This Week in Video Game History

TheRobustOne
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Video Games
  • Updated Weekly

I'm just a guy combining his life-long love of video games with his love of history! Join me as we go down memory lane and talk about some of the greatest moments in Video Game history that happened during the week!

  1. 3d ago

    The Day the iPhone Was Born (And Couldn't Play a Single Game) | TWIVGH Ep 24

    Video game history, one week at a time. Episode 24 covers June 29–July 5 — the week the original iPhone launched in 2007 unable to play a single game, and the story of how mobile went on to become the biggest force in gaming. We run the timeline from Diablo II and NiGHTS into Dreams to Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Civilization Revolution 2, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow, Zenless Zone Zero, and Identity V. Then two deep dives: The Mobile Revolution, and The Diablo Diaspora — Blizzard North's rise, fall, and comeback with Torchlight. Plus the debut of "Sometime in July," a round-up of NES classics from Kid Icarus to Snake Rattle 'n' Roll. Follow for new episodes every week.

    20 min

  2. Jun 23

    Sonic, Mario, and Gaming's Strangest Date | June 23 | TWIVGH Ep 23

    Five legendary games. One date. June 23rd is the strangest, most loaded square on the entire gaming calendar — and this week we walk through all of it. From the birth of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis to Super Mario 64 launching the Nintendo 64, the immersive-sim landmark Deus Ex, Sonic Adventure 2's farewell on the dying Dreamcast, and Batman: Arkham Knight — plus Quake dragging the whole industry into true 3D with a Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails soundtrack.This Week in Video Game History covers gaming history week by week — release dates, the stories behind the games, and the rivalries that built the medium. This episode (June 22–28) also features three deep dives: the Broken-Launch Era of Arkham Knight and Cyberpunk 2077, the 2011 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association that declared video games protected free speech, and the Console Wars between Sega and Nintendo.Covering: video game history, retro gaming, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, id Software, Quake, Deus Ex, Sonic vs Mario, console wars, FPS history, immersive sims, 90s and 2000s gaming.Artwork by MizTink. Music by Shane Mandani. Written, produced, and hosted by Doug Coleman.00:00 -- Teaser01:15 -- Intro02:16 -- Timeline Intro02:49 -- Quake04:56 -- Sonic The Headgehog06:44 -- Super Mario 6408:15 -- Deus Ex09:44 -- Sonic Adventure 211:13 -- Batman Arkham Knight12:31 -- Deep Dive 1: The Broken-Launch Era14:04 -- Deep Dive 2: Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association15:37 -- Deep Dive 3: The Console Wars17:19 -- Outro

    20 min

  3. Jun 15

    This Week in Video Game History: Halo, Mario, Final Fantasy Tactics & Among Us | June 15–21

    This Week in Video Game History covers June 15th through June 21st — five releases and three deep-dive stories tied together by one idea: the day a game comes out is almost never the day that decides what it becomes.On the timeline: Among Us (2018), the InnerSloth social deduction game that flopped on release and became the defining game of 2020; Wrecking Crew (1985), the early Nintendo puzzle game where Mario swaps his jump for a sledgehammer and rival Foreman Spike makes his debut; Baku Baku Animal (1996), Sega's charming, forgotten Saturn puzzler; Final Fantasy Tactics (1997), Yasumi Matsuno's genre-defining tactical RPG and the birth of the world of Ivalice; and Shadows of the Damned (2011), the cult horror-action trip through hell from Suda51, Resident Evil's Shinji Mikami, and Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka.Then three stories worth slowing down for: how Disney animator Don Bluth quit the studio, nearly went broke, and was rescued by the 1983 laserdisc arcade classic Dragon's Lair; how the cursed Ghostbusters: The Video Game survived development limbo to reunite the original cast and become the third movie fans never got; and the quiet June 2000 morning Microsoft bought Bungie, turned Halo into the Xbox's killer app, and reshaped the console war.This Week in Video Game History is a weekly podcast and YouTube show covering notable game releases and industry history from the 1970s to today. Written, produced, and hosted by Doug Coleman. New episodes every Thursday. Follow for more video game history.00:00 -- Teaser01:46 -- Intro03:09 -- Among Us (June 15, 2018)04:36 -- Wrecking Crew (June 18, 1985)06:21 -- Baku Baku Animal07:48 -- Final Fantasy Tactics09:49 -- Shadows of the Damned11:31 -- Don Bluth and Dragon's Lair13:07 -- Ghostbusters: The Cursed Movie Tie-In14:54 -- Microsoft Buys Bungie16:54 -- OutroVideo Credits:1 Hour of Among Us Impostor Gameplay #1 - No Commentary [1080p60FPS] -  @mausser993 NES Longplay [206] Wrecking Crew -  @worldoflongplays Baku Baku Animal (Saturn) Playthrough -  @NintendoComplete Final Fantasy Tactics ... (PS1) Gameplay -  @10minGameplay1 Xbox 360 Longplay [109] Shadows of the Damned (Part 1 of 8) -  @worldoflongplays Dragons Lair (1983) [Arcade] --  @sharkyssharkade4050 Ghostbusters the game Xbox 360 walkthrough part 1 training HD --  @MrJTJP Halo - Macworld Unveiling -  @Bungie Evolution Of HALO [Beta Pre-XBOX] RTS & 3rd Person version --  @unseen64archive #gaminghistory #videogamehistory #retrogaming #gamingpodcast #AmongUs #Mario #Nintendo #FinalFantasyTactics #Halo #DragonsLair #Suda51 #SegaSaturn

    19 min

  4. Jun 8

    Ep 21 — The Last of Us & Metal Gear Solid 4: One Week, Two Goodbyes.

    This week on This Week in Video Game History, we cover June 8th through June 14th — a single week that gave us two of the most acclaimed games ever made and the strangest lucky streak on Nintendo's entire calendar. We run the timeline day by day: Torn Banner's gloriously chaotic medieval brawler Chivalry 2 (2021); Radical Entertainment and Activision's open-world monster Prototype (2009); Hideo Kojima's farewell to Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, 2008); HAL Laboratory's stylus-only Kirby: Canvas Curse (Nintendo DS, 2005); the Japan-only Famicom Golf: U.S. Course on the Famicom Disk System (1987), which ran a national high-score leaderboard over the Disk Fax decades before "online" meant anything; and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us (2013), released exactly twenty-six years to the day after that Mario golf disk. Then three deep dives: the June 11 phenomenon (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS Lite, Big Brain Academy, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Game Builder Garage), the week Interplay almost died (the studio behind Fallout and Baldur's Gate), and the rise and fall of E3.

    18 min

  5. Jun 1

    Tetris, EarthBound, Link's Awakening & More | This Week in Video Game History Ep. 20

    This week on This Week in Video Game History, we're covering June 1st through June 7th — a week that runs from 1984 Moscow to 2023 and hits some of the most fascinating stories in gaming along the way. On the timeline: Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Famicom Disk System — the brutally difficult Japanese sequel Nintendo of America refused to release, later rebranded as The Lost Levels. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, the first handheld Zelda, born as an unauthorized side project by Nintendo developers working off-hours. EarthBound on the SNES — Shigesato Itoi's genre-defying RPG, which arrives in North America in 1995 and sets up our second deep dive perfectly. GTA San Andreas landing on Xbox and PC in 2005, bringing the Hot Coffee controversy with it. The Sims 3 rewriting the rules of PC game launches in 2009. inFamous 2 closing out Sucker Punch's PS3 era. And Street Fighter 6, one of the best fighting game launches in years — dropping on the same date as Tekken 7 did in 2017 and Diablo Immortal in 2022. Deep dives this week: the Cold War thriller behind Tetris — how Alexey Pajitnov created one of history's most important games in 1984 Soviet Moscow and didn't own a ruble of it for twelve years. The "This Game Stinks" EarthBound marketing disaster. And E3 2009's Project Natal reveal — the night Microsoft showed the world a controller-free future that half-delivered.

    23 min

  6. May 25

    This Week in Video Game History Ep 19 -- May 25-31

    0:00 -- Cold Open1:40 -- Intro2:34 -- Smash Ping Pong - May 30, 19873:54 -- Zero Wing - May 31, 19925:04 -- Tokimeki Memorial - May 27, 19946:20 -- The Lion King (NES) - May 25, 19957:48 -- Worms Armageddon - May 31, 19999:14 -- Mario Kart 8 -- May 29, 201410:25 -- Deep Dive: Dragon Quest and the Strange American Journey of the JRPG11:50 -- Deep Dive: Splatoon and the Console That Shouldn't Have Worked13:14 -- Deep Dive: Super Mario Bros. The Movie, and What Happens When Hollywood Doesn't Get It14: 28 -- Outro Video CreditsSmash Ping Pong (Famicom Disk System, 1987) Full Game Session -- @NenrikiGamingZero Wing (E) - Intro Sequence [TTS] -- @Bot-ultracorpTokimeki Memorial ~ Forever With You Opening -- @TokimekiMediaThe Lion King (NES) Playthrough -- @NintendoCompleteWorms Armageddon Online (WormNET) | Intermediate 3 Players -- @OldNerdPlayingOldPCGames #VideoGameHistory #GamingHistory #RetroGaming #NintendoHistory #JRPG #DragonQuest #Splatoon #MarioMovie #ThisWeekInVideoGameHistory #GamingFacts #GamingPodcast

    16 min

  7. May 18

    This Week in Video Game History Ep 18 - May 18 - 24

    0:00 - Cold Open 1:54 - Intro 2:50 - May 22, 1980 -- Pac-Man 4:40 - May 1980 -- Golden Axe 6:31 - May 22, 2000 -- Perfect Dark 8:34 - May 18, 2010 -- Red Dead Redemption 10:27 - May 18, 2015 -- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12:38 - Deep Dive 1 -- Pac-Man's Cultural Invasion 14:46 - Deep Dive 2 -- CD Projekt Red: Poland's Game 16:34 - Deep Dive 3 -- The Burlingame Moment: May 24, 1972 19:05 - Outro #VideoGameHistory #GamingHistory #RetroGaming #GamingPodcast #PacMan #Witcher3 #RedDeadRedemption2 #MagnavoxOdyssey #GoldenAxe #ClassicGaming

    22 min

  8. May 11

    This Week in Video Game History Ep 17 May 11 - 17

    May 11th through May 17th gave us the first E3, the birth of Guilty Gear, a Japan-only Fire Emblem that never officially left the country, Skate 3's unlikely second life on YouTube, and the story of Team Bondi — the studio that built L.A. Noire's revolutionary face technology, worked itself into the ground, and was liquidated five months after shipping its only game. Plus the press release that accidentally created Counter-Strike. 00:00 -- Cold Open02:01 -- Intro03:06 -- Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (May 14, 1996)04:37 -- Guilty Gear (May 14, 1998)06:37 -- Skate 3 (May 11, 2010)07:50 -- Invisible, Inc (May 12, 2015)09:02 -- Injustice 2 (May 16, 2017)10:52 -- The First E3 (May 11-13, 1995)12:46 -- L.A. Noire and the Studio That Broke Itself (May 17, 2011)14:42 -- The Mod that Changed Everything (May 11, 1999)16:34 -- Outro

    19 min
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I'm just a guy combining his life-long love of video games with his love of history! Join me as we go down memory lane and talk about some of the greatest moments in Video Game history that happened during the week!

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