Video Game History Hour

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 preservation alongside the role of national identity in software design. Using Ubisoft's early French influence on Rayman as a case study, Hilhorst highlights how local cultural elements translate to international audiences. Also in this episode: the non-game material held in the archive, the potential canon inclusion of Moon Child, and Hilhorst's external work for Nintendo World Report and EFGAMP. 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 our website.Mentioned in the Show: The Dutch Games Canon (please use translation for an English version): https://gamescanon.beeldengeluid.nl"The Treasure Room" (Schatkamer) (requires a Dutch IP address or VPN): https://schatkamer.beeldengeluid.nlThe European Federation of Game Archives, Museums and Preservation Projects: https://efgamp.eu Nintendo World Report: https://nintendoworldreport.com / https://youtube.com/@NinWRTVOut of Commerce Works Portal: https://euipo.europa.eu/out-of-commerce/Home Computer Museum: https://www.homecomputermuseum.nl/en/#introSee more from Willem Hilhorst:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whilhorst.bsky.socialSound & Vision Website: https://beeldengeluid.nl/en/Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

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 Spotify, or on our website.See more from Phil Salvador:Bluesky: @philsalv.bsky.socialVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s another quarterly update! Host Robin Kunimune talks with Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador about our recent work. From Chicago travel to launching Computer Entertainer, from our new Booth-in-a-Box to 4,000 magazines archived, from NES’s 40th to building Lego; come find out just how many new collections we've added in the last few months. 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 our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Host Frank Cifaldi is joined by documentarian, historian, hacker, and all around cool guy SynaMax to talk about their documentary Resurrecting Sinistar: A Cyber-Archaeology Documentary. The 1983 top-down space shooter arcade game’s unique 49-way joystick allowed players to pilot their spaceship to prevent a giant skull, Sinistar, from forming. SynaMax interviewed developers, restored cut content, and emulated the game itself to better explore the challenges the development team faced due to limited storage and to highlight the importance of source code preservation. SynaMax recently hosted a panel with said developers at the annual classic arcade game show California Extreme - a panel Frank, sadly, missed! 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 our website.See more from SynaMax:YouTube: youtube.com/synamaxBluesky: bsky.app/profile/synamax.bsky.socialPatreon: patreon.com/synamaxVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Host Phil Salvador is joined by Derek Alexander, of the YouTube channel Stop Skeletons From Fighting, and Zarithya, of the YouTube channel Zarithya, to talk about the fan-restored 16-player mode for the 1991 Game Boy game Faceball 2000 as laid out in My 2 Year Journey to Solve the 30-Year Myth of Faceball 2000 | SSFF. In this bit of video game archeology, Derek and Zari take us through the collaborative effort, the technical expertise required to create custom adapters and controllers, and the investigation into historical claims to execute this endeavor. But in the end, did it even work?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 our website.See more from Derek Alexander:Bluesky: @stopskeletons.bsky.socialYouTube: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingTwitch: /stop skeletons from fightingPatreon: /StopSkeletonsFromFightingSee more from Zarithya:YouTube: @ZarithyaTwitch: /ZarithyaBluesky: @zarithya.onlineVideo Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s time for a little review of what we’ve been up to, so far, this year. With the official launch of our digital library archive, livestreams of game magazine unboxing and EPROM dumping, the newest collections of Craig Stitt and Kirk Henderson, a Trade Magazine Week special event, and teasing some special new acquisitions we have SO much to catch you up on!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 our website.Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Host Phil Salvador and guest host Colleen Barrett, Rare Books Librarian at UK Libraries, chat with David Carter, Video Game Archivist and Comic Librarian at University of Michigan Library Computer and Video Game Archive, about the work he does in archiving video game material within such a large and academic institutions. We discuss what tools are available, what problems typically arise, the pros and cons of institutional preservation, and so much more.Mentioned in the Show:MIDSAC Pool: https://www.masswerk.at/nowgobang/2019/michigan-poolU-M Video Game Studies: https://guides.lib.umich.edu/videogamestudies (particularly the “Other Resources” section)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 our website.See more from David Carter:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/umcvga.bsky.socialU-M CVGA Website: https://www.lib.umich.edu/locations-and-hours/computer-and-video-game-archiveSee more from Colleen Barrett:Bluesky: Colleenlovesbks https://bsky.app/profile/colleenlovesbks.bsky.socialInstitution Instagram: UK Libraries (@uklibraries) Video Game History Foundation:Email: podcast@gamehistory.orgWebsite: gamehistory.orgSupport us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg