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The games we love reveal something true about who we are, and about the world that made them. They Create Worlds is a podcast about the people, technology, and forces that built the video game industry.
Through video game history, the show looks at how culture, business, and technology shaped what we play, tracing the choices and circumstances that led to the games so many people around the world enjoy.
Each episode digs into where games came from, who made them, and why they were made the way they were. Business decisions, technological shifts, and creative choices all shaped what ended up on screen, and the show covers all of it together, not just one piece in isolation.
Hosted by Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum, They Create Worlds grew out of long conversations about the strange corners of the industry and the patterns that only show up when you look across companies, platforms, and decades. That conversational feel remains, built on careful research, clear structure and editing that makes even the deepest topics easy to listen to.
History turns out to be less settled than it looks. New documents surface, memories conflict, and the clean stories about why things happened the way they did rarely survive contact with the evidence. The show digs into all of that, following the creative and business forces that pushed and pulled on each other, and uncovering the human stories that lie beneath the games so many people around the world enjoy.
New episodes are released twice a month.
The games we love reveal something true about who we are, and about the world that made them. They Create Worlds is a podcast about the people, technology, and forces that built the video game industry.
Through video game history, the show looks at how culture, business, and technology shaped what we play, tracing the choices and circumstances that led to the games so many people around the world enjoy.
Each episode digs into where games came from, who made them, and why they were made the way they were. Business decisions, technological shifts, and creative choices all shaped what ended up on screen, and the show covers all of it together, not just one piece in isolation.
Hosted by Alex Smith and Jeffrey Daum, They Create Worlds grew out of long conversations about the strange corners of the industry and the patterns that only show up when you look across companies, platforms, and decades. That conversational feel remains, built on careful research, clear structure and editing that makes even the deepest topics easy to listen to.
History turns out to be less settled than it looks. New documents surface, memories conflict, and the clean stories about why things happened the way they did rarely survive contact with the evidence. The show digs into all of that, following the creative and business forces that pushed and pulled on each other, and uncovering the human stories that lie beneath the games so many people around the world enjoy.
New episodes are released twice a month.
Episodes

Monday Aug 01, 2022
Activision and Kotick Part 1
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
TCW Podcast Episode 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1
In part one of our look at Activision and Bobby Kotick we look at the early life, and history of the man. We see from an early age how business was always a driving factor in his life. Furthermore, we see some of his early companies and challenges as he transitioned into the technology field. With the help of influential businessman Steve Wynn, Bobby Kotick was able to start a software company. Wynn further helped in financing the eventual buy-in of Mediagenic when the company was floated as a cheap way to get into the game market by Nintendo. We finish by looking at how Kotick and others took control of Mediagenic and renamed it Activision. With the need to file for bankruptcy Kotick has the long task of building up the company from scratch. Promising investors to at least break even over the next four to five years.
TCW 009 - History of Mediagenic Part I: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/history-of-mediagenic-part-i/
TCW 010 - History of Mediagenic Part II: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/history-of-mediagenic-part-ii/
TCW 126 - Activision and Atari: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-atari/
Bobby Kotick in Moneyball: https://www.engadget.com/2011-08-07-why-bobby-kotick-has-a-cameo-in-moneyball-the-charitable-conclu.html
TCW 027 - The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/
New episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month!
TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com
Twitter: @tcwpodcast
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds
Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com
Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1
Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode - Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode
Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love
Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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