1994, Section: DMK; Pg. 14, Byline: By Terry Lefton https://youtu.be/Rv_YCSbWP78?si=jYmiIbfLxG87xjbv Video game king invades cyberspace jungle; Nintendo of America enters the information super highway to launch Donkey Kong Country, Business Wire, October 13, 1994, Thursday Nintendo Is Expecting Revenue From Game To Top $100 Million, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 26, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. B12; Vol. 224; No. 82; ISSN: 0099-9660 NINTENDO'S BIGGEST EVER GAMES LAUNCH AND BRITAIN IS AHEAD OF THE REST., PR Newswire Europe, October 28, 1994, Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1994, Section: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

Acclaims gets Marvel license TCI may form Acclaim alliance, United Press International, October 19, 1994, Wednesday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Dateline: ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 19

TCI buys into Acclaim TCI to buy 10 percent of Acclaim, United Press International, October 20, 1994, Thursday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Dateline: ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 20

Virtuality is virtually everywhere Atari plans to put virtual reality into home computer games, The Sunday Times (London), October 30, 1994, Sunday, Section: Features, Byline: Steve Boxer https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Project_Elysium_pg_1.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_VR Atari joins forces with Virtuality to offer home virtual reality games by,Christmas 1995, Business Wire, October 25, 1994, Tuesday https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EC%A0%84%EB%87%8C%EC%A0%84%EA%B8%B0%20%EB%84%B7%20%EB%A8%B8%ED%81%AC Laser Quest transforms itself to push virtual reality 'tag' game, The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), October 15, 1994, Saturday,WEEKLY EDITION, Section: SECTION 4, SPECIAL REPORT: COMPUTERS; Pg. C26; PROFILE, Byline: Johanna Powell

ESRB announces rating milestone ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE RATING BOARD ANNOU CES 100 INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS RATED IN FIRST MONTH, PR Newswire, October 5, 1994, Wednesday - 19:40 Eastern Time RSAC rates Doom CONSUMER SOFTWARE RATING SYSTEM RECEIVING STRONG INDUSTRY SUPPORT, PR Newswire, October 6, 1994, Thursday - 07:00 Eastern Time

Sega breaks budget records Video, Playback, October 10, 1994, Section: Pg.VI-1, byline: Laura Pratt Mobile phones set to be hot Xmas item in UK And only 75 shopping days to go . . ., The Independent (London), October 9, 1994, Sunday, Section: HOME NEWS PAGE; Page 6 Bible goes Gameboy Game Boy offers competition to Gideons, St. Petersburg Times (Florida), October 8, 1994, Saturday, City Edition, Section: CITY TIMES; Religion; Pg. 8 October 10th is Doomsday DOOM II: Hell On Earth now available, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday Doom II' video game rates an 'M', USA TODAY, October 11, 1994, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 1D

IBM falls to 4th place among Aptiva sell out "IBM Sells Out New Aptiva PC Shortage May Cost Millions in Potential Revenue, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 7, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. B4; Vol. 224; No. 69; ISSN: 0099-9660" TECHNO-POP; PCs Embrace Mass Market Promos, Partners, Ad Day, October 17, 1994, Section: PROMOTIONS; Pg. 1, Byline: By Karen Benezra and Gerry Khermouch IBM GETS BACK TO ITS ROOTS, The Australian Financial Review, October 24, 1994 Monday, Late Edition, Section: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 40, Byline: DAVID CROWE

Packard Bell rises to 3rd place in PC biz Packard Bell's Surpirsing PC Rise, New York Times (National Edition), October 12, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. C1 https://vintage-packard-bell.fandom.com/wiki/Spectria_610_AN https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Bell

Microsoft Revenues jump! Computer Update, The Independent (London), October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 27, Byline: TIM JACKSON Microsoft's Gates Heads Richest Americans List, Newsbytes, October 3, 1994, Monday, Section: NEWS

Build to Order PCs boom THE GLOBAL GUARD: THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION; The young pretenders ready to stake their claim, The Guardian (London), October 20, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN FEATURES PAGE; Pg. T15

Hyundai and DLT see PC-to-TV as the future of multimedia Display Research In Technology Pact With Hyundai, Newsbytes, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, Section: NEWS, Dateline: KWAI CHUNG, HONG KONG

FMV goes software only Full-motion, full-screen realism without MPEG chips in GameTek's Quarantine CD-ROM, using Duck TrueMotion video, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/Duck_TrueMotion_1 https://segaretro.org/TrueMotion

Mindscape buys SSI MINDSCAPE, INC. ACQUIRES STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC.; ACQUISITION STRENGTHENS ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPMENT, EFFORTS, PR Newswire, October 20, 1994, Thursday - 08:16 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

Corel gets into games Corel decides to spread its software bets around; Company moves, aggressively into new markets, The Ottawa Citizen, October 8, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. E1 https://www.mobygames.com/company/2075/cascade-parent-limited/

Will Wright working on Project X Meet Mr. SimCity, Newsweek, October 24, 1994 , UNITED STATES EDITION, Section: Pg. 48, Byline: BARBARA KANTROWITZ

Politicians are concerned about the internet "Ottawa seeks advice about privacy Information highway raises new questions, paper says, The Toronto Star, October 15, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. C3, Byline: BY ROBERT BREHL TORONTO STARPRIVACY RIGHTS CANADA COMPUTER TELECOMMUNICATIONS Regulator may police culture at infohighway phone booths, The Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. D1, Byline: ALANA KAINZ; CITIZEN"

College kids are becoming email junkies "On campus, there's a letter in the e-mail, USA TODAY, October 5, 1994, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 6D; Education, Byline: Karla Price Internet the focus of Calgary computer sho Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada), October 6, 1994, Thursday, FINAL EDITION, Section: COMPUTERS; Pg. D10, Byline: MEL DUVALL" Commercial services: where content is king, The Toronto Star, October 27, 1994, Thursday, METRO EDITION, Section: FAST FORWARD; Pg. J2

Compuserve to open service to the Internet DRIVE FOR INFORMATION, The Courier Mail (Australia), October 25, 1994 Tuesday, 2 - FIRST WITH THE NEWS, Section: Pg. 34, Byline: COX P

Apple to Cyberdog it Secret Apple Cyberdog unleashed on Internet, USA TODAY, October 24, 1994, Monday, FINAL EDITION, Section: MONEY; Pg. 1B, Byline: James Kim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDoc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdog The file format of the web is still in doubt Dial-a-catalog, Forbes, October 10, 1994, Section: ON THE COVER; Computers/Communications; Pg. 126, Byline: By David C. Churbuck

Cybersquatting demo'd Computer Update, The Independent (London), October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 27, Byline: TIM JACKSON

Maryland's Sailor Project sees expansion need TESTIMONY OCTOBER 4, 1994 BARBARA G. SMITH ON BEHALF OF MARYLAND'S SAILOR PROJECT HOUSE SCIENCE/SCIENCE INTERNET ACCESS, Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, Section: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY Pearson buys Future PEARSON BUYS FUTURE PUBLISHING FOR 52.5 MLN STG: 2, Extel Examiner, October 24, 1994, Monday - 08:25 Eastern Time, Section: Company News; Takeovers and Acquisitions

Ziff family sells Ziff Davis ZIFF FAMILY SELLS ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY TO FORSTMANN LITTLE FOR $1.4 BILLION, PR Newswire, October 27, 1994, Thursday - 12:52 Eastern Time

Ziff Davis launches Family PC NEW COMPUTER MAGAZINE APPEALS TO FAMILIES, The Columbian (Vancouver, A.), October 09, 1994, Sunday, Section: Money; Byline: By MICHAEL J. HIMOWITZ The Baltimore Sun

Computer Living breaks records in Australia Computer Living Largest Launch In Australian History, Newsbytes News Network, October 21, 1994 PC USERS RESUME AFFAIR WITH MAGS, Philadelphia Daily News, October 28, 1994 Friday PM EDITION, Section: BUSINESS , MONEYTALK; Pg. 75, Byline: Michael Connor, Reuters Supreme Court won't review Game Genie case No Headline In Original, WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 13, 1994, Thursday, Section: Section B; Page 2, Column 4

Mario Paint suit dismissed Nintendo claims victory in inventor's patent suit, The Toronto Star, October 15, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. C7 NINTENDO PREVAILS IN PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE, PR Newswire, October 14, 1994, Friday - 11:00 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News Jail time first for software pirate https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/08/22/software-pirate-is-first-to-get-prison-time/ https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-10/page/n15/mode/2up

Nintendo donates to epilepsy research Nintendo to help study video-epilepsy link, The Daily Yomiuri, October 15, 1994, Saturday, Byline: Yomiuri Shimbun UK to begin game preservation SuperMario and Aladdin meet Marlon Brando; The National Film and Television Archive, preserver of artistic heritage, is planning a collection of video games. Nick Wray reports, The Independent (London), October 10, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 24, Byline: NICK WRAY

Home office furniture goes upscale COMPUTER STATIONS GO HIGH-STYLE HOME-ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS AND WORK PODS HIGHLIGHTED AT SHOW. / WANT A LOUIS XV ARMOIRE FOR YOUR TELEVISION SET AND SEREO AND VCR? JUST LIKE THOSE IN,THE 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH COURT?, The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 1994 Friday FINAL EDITION, Section: FEATURES MAGAZINE: HOME & DESIGN; Pg. E01, Byline: Susan Caba, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Taco Bell gameifies employee performance Users eye game technology to spice up service, Computerworld, October 10, 1994, Section: NEWS; MULTIMEDIA; Pg. 24, Byline: Suruchi Mohan; CW Staff

MK Album https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_63_October_1994_U/page/n157/mode/1up?view=theater

MK Live coming to an arena near you Fishof Producing $2.5 Million Mortal Kombat Arena Show, Amusement Business, October 31, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 14; Vol. 106; No. 43; ISSN: 0003-2344, Byline: Susan Ray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Kombat:_Live_Tour

Raul Julia RIP Puerto Rico to salute late actor Raul Julia, USA TODAY, October 25, 1994, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 1D, Byline: Ann Oldenburg

Quote of the month: CBS is No. 1 with older viewers, but other networks say 'So what?' The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), October 2, 1994, Sunday, FINAL EDITION, Section: ENTERTAINMENT: SHOWCASE; Pg. F4, byline: ED BARK; DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras

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 6 decades is a wild and fascinating ride.

Recorded: July 2025

Video version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tom-kalinske-141140563

Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or https://bsky.app/profile/vgnrtm.bsky.social Or [email protected]

Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintstones_Chewable_Vitamins Flintstones commercials: https://youtu.be/IMayKCViiRc?si=yOo7bIX3rhEaboJV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_(brand) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Montana_Football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden_NFL Michael Katz Part 2 - Atari - Sega - https://www.patreon.com/posts/63732329 https://retrogamingaus.com/1799/video-game-ad-of-the-day-game-gear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Technical_Institute Roger Hector - Atari, Disney, Sega, Namco, Sente - https://www.patreon.com/posts/72058794 https://www.vendingtimes.com/news/videogame-pioneer-tom-petit-dies-at-62/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_CD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Saturn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Channel https://youtu.be/xx-8QBX8qgc?si=1PtKhQvHf9qA5C1Y https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Pico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeapFrog_Enterprises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_Wars_(book)

Copyright Karl Kuras 2025

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 device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or [email protected]

Links: If you don't see all the links, find them here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/137421899

7 Minutes in Heaven: Lazy Jones Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/7-minutes-in-137421447 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_Jones

Corrections: September 1984 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/september-1984-127470165 Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ https://archive.org/details/atariincbusiness0000gold http://jerrymomoda.com/universal-vs-nintendo-part-i-2/ https://www.patreon.com/posts/83174490/ https://www.filfre.net/2016/05/kit-williamss-golden-hare-part-1-the-contest/page_1big/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Uz0LMbWpI https://archive.org/details/zaprisefall00cohe/mode/2up

1944 Coinmen looking forward to VE Day https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/40s/44/CB-1944-10-03.pdf pg. 1 https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/40s/44/CB-1944-10-10.pdf pg. 3 https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2735 https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2736 https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/40s/44/CB-1944-10-31.pdf pg. 2 https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/40s/44/CB-1944-10-10.pdf pg. 2 https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/40s/44/CB-1944-10-17.pdf pg. 5

First National Electronics Conference held https://www.nytimes.com/1944/10/06/archives/electronics-holds-postwar-promise-war-expansion-of-uses-aids-in.html?searchResultPosition=2

1954 Popular Electronics debuts https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/50s/54/Pop-1954-10.pdf pg. 52

Von Neumann joins Atomic Energy Commission https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/24/archives/oppenheimer-friend-named-to-the-aec-von-neumann-gets-vacancy-on-aec.html?searchResultPosition=3 https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/24/archives/von-neumann-had-key-hbomb-role-princeton-scientist-created.html?searchResultPosition=5

New York Magistrate resigns to head Comics Code Authority https://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/02/archives/magistrate-resigns-murphy-to-draft-a-code-for-comic-magazine.html?searchResultPosition=4

1964 UNIVAC experiments with airflow computing https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/18/archives/new-digital-computer-introduced-by-univac.html?searchResultPosition=2

Big Tech hit by defense spending cuts https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/13/archives/watson-announces-ibm-profits-mark-for-third-quarter.html?searchResultPosition=65

Bowling gets computerized https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/60s/64/Pop-1964-10.pdf pg. 46

1974 ASCII code extensions proposed https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/70s/1974/Poptronics-1974-10.pdf pg. 26 https://www.aivosto.com/articles/charsets-7bit.html#body Atari Debuts Touch Me https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-10-19.pdf pg. 31

Sega sponsors video game tournament https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-10-26.pdf pg. 45 https://segaretro.org/Sega_TV_Game-ki_Zenkoku_Contest

1984: Hasbro buys Milton Bradley Toys Hobbies & Crafts, October 1984

Warner returns to profitability "Posts $24.4 Million Profit Compared With Loss a Year Ago, The Associated Press October 23, 1984, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Business News"

Atari Games Inc. established Replay, October 1984, pg. 15 Jack is looking for cash The second time around, Forbes, October 8, 1984, Section: COMPANIES; Pg. 42, Byline: By Anne Bagamery Electronic Games, October 1984, pg. 12 Gerard Leaves as Warner Co-President, The Associated Press, October 16, 1984, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Business News

Commodore financials break records https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-18/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater Apple numbers soar Apple earnings soar six-fold in quarter, Financial Times (London,England), October 19, 1984, Friday, Section: SECTION II; International Companies; Pg. 21

TI settles investor suit Suit costs TI $12 million, Computerworld, October 15, 1984, Section: COMPUTER INDUSTRY; Pg. 116

Ocean buys Imagine https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-18/mode/1up?view=theater

Sinclair buys rights to bandersnatch https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-11/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-04/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater

Activision to spend big as computer game maker ACTIVISION; Details pre-Christmas advertising and promotion plans, Business Wire, October 24, 1984, Wednesday ACTIVISION; Financial results, Business Wire, October 29, 1984, Monday

PCS going into bankruptcy https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-25/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater Konami goes public KONAMI INDUSTRY TRADED FIRST AT 8,300 YEN, Copyright 1984 Jiji Press Ltd.Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 1, 1984, MONDAY

Japanese Arcade law https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19841001p/page/n18/mode/1up?view=theater

Japanese arcades diversify https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19841015p/page/n16/mode/1up

Chuck E. Cheese operations normalize Play Meter, October 15, 1984, pg. 9

Fighting games are all the rage Replay, October 1984, pg. 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch-Out!!

AMOA set to be the battle of the carts Replay, October 1984, pg. 27, pg. 31

Video Games donated to Smithsonian https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-10-20.pdf pg. 38 Namco moves to Famicom https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19841001p/page/n18/mode/1up?view=theater http://www.videogameden.com/fc.htm?lor Parker Bros may be getting out https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/page/n14/mode/1up?view=theater Tom Dusenberry - Parker Brothers - Hasbro - Atari - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42807419

Adam woes continue https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/page/105/mode/1up?view=theater Cabbage Patch Sales Boost Coleco's 3rd-Qtr Profit, The Associated Press, October 25, 1984, Thursday, AM cycle, Section: Business News No Headline In Original, United Press International, October 24, 1984, Wednesday, BC cycle, Section: Financial Adam promotion costs hit earnings at Coleco, Financial Times (London,England), October 30, 1984, Tuesday, Section: SECTION II; International Companies; Pg. 15

Oric on the ropes https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-04/mode/1up?view=theater

GEC drops MSX plans https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-11/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater

Sega to launch MSX in UK https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-18/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater https://www.msx.org/wiki/Yashica_YC-64 https://www.msx.org/wiki/Category:Yeno

Amstrad bullish on CPC Amstrad stays Sugar sweet, The Guardian (London), October 4, 1984, Byline: By MAGGIE BROWN

Commodore prepping 128 https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-25/mode/1up?view=theater

Sinclair denies rumors of expanded speccy https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-04/mode/1up?view=theater

Sinclair announces Spectrum+ https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-18/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-25/page/n17/mode/2up?view=theater

Home computers have the price right, just not the power Byte, October 1984, pg. 6 Final bonanza for home micros / Sales of cheap home computers, The Guardian (London), October 8, 1984, Byline: By PETER LARGE

Games on cassette are dead https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/page/107/mode/1up?view=theater

Bookware mania explodes! https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-11/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater Toy & Hobby World, October 1984, pg. 8 Visi On sold to CDC https://books.google.de/books?id=d-tPdHcBE9wC&pg=PAPA41&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Microsoft delays Windows... again PERIPHERALS; SPECIAL INSURANCE COVERAGE COULD PREVENT COSTLY LOSSES, The New York Times, October 30, 1984, Tuesday, Late City Final Edition, Section: Section C; Page 6, Column 5; Science Desk

Ensoniq plans ad campaign No Headline In Original, ADWEEK, October 22, 1984, Eastern Edition, Section: ACCOUNT ACQUISITIONS; New England https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensoniq

Crackers get organized https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-25/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater https://csdb.dk/group/?id=3423 Playnet Launches nationwide PLAYNET; Launches national access to its in-home, on-line network, Business Wire, October 30, 1984, Tuesday

Comp-U-Card hits 1 million COMP-U-CARD-INTL; Announces individual membership base exceeds one million, Business Wire, October 18, 1984, Thursday Micronet to take on Compunet in the UK https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-18/mode/1up?view=theater Futures (Micro Guardian): Search and you will find / The World Reporter full text news and current affairs database, The Guardian (London), October 18, 1984

Videotex or videotext? Business World;Infant videotext industry has identity problems in pitching home information systems to consumer, United Press International, October 21, 1984, Sunday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Byline: By SUSAN POSTLEWAITE, UPI Business Writer Business World; Infant videotext industry has identity problems in pitching home information systems to consumer; First question: What does it do?; Second question: Why do I want it?; Third question: Can I afford it?, United Press International, October 21, 1984, Sunday, BC cycle, Section: Financial, Byline: By SUSAN POSTLEWAITE, UPI Business Writer

Game creators get chatty https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_4.5/page/n13/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_4.5/page/n29/mode/2up ISBN adds software Byte, October 1984, pg. 10

Antic Reviews The Art of Computer Game Design https://archive.org/details/artofcomputergam00chri/mode/2up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/1984-10-anticmagazine/page/82/mode/2up Nintendo beats Universal on appeal "Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, May 23, 1984, Argued ; October 4, 1984, Decided, No. 84-7095 On the Light Side, The Associated Press, October 11, 1984, Thursday, PM cycle"

MCA sues Atari https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-3-7/mode/1up https://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/dune/dune.htm

Commodore runs afoul of the FTC Byte, October 1984, pg. 9 Learn to speculate - the Video Game! INVESTMENT WATCH, The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 31, 1984 Wednesday, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. A-13, Byline: Janet Lowe, TRIBUNE FINANCIAL EDITOR https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/comex-game-market-simulator-software-3764189470

Acorn dives into Laserdiscs Venture in video discs,Financial Times (London,England), October 31, 1984, Wednesday, Section: SECTION I; Technology; Education; Pg. 15, Byline: EDITED BY ALAN CANE https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1661

RIP HESWare https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-11/mode/1up?view=theater Jay Balakrishnan - HESWare, Radical, Dynamics, Solid State Software - https://www.patreon.com/posts/jay-balakrishnan-103071267 No Headline In Original, United Press International, October 8, 1984, Monday, BC cycle, Section: Financial, Dateline: EUGENE, Ore.

Quote of the month: https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-10-25/page/n2/mode/1up?view=theater

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

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