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 122+ hours!
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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 122+ hours!
TCW Podcast Episode 244 - The History of Commodore Pt 1
We kick off our look at Commodore with the story of its founder, Jack Tramiel. A Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the United States, Tramiel began repairing lamps and typewriters before founding a typewriter import business in Toronto. His early success was nearly undone by the Atlantic Acceptance financial scandal, which forced him into partnership with investor Irving Gould. Commodore’s venture into calculators nearly bankrupted the company, but the acquisition of MOS Technology set the stage for its move into computers. This episode explores the corporate maneuvering, twists of fate, and personal drive that shaped Commodore’s early years. Featuring audience input, it’s the start of a lively three-part (and possibly four-part) deep dive into one of computing’s most fascinating companies.
TCW 2025 Livestream: https://youtu.be/BXXAhEVD4Lk
Jack Tramiel 1983 Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5skpKlVOqc
Commodore - A Company On The Edge by Brian Bagnall: https://archive.org/details/commodorecompany0000bagn/page/n1/mode/2up
Computer Chronicles Revisited - SMOliva: https://computerchronicles.blog/post/computer-chronicles-revisited-107-koalapainter-the-wine-steward-skate-or-die-master-composer-keyboard-controlled-sequencer/#the-atlantic-acceptance-scandal-and-irving-goulds-takeover
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/
They Create Worlds
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 122+ hours!
