The Shenanigans of CUC Software
From They Create Worlds by Alex Smith, and Jeffrey Daum
May 15, 2026 · 1h 23m · Episode 258
About this episode
The episode discusses the rise and shenanigans of CUC Software and its founder Walter Forbes in the gaming industry.
TCW Podcast Episode 258 - The Shenanigans of CUC Software Walter Forbes built CUC International from Comp-U-Card, a phone-in discount shopping club that cut out the middleman with a small markup and annual fee, not unlike a proto-Amazon Prime. As computer networks like CompuServe, Prodigy, and GEnie rose, CUC pivoted online and Forbes set his sights on the games business, joining the Sierra On-Line board and buying out Ken Williams and Davidson and Associates for a combined 1.7 billion dollars in stock swaps. Despite promises to Williams that he would not be secondary to a competitor, Bob Davidson of Davidson and Associates ended up running the software division, and when Davidson discovered something troubling enough to dump his stock and left. The cracks were beginning to show. Williams tried to take over, was not given the time of day, and eventually left. Forbes meanwhile pursued a merger with Henry Silverman's HFS, a hospitality giant owning Days Inn, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Avis, forming the new conglomerate Cendant. The true depth of the shenanigans were only starting to show. How could a company consistently just barely beat analyst/market…
People in this episode
Hosts: Alex Smith, Jeffrey Daum
Topics covered
- CUC Software
- gaming history
- corporate mergers
- business strategy
- financial analysis
Keywords
- CUC International
- Walter Forbes
- Sierra On-Line
- merger
- gaming business
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CUC International, Comp-U-Card, Amazon Prime, CompuServe, Prodigy, GEnie, Sierra On-Line, Davidson and Associates, HFS, Cendant
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