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They Create WorldsAuthor: Alex Smith, and Jeffrey Daum
Love of the worlds created by video game designers and personalities drives Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (history, law, CS degrees) to provide a scholarly yet light-hearted discussion of how arcade, home console, and PC games merged into a Video Game Industry. Emphasis is on the combination of business and creative elements needed for financial success. Interviews of Atari, EA, Activision, & other execs with detailed source evaluations produce the insights you hear in these 140 hours! Language: en Genres: Games, History, Leisure Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Mastertronic
Episode 250
Wednesday, 14 January, 2026
TCW Podcast Episode 250 - Mastertronic From budget software publisher to the gateway for SEGA’s entry into Europe, we look at the rise and fall of Mastertronic. Initially shunned by high street retailers, the company found success supplying discount games to chains like Woolworths while importing and reselling titles from other publishers for the European market. A failed attempt to bring budget games to the United States pushed Mastertronic to look toward consoles after seeing the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo rejected them due to their low-cost reputation. This led to a partnership with SEGA to launch the Master System in the United Kingdom, but a delayed release after Christmas triggered a financial crisis that forced Virgin to buy out the rest of the company. As Virgin Mastertronic, the firm gained a foothold in France and Germany while struggling with limited SEGA supply. The story ends when SEGA acquired the console side of the business and created SEGA Europe, closing the final chapter on Mastertronic. TCW 017 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Hardware: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-hardware/ TCW 018 - The British 8-bit Computer Market Software: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-british-8-bit-computer-market-software/ TCW 241 - The First 10 Years of European Consoles: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-first-10-years-of-european-consoles/ Vagas Jackpot (VIC-20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFzNnx_m-U BMX Racers (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZenav7tN08 Ghostbusters (ZX Spectrum): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH18r74ZOto Way of the Exploding Fist (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p51xOL0NdY Alians (C64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D7Q2lfBA6g New episodes are 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: RoleMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
