Episode notes
Atari game developer John Van Ryzin and Digital Eclipse Technical Director Kevin Wilson both join host Frank Cifaldi to reminisce about the Atari 2600 title, and Frank’s favorite game, H.E.R.O. . We also explore John’s early career, his entry into game development, programming limitations of the 2600 (RAM, timing issues, etc.), the spiritual sequel to H.E.R.O. and John’s most recent title Alien Abduction! , the differences in modern development, and so much more. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on…
Video Game History Hour
by Video Game History Foundation · English · Gaming
The Video Game History Foundation's podcast on preserving gaming's past — archivists, historians and developers on what's being lost and saved.
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S2 · E150 · 25 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 27 min
Episode 150: VGHF Founding Retrospective
It’s our 9th birthday and our 150th episode all at once; let’s party! Host and VGHF Director Frank Cifaldi is joined by two founding board members Simon Carless and Steve Lin. This casual retrospective meanders through the foundation's origins, its mission to preserve and interpret video game history, and its growth over the years. Our three hosts highlight the foundation's journey from a small, resource-constrained organization to a robust digital library with over 100,000 unique users. The conversation covers their initial challenges, the importance of community support, and future goals,…
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S2 · E149 · 5 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
Episode 149: Jeremy Parish Works
Frank is joined by Guest Host Kate Willaert, author, historian, and YouTuber, to interview Jeremy Parish, media curator at Limited Run Games, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. Jeremy has a series of “Works” books and videos as part of a massive project to chronologize the 8-bit era. Jeremy’s work covers various consoles, including Game Boy, NES, SG-1000, and Famicom, highlighting the significance of third-party developers and the impact of the NES on game design. We share a universal complaint of the challenges of maintaining a comprehensive and accurate release list for systems like the…
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S2 · E148 · 23 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 36 min
Episode 148: Wrapping Up 2025
Our podcast Producer Robin Kunimune sits down with Director Frank Cifaldi and Library Director Phil Salvador to wrap up the final quarter of 2025. Listen to some of our behind-the-scenes thoughts on the NES panel we put together for the Portland Retro Gaming Expo; the many facets of this year’s Winter Fundraiser, including a new old game release, updated VHS recovery technology, and our $30k goal with some surprise donations; and finally our look ahead to 2026. Enjoy the show! You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and…
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S2 · E146 · 24 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
Episode 146: A Monograph of Todd Howard
Phil Salvador hosts a discussion with Dr. Wendi Sierra, author of Todd Howard: World Building in Tamriel and Beyond , and Emily Higgs Kopin. Dr. Sierra’s, associate professor of games studies at Texas Christian University, book follows the career history of the Bethesda Game Studios executive producer and his influence on game design throughout the years. Emily Kopin, head of digital collections strategy at the Swarthmore College Libraries, joins us as our guest expert on the Elder Scrolls franchise to make up for Phil’s tragic lack of extended time spent in this expansive universe. Wendi…
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S2 · E145 · 28 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 45 min
Episode 145: The 40th Anniversary of the NES: A PRGE Panel
At this year’s Portland Retro Gaming Expo, VGHF director Frank Cifaldi had the pleasure of hosting a panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System launch. Frank moderated 3 guests who were at Nintendo of America during this time: Gail Tilden, Marketing; Bruce Lowery, Sales; and Lance Barr, Product Design. This event was particularly special as two of these three guests had never before attended a retro convention. The panel discussion includes many visual elements, including many never shown publicly before, and some pre-recorded messages from additional people…
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S2 · E144 · 13 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
Episode 144: Phil Salvador - A Rule-Following Hooligan
Let’s all learn what makes our Library Director, Phil Salvador, Phil Salvador! Producer Robin Kunimune sat down with Phil to learn all about his life as a youth, an early path to his passions, creating chaos inside the lines, the mental health struggles many face in early adulthood, finding his community, and making his way to VGHF. And, don’t forget the birds! Phil candidly shares his failures, successes, and everything in-between in this week’s episode. Take a listen. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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