158 episodes
Episode 166: Colin Williamson Photography Collection of Japanese Game Culture
21/10/2026 | 1h 8 mins.We’re joined by Colin Williamson as we introduce his newly launched photography collection in our digital archive. Colin’s former work in games journalism while living in Japan afforded him a front row seat to the launch of the Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, rise of Pokémania, and more. This treasure trove of photographs documents the Japanese gaming scene from 1999 to 2005 at events like Tokyo Game Show, the JAMMA Show, and Nintendo Space World. We peek behind the industry curtain as Colin shares what it was like interviewing legends like Hideo Kojima, dealing with corporate PR handlers, and forming real friendships with developers. Finally, we cap off the episode with a pseudo digital-archaeology quest tracking down missing footage of a 2005 Electroplankton exhibition.
*This episode has a follow-up bonus episode available to our paid tier Patreon members.
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 Colin Williamson:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/colinwilliamson.bsky.social
Video Game History Foundation:
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg- 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 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.
Video Game History Foundation:
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg - 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 our website.
See more from Digital Games in Libraries:
Website: https://soe.uncg.edu/rdi/dgil/
Substack: https://digitalgamesinlibraries.substack.com/
Video Game History Foundation:
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg - 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.
Mentioned in the show:
Tandy Software License: https://colorcomputerarchive.com/repo/Documents/Manuals/Games/Pitfall%20II%20(Tandy).pdf
Moria License: https://free-moria.sourceforge.net/moria-non-free-license.txt
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 Amy Thomas:
LinkedIn: /amy-thomas
The Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy, University of Glasgow: create.ac.uk
Upcoming speaking engagement: Playable Heritage: Creating a Collaborative Framework for Collecting Video Game Culture
Video Game History Foundation:
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg - 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 early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify, or on our website.
Mentioned in the Show:
Al Lowe’s wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Lowe
Classic Gamers Guild: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicGamersGuild/
See more from Heather Fryling:
Website: rvretro.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Roberta-Vaughans-Retro-Adventures/61580535638673/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-fryling-4336a0168
Email: heather@rvretro.org
See more from Daniel Greenberg:
Bluesky: @winterion.com
Email: info (at) winterion.com
Help Daniel plant trees: patreon.com/winterion
IONGAMING Live: twitch.tv/winterion
IONGAMING Back Episodes: youtube.com/winteriongamestudios
GMU Game Design: game.gmu.edu
Video Game History Foundation:
Email: podcast@gamehistory.org
Website: gamehistory.org
Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg
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About Video Game History Hour
Industry expert Frank Cifaldi, Executive Director of the Video Game History Foundation, brings on fellow content creators, game developers, video game historians, and storytellers to teach us a little bit about video game history. Our casual, “chatting over coffee” style interviews let us see the true life of a researcher: bang-your-head-against-a-wall dead-ends, “I can’t believe no one’s told this story before” moments, the thrill of sharing incredible history with the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join us!
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