Video Game History Hour

104

Industry expert Frank Cifaldi, Executive Director of the Video Game History Foundation, brings on fellow content creators, game developers, video game historians, and storytellers to teach us a little bit about video game history. Our casual, “chatting over coffee” style interviews let us see the true life of a researcher: bang-your-head-against-a-wall dead-ends, “I can’t believe no one’s told this story before” moments, the thrill of sharing incredible history with the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join us!

Recent Episodes
  • Episode 133: Spyro the Dragon artist Craig Stitt talks Sega and Insomniac
    Jun 11, 2025 – 01:34:11
  • Episode 132: Croc Remaster
    May 28, 2025 – 01:23:53
  • Episode 131: Flitman Collection
    May 14, 2025 – 01:10:35
  • Episode 130: Spycraft
    Apr 30, 2025 – 00:54:01
  • Episode 129: Powerhouse Chloe Appleby
    Apr 16, 2025 – 01:10:46
  • Episode 128: DMCA 2024 Copyright Ruling
    Apr 2, 2025 – 01:10:00
  • Episode 127: Sarge’s Heroes
    Mar 19, 2025 – 01:17:26
  • Episode 126: A Fireside Chat with Gail Tilden
    Mar 5, 2025 – 01:07:42
  • Episode 125: ROMchip, What’s Next?
    Feb 19, 2025 – 01:05:37
  • Episode 124: Digital Library Launch
    Feb 5, 2025 – 01:09:02
  • Episode 123: GamePro Magazine Collection
    Jan 22, 2025 – 01:30:47
  • Episode 122: Save the Games Recap
    Jan 8, 2025 – 01:16:49
  • Episode 121: Exploring the Cyan Vault
    Dec 25, 2024 – 00:47:43
  • Episode 120: Nintendo's Virtual Boy
    Dec 12, 2024 – 01:13:23
  • Season Two Announcement
    Dec 12, 2024 – 00:08:41
  • Holiday Update & Winter Fundraiser
    Dec 14, 2023 – 00:55:57
  • The Future of the Show
    Oct 11, 2023 – 00:14:33
  • Ep. 119: Karateka
    Sep 29, 2023 – 01:07:32
  • Ep. 118: Noclip Game History Archive
    Sep 13, 2023 – 01:14:30
  • Ep. 117: Nintendo Knitting Machine
    Aug 30, 2023 – 01:29:15
  • Ep. 116: The First CD-ROM Game
    Aug 16, 2023 – 00:45:35
  • Ep. 115 - Travis Brown
    Aug 2, 2023 – 01:13:39
  • Ep. 114: The Strong’s Expansion
    Jul 19, 2023 – 01:57:53
  • Bonus Episode: Game Availability Study
    Jul 10, 2023 – 01:11:27
  • Ep. 113: Bally Professional Arcade
    Jul 5, 2023 – 01:00:24
  • Ep. 112: Getting Personal with Frank Cifaldi
    Jun 21, 2023 – 01:16:58
  • Ep. 111: The World of Nintendo Book
    Jun 7, 2023 – 00:56:18
  • Ep. 110: Minesweeper
    May 24, 2023 – 01:04:45
  • Ep. 109: Video Game Logos
    May 10, 2023 – 00:50:03
  • Bonus Episode: Game Preservation is a House of Cards
    May 3, 2023 – 00:41:30
  • Ep. 108: Preserving the Nintendo eShop
    Apr 26, 2023 – 01:08:15
  • Ep. 107: Planning for Death
    Apr 7, 2023 – 00:59:59
  • Ep. 106: Budcat Creations
    Mar 22, 2023 – 00:51:00
  • Ep. 105: The D.I.C.E. Summit
    Mar 8, 2023 – 01:08:42
  • Ep. 104: Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego?
    Feb 23, 2023 – 00:56:35
  • Ep. 103: The Legend of Zelda Cartoon
    Feb 8, 2023 – 00:46:46
  • Ep. 102: Preservation: How Do I Start?
    Jan 25, 2023 – 01:02:27
  • Ep. 101: Super Mario Kart
    Jan 11, 2023 – 01:08:37
  • Ep. 100: CELEBRATE!
    Dec 29, 2022 – 01:51:47
  • Ep. 99: 9/9/99 - Launching the Dreamcast (Again)
    Dec 21, 2022 – 01:06:12
  • Ep. 98: The Sacred Pools
    Dec 14, 2022 – 00:46:54
  • Ep. 97: Club Penguin
    Nov 30, 2022 – 01:12:27
  • We Need Your Memories!
    Nov 21, 2022 – 00:03:14
  • Ep. 96: Margot Comstock - “The Glue” of the Early Apple II Era
    Nov 16, 2022 – 01:08:26
  • Ep. 95: PRGE 2022 Post-Mortem (Don’t worry, it’s very alive!)
    Nov 2, 2022 – 01:02:02
  • Ep. 94: Magnavox: The Great Voice
    Oct 19, 2022 – 01:46:55
  • Ep. 93: Street Fighter II: What’s in a Name?
    Oct 5, 2022 – 00:43:21
  • Ep. 92: SharkWire Online
    Sep 21, 2022 – 00:43:43
  • Ep. 91: Life Before Final Fantasy VII
    Sep 7, 2022 – 00:43:23
  • Ep. 90: Colossal Cave Adventure with Roberta Williams
    Aug 24, 2022 – 01:06:23
Recent Reviews
  • Baradale
    Great content
    Really enjoyable. Frank is a fascinating individual who is knowledgeable and interesting. He gives of the vibes of someone with a pack of cigarettes rolled up into his sleeves that plays old punk and rock vinyl while waxing the woes of the system.
  • Weewaw
    Kelsey and Frank know their history
    And it shows! Delightful and informative, with cool guests and awesome topics like the N-Gage!
  • O_Vitali
    Lovely Show!
    Frank and his Team share details on their work and what the VGH Foundation is all about. Lovely people and very entertaining and of course informative!
  • (Mario500)
    A Review of "Video Game History Hour"
    I had found what I had believed to had been certain parts of what I had believed to had been a certain installment of this "Video Game History Hour" to had been vulgar (or profane), unnecessary, unprofessional, negative, and detrimental.
  • :::))):::)))
    Responding to Episode 90
    Yes Roberta, we still use libraries!!
  • Syntheticg
    Great podcast, love the amount of depth
    I really like this show, it has very well spoken and interesting guests especially considering the subject matter and Frank and Kelsey are great at picking their brains.
  • oshata
    Great show, very interesting ❤️
    Love the show, very interesting and informative!
  • Silentallstar
    Great show
    Heard one of the hosts on Minnmax and had to check it out glad I did! Really informative and enjoy the hosts and guests!
  • dancingbear317
    Great insight for gaming history
    Kelsey and Frank are deeply informed and friendly, and their guests are experts. Great stuff.
  • Kryptic17
    Love the history!
    I enjoy listening every week. It's very insightful!
  • Are Pee Gee Fan
    This podcast is one of if not the best video game history podcasts
    Absolutely amazing! A comprehensive and in depth look at the history and first hand experiences from the evolution of the amazing medium of video games. Please never stop
  • Djjdjsjdjfjfnd
    EXCELLENT.
    This podcast is EXCELLENT. Finally a video game history show that isn’t just a re-telling of Wikipedia articles. I don’t feel like writing anything more nuanced about it, but it’s excellent, and should be considered a national treasure.
  • SmugPorky
    One of THE best video game podcasts out there right now!
    If you are at ALL interested in video game history, you need to listen to The Video Game History Hour. Hosted by real video game historians who are co-directors of the Video Game History Foundation, Frank and Kelsey are great hosts and extremely knowledgeable about the subjects discussed in each episode, and the guests they have on have such interesting stories to tell. I even find myself listening to episodes about topics I have no previous knowledge/immediate interest in, which I normally tend to skip on other podcasts. I never thought I’d be that interested in Oregon Trail history for example, but I actually stopped what I was doing and sat down to really listen to what was being discussed because it was so interesting and engaging! I recommend starting with an episode discussing something you’re familiar with, then go back and learn something new!
  • sportsracer-5
    Best video game podcast
    You won’t find two more knowledgeable, entertaining hosts than Kelsey and Frank. They hit it out of the park with each and every episode with a perfect mix of history linked to the gaming industry of today and society at large. Their guests are fascinating and they do a great job of drawing out the best tidbits from these fascinating stories.
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