Episode 157: Our Library Practices

More from Video Game History Hour

1. 

   S2 · E160 · 22 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

   Episode 160: Founding E3

   Phil Salvador hosts a special episode of the Video Game History Hour featuring Carolyn Rauch and Doug Lowenstein to discuss the origins and evolution of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). As the former senior vice president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Carolyn managed E3 for roughly two decades. Doug, the ESA's founder and former president, joins her to recount the organization’s 1994 founding. Together, they explain how the industry responded to the video game violence panic along with its legislative threats and how poor placement at the annual CES tradeshow led to…

2. 

   S2 · E158 · 9 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

   Episode 159: Q1 & Q2 Update

   This year’s first update starts off with the huge announcement of our newest team member, Meera Swanson, as Development Director. Meera shares some of her background as well as her vision for the rest of this year as she establishes this new department. Phil overviews all the new collections we launched this year including additions to the GamePro CD collection, speaker audio cassettes from the 2nd ever Computer Game Developers’ Conference, and Neopets The Official Magazine . Robin reviews the podcast so far this year and what’s resonated both with her and others. You can listen to the Video…

3. 

   S2 · E158 · 24 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

   Episode 158: What’s Your Deal, Willem Hilhorst?

   In this episode of the Video Game History Hour, host Phil Salvador interviews Willem Hilhorst, Media Manager for Games and Online at the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision regarding their video game preservation efforts within the context of an audiovisual media archive. Established in 1997, the institute manages a growing collection of over 500 digital and physical Dutch-connected games. Hilhorst outlines key initiatives like the Dutch Games Canon and the Treasure Room portal for out-of-commerce media. The discussion addresses the legal and structural challenges of long-term…

4. 

   S2 · E156 · 27 May 2026 · 1 hr 13 min

   Episode 156: Read Only Memo

   Host Frank Cifaldi is joined this week by Wes Fenlon, author of the bi-weekly newsletter Read Only Memo , which focuses on emulation, ROM hacks, translations, and decompilations. The two discuss the niche nature of Wes’ content while he emphasizes the importance of emulation and fan translations, highlighting their role in making old games accessible. Wes and Frank get way into the weeds as they chat about the challenges and innovations in emulation, such as static recompilation and decompilation, the impact of companies like Nintendo on the emulation community, and the potential for…

5. 

   S2 · E155 · 13 May 2026 · 48 min

   Episode 155: What’s Your Deal, Lindsey Kurano?

   In this episode, Phil Salvador sits down with Lindsey Kurano, the Curator of Electronic Games at The Strong Museum of Play, to explore the intricate world of video game preservation. Lindsay shares her unconventional journey from a high school exchange student in Japan to a specialist in film preservation, and ultimately, a lead steward of gaming history. We delve into the behind-the-scenes of museum life from building massive collections through donor outreach to the meticulous process of curating an engaging exhibit. In this episode, we also discuss her recent exhibit on Japanese indie…

6. 

   S2 · E154 · 15 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 22 min

   Episode 154: Sega in the 90’s: An Economic Post-Mortem

   Historian Alex Smith (author and host of They Create Worlds ) joins us to challenge the prevailing "Genesis does what Nintendon't" narrative. While Sega’s bravado captured the American imagination, the reality behind the ledger was far more precarious. We dissect how aggressive price wars and a strengthening Japanese yen turned market-share victories into hollow financial gains, creating a "leaky bucket" that even Sonic couldn't outrun. Our conversation traverses the internal friction between Sega of America and Sega of Japan, the fragmented rollout of the 32X and Saturn, and the precise…

7. 

   S2 · E165 · 8 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 17 minNew

   Episode 165: VGHF Q3 Update

   It’s time for another quarterly update seeing as how we’re now well into October. In this episode, we share some of our latest accomplishments: hitting a milestone of over 5,000 magazines digitized, completing our donor-data cleanup, new project-specific giving initiatives, major technical upgrades to our Japanese-language OCR and large image galleries (which helped power the successful launch of our E3 historical collection), active community research for the first EULA, and so much more! You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5…

8. 

   S2 · E164 · 23 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

   Episode 164: National Virtual Forum for Digital Games in Libraries (DGIL)

   Phil Salvador is joined by Dr. Colin Post and Marisa Marzilli from University of North Carolina at Greensboro to discuss their upcoming Digital Games in Libraries (DGIL) National Virtual Forum , a conversation for the cultural preservation of digital-only indie video games to be held October 29-30 . In this episode they introduce the DGIL initiative and its origin, discuss collection models, and ideate on future phases and resources for these efforts. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify , or on…

9. 

   S2 · E163 · 11 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

   Episode 163: The Complexities of EULAs

   Phil Salvador interviews Amy Thomas, legal expert and author of Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play , about the evolving landscape of digital rights and ownership in gaming. In this episode, Amy discusses her journey from studying Microsoft's Xbox One EULA in 2013; the complexities of EULAs, user rights, and the impact of digital ownership on game preservation; her research on possibly the earliest EULA, found in 1985 for Pitfall II; and the challenges of digital preservation, including implications of Sony's recent decision to discontinue physical PlayStation discs.…

10. 

    S2 · E162 · 26 Aug 2026 · 58 min

    Episode 162: Roberta Vaughn’s Retro Adventures

    Library Director Phil Salvador is joined by guests Heather Fryling and Daniel Greenberg to discuss Roberta Vaughn’s Retro Adventures, a nonprofit organization that creates traveling, living exhibits focused on the history of adventure games and entertainment. The RVRA, founded to honor the legacy of adventure games collector and enthusiast Roberta Vaughn, travels to conventions like Portland Retro Game Expo and PAX West to share their curated exhibits, original interviews, and special guest appearances. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day…

Every episode of Video Game History Hour →