Hello and welcome to another Side-Quest episode of Talk This! It’s Dangerous to Podcast Alone! It’s Emma’s turn to pick a topic, so you know what that means. Something way too broad to fit into an hour’s discussion.
As always, you can listen to our podcast basically anywhere you want. Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and on the Pandora app (or head over to our episodes page for even more options). Or just listen below!
The Topic
What are current efforts in the realm of preservation and archival of games? How are companies stymieing those efforts? What are ROMs and what are the arguments for and against them? Basically, we talk about the issue of preserving the history of video games, and the best way to make sure that no games are lost to the cruel march of time. Or, you know, we dip our toe into it.
A Sample
M: There’s lots of companies, not just in Japan, but there are more stories about Japanese companies…just, like, not saving code or, like, they thought they had lost it but it turns up in somebody’s attic. Right?
E: Mmhmm
M: Or, there are some great ones about Atari that I’d love to talk about eventually.
E: I mean, go ahead, we’re already on this topic.
M: Amazing. So let’s talk all about Atari and their wild, bizzaro decisions in the 80s. So there’s a big one…in 1983, they literally buried a bunch of their stuff in a dumpster in the desert.
E: …Whyyy?
M: I don’t know. Because they had to get rid of it!
E: But…why?
M: Why not? I don’t know! Who wants it, right? Who cares? It’s just a video game!
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Enjoy the episode! Tell us what you think in the comments or on social media. Have you ever used a ROM? We won’t snitch, we promise. How do you think games should be preserved? While you’re here, check out last week’s episode where we talked Panzer Dragoon and Anthem (and actually touched on this topic a bit too). Next week, it’s all about Sea of Solitude and Blade Runner!
And don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel for the Play This! series, Flashback Fridays, Clickbait Boyfriend Behind-The-Scenes, and other random content!