Play History

Misadventure 5 (1982) This is a continuation of the story of Bob Krotts, which I wrote about here, so you should read that post before you read this one. Krotts ran a “Softcore Software Company” which publis…

Bob Krotts wrote a series of "naughty" games for TRS-80; I had trouble getting number 5 to work, but I have now unveiled the mystery, which involves many deathtraps and a strange application of pants.

bluerenga.blog/2026/03/02/m...

YouTube video by They Create Worlds Podcast TCW 253 - Masanobu Endō

From “Dig Dug” tactics to “Xevious” secrets and “The Tower of Druaga” that helped shape Zelda, Masanobu Endō pioneered concepts that still resonate in games today, from hidden secrets to layering story into gameplay. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmKv... #MasanobuEndo #Xevious #TowerOfDruaga

Stage Clear: Winter 2025/26 Happy new year! With record delay, here's the roundup of what I've been up to in December, January and February.

the monthly update for February. and January. and, uh, December.

hey, at least I got the post up on the last day of the month for once.

savestate.site/stage-clear-...

The @intelligentspeech.bsky.social conference begins imminently!

Thanks to all who have shown support for independent podcasting scene. You can still get a ticket that will allow you to view the VODs at a later date!

Super interesting guy - I've been meaning to write an article about his wild career.

Tomorrow, I'll be giving a talk at Intelligent Speech at 4:20pm about the San Diego arcade rivalry of Sega/Gremlin and Cinematronics!

intelligentspeechonline.com

All based on research for my upcoming book - I hope to see some of y'all there!

It’s our 9th birthday and our 150th episode all at once; let’s party! In our latest VGHH podcast host and VGHF Director Frank Cifaldi is joined by two founding board members Simon Carless and Steve Lin.: https://gamehistory.org/episode-150-vghf-founding-retrospective/

Oh yeah - we're live.

www.twitch.tv/play_history

Our never-ending torment peppered with 70s music trivia continues. Oh yeah and that Star Wars thing happens.

Be not afeared - join us.

But don't those run off of Texas Instrument integrated circuits? Why would the Odyssey 100 be classed as analog where Pong and the GI system are digital - if that's your argument?

You argue that it's analog? Every analysis that I've seen determines that DTL constitutes digital underlying it.

Its labeling as "analog" was initially a legal tactic as a defense in the lawsuits by Magnavox and Sanders.

We're in the final days to get your ticket for @intelligentspeech.bsky.social where I'll be moderating and presenting on Saturday!

intelligentspeechonline.com/speakers/

Check the schedule and get a ticket (promo code: PLAY)! The ticket also gives you access to VODs if you can't make it.

Tomorrow at 7PM CST, @quarterpast.bsky.social and I will be resuming our Arcade Dating - putting all the arcade games of the 1970s and 1980s in chronological order.

www.twitch.tv/play_history

This is the year of the Shoog-A-Loos. If you understand that joke, you are REQUIRED to come.

A Popmaticorn vending machine from 1938. https://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/corn.htm

1938-07-02 The Billboard pg 74. Two men stand beside a Popcornmatic machine outside of a drug store.

Getyer popcorn here!

Popmatic Mfg Co. was one of the premiere popcorn makers in the 1930s.

This model, Popmaticorn, is a beautiful example of vending machines from whence came the classic Coke dispenser.

We're in the final days to get your ticket for @intelligentspeech.bsky.social where I'll be moderating and presenting on Saturday!

intelligentspeechonline.com/speakers/

Check the schedule and get a ticket (promo code: PLAY)! The ticket also gives you access to VODs if you can't make it.

Colorful characters abound in the field! Having had a chance to speak with many of them, they often as loud as their tailored suits.

Flyer front for Flying Circus, available from Phonographic Ruffler & Walker. https://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/flycirc.htm

Flying Circus cabinet, manufactured by Alca. https://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/flycirc.htm

Flyer back of Flying Circus by Alca Electronics. https://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/flycirc.htm

IT'S MONTY PYTH- Oh, wait... Ahem: Ruffler & Walker's FLYING CIRCUS on the scene.

A curious electro-mechanical model game with a unique acrobatic theme.

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: Gabriel Knight 3 www.filfre.net/2026/02/gabr...

One of the Lemmy documentaries opens with him playing a shmup on Xbox, which I do find pretty endearing.

A scan from Login's magazine featuring little doodles of 'Professor Horii' and the letter from someone worried about making a game too similar to someone else's or in the same genre, and which leads to the foreshadowing musing about what we think of as the DQ/FF style JRPG.

Dragon Quest's Yuji Horii in 1985 in his regular column in LOGiN magazine. In this issue, he offhandedly mentions that he'd love to play a game that blended Ultima's gameplay, Wizardry's character advancement, Questron's labyrinth, and the drama of an adventure game.

"Why hasn't anyone made one?"

Flyer for Grand Prix by DuKane Corp. https://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/dgrndprix.htm

1965-07-17 Billboard pg 51. DuKane Corp's novelty game, Ski 'n Skore which portrayed skiing down a slope.

1966-07-02 Billboard pg 62. Advertisement for the DuKane Corp game Grand Prix, sold by Mike Munves Corp.

Coin-op in the 1960s was a technological frontier; many companies explored its potential.

DuKane Industries was a rather fascinating radio manufacturer that went way back who decided to get involved then.

Check out this podcast for more info on their story:

www.stcmuseum.org/podcast/2023...

For the FIFTH year we have inducted games into our Video Game Notables hall of fame!

Check it out - and check out the new Livestream playlist if you're super cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOdS...

Basically a Z or shoulder button!

Brand new footage of the Virtual Boy debut in 1995. It would have been cool to include these non-interactive demos in the Switch release! People love squinting at the Super Mario one!

4 characters designed for the Ancient version of Streets of Rage 4

At the end of the 90s, Ancient worked with Sega on two projects that would move from one console to another. While Kaiju no Shima was eventually released on GameCube, Streets of Rage 4 was ultimately developed by another team.
vgdensetsu.net/ayanokoshiro7/
Dispo en VF
vgdensetsu.net/ayanokoshiro...

YouTube video by They Create Worlds Podcast TCW 252 - A Guitar Hero

Plastic guitars and living‑room stages: how a DDR third‑party peripheral maker teamed with Harmonix, won over Best Buy, and turned Guitar Hero into a fad that collapsed under its own weight. Watch the full story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU-5...
#GuitarHero #VideoGameHistory #RhythmGames

There's still time to get tickets and support independent history podcasts!

intelligentspeechonline.com/speakers/

Code for discount is PLAY - fittingly enough. I think it's a wonderful way to spend an upcoming Saturday!

Supplemental 13: Stories from the Burgundian Court Podcast Episode · Grand Dukes of the West: A History of Valois Burgundy · 02/02/2026 · Bonus · 1h 16m

Recently I took part in the @valoisburgundy.bsky.social podcast, reading a bawdy medieval tale!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Also a good time to remind everybody that @intelligentspeech.bsky.social is at the end of the month; I'll be presenting!

intelligentspeechonline.com

177: 'It's not a crime if it's a game'

I did not intend to get this done on Valentine's Day, but I never migrated 177 to my own site.
I remain exceptionally proud of it and would love if more folks read it (if they're comfortable, content warnings at the top):
thestacks.ca/posts/2026-0...

Forgot to point out: He's sitting in the lower left. Next to him with the curly hair is Steve Hanawa.

On the far right is George Kiss, who was one of the engineering liaisons at Gremlin - later head of Blue Sky Software.