April 1993

April 1993

Author: Karl Kuras May 31, 2023 Duration: 1:47:50
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
LeisureGamesHistoryVideo Games

Street Fighter 2 merch goes into overdrive,
Nintendo neuters Mortal Kombat &
The World Wide Web goes open source

These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM

This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in April 1993. 
As always,  we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events.

Jon from the Retro Games Squad is our cohost.  You can find his other fine retrogaming work here:
https://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/

Get us on your mobile device:
Android:  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz
iOS:      https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine

And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM

Send comments on Mastodon @videogamenewsroomtimemachine@oldbytes.space
Or
twitter @videogamenewsr2
Or
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm
Or
videogamenewsroomtimemachine@gmail.com

Links:
7 Minutes in Heaven: King Arthur's World
    Video Version:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/83771920
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/12795/king-arthurs-world/
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/1151/argonaut-games-plc/

Corrections:
    March 1993 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/march-1993-81661515
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(Archie_Comics)#Legal_issues
    https://youtu.be/542sM2Gylx8

1993.04
ACME Show goes for diversity
    Replay April 1993 pg. 43
    https://www.virtual-reality-shop.co.uk/awt-reality-rocket/
    https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Super_System

Visions of Reality joins VR race
    Play Meter April 1993 pg. 3   
    Replay April 1993, pg. 3
    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-10-fi-33739-story.html

Zool arcade game debuts at Earls Court
    https://archive.org/details/pc-review-018/page/18/mode/1up
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/5776/zool/
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/1321/arcadia-systems-inc/

Capcom does "moichendising"!
    Play Meter April 1993 pg. 20
    RePlay April 1993 pg. 22
    
American Laser goes after Picmatic
    https://archive.org/details/cashbox56unse_30/page/26/mode/1up
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/5258/picmatic-sa/
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/442/american-laser-games-inc/

Jaguar impresses at CES
    https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20045%20%28April%201993%29/page/n26/mode/1up
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Jaguar
    eonard Tramiel - Part 2 - Atari https://www.patreon.com/posts/71643153

Konix Multi System is back!
    https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20045%20%28April%201993%29/page/n55/mode/1up
    https://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/index.php?id=msu
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konix_Multisystem

SNES MK to be neutered
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/599/mortal-kombat/trivia/
    Gregory Fischbach Part 2 - Acclaim  https://www.patreon.com/posts/47720122

John Madden goes rental only
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/43734/john-madden-football-93-championship-edition/

Sammy shuts down Treco
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater    
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/10527/american-treco-corporation/
    
DOS 6.0 learns to compress
    https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199304_Byte_Magazine_Vol_18-04_Fighting_Fatware.pdf  pg. 44
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS#MS-DOS_6.x

Microsoft gets sued for violating patents
    https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199304_Byte_Magazine_Vol_18-04_Fighting_Fatware.pdf  pg. 28
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS#MS-DOS_6.x    
    https://gunkies.org/wiki/Stacker
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patent

IBM losses mount
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM

Canon buys Next hardware division
    https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199304_Byte_Magazine_Vol_18-04_Fighting_Fatware.pdf pg. 36, 40
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT#1993%E2%80%931996:_NeXT_Software,_Inc.

MECC pulls Freedom!
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n17/mode/1up?view=theater    
    https://www.mobygames.com/company/936/mecc/   
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/42271/freedom/trivia/
    https://www.mobygames.com/game/27756/freedom-rebels-in-the-darkness/

Daryl Gates to design Police Quest 4
    https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-april-1993/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater   
    https://www.mobygames.com/person/83001/james-walls/    
    https://www.mobygames.com/person/26457/daryl-f-gates/

Photoshop arrives on Windows
    https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199304_Byte_Magazine_Vol_18-04_Fighting_Fatware.pdf  pg. 48
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Photoshop

First GSM call made
    https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/199304_Byte_Magazine_Vol_18-04_Fighting_Fatware.pdf   pg. 36   
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM
    
NBC plans to bring news to the PC
    https://archive.org/details/1993-04-compute-magazine/page/n37/mode/1up?view=theater   
    https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/12/business/ibm-and-nbc-will-market-a-news-service-to-pc-users.html

internet opened up
    https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/world-wide-web-launches-in-public-domain
    https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web

Sinclair User is no more..
    https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-134
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_User

Recommended Links:
The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/
Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/
They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/
Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/
The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/
Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/
Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/
Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/
Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/
Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras


Find out on the VGNRTM


These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM with @RetroGameSquad's Jon!

snes
genesis
amiga
nintendo
sega
atari
jaguar
mortalkombat
street fighter
spectrum
ibm
madden
konix
arcade
vr


Ever wonder what gamers were actually talking about decades ago, before online forums and endless hot takes? Each month, Video Game Newsroom Time Machine hosted by Karl Kuras does exactly that, dusting off the headlines and magazine pages from the past. This isn't just a nostalgia trip; it's a grounded look at the industry's turning points as they happened. You'll hear about the surprising announcements, the forgotten controversies, and the hardware launches that had everyone buzzing-from arcade trends in Japan to home computer wars in Europe and North America. The podcast specifically revisits news from exactly 30, 40, and 50 years prior, creating a unique layered perspective on how video game culture evolved. It’s like sitting in a newsroom from a different era, piecing together the stories that shaped the games we remember today. Tune in for a monthly dose of context, where the past conversations about pixels and processors feel surprisingly fresh and directly connected to the present.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Official website RSS
youtubepatreon
Video Game Newsroom Time Machine
Podcast Episodes
Gary Bracey - Part 1 - Ocean [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:52
For computer gamers in the 1980s and 90s, few companies were more ever-present than Ocean, a powerhouse in publishing, through their massive ad campaigns and amazing film licenses and coin-op conversions. Our guest today…
Phil Adam - Spectrum Holobyte, SPA, Interplay, Amico [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:54:06
Phil Adam's career has spanned more than 40 years, from pioneering work marketing titles for Spectrum Holobyte, playing a pivotal role in bringing Tetris to the West, working at Interplay during the RPG renaisance and hi…
October 1994 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:16:04
Japan goes after arcades, Nintendo's Famicon gets its first licensee & Gamers come together online These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and a…
Tom Kalinske - Mattel, Sega, Leap Frog [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:22:28
Few events in video game history are more legendary than the Console War between Sega and Nintendo. Our guest today was one of the generals of that war, the head of Sega of America, Tom Kalinske. Tom's story is not just…
October 1984 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:01:46
Japan goes after arcades, Nintendo's Famicon gets its first licensee & Gamers come together online These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and a…
Richard Bartle - Part 2 - Designing Virtual Worlds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:55
After spending almost 2 decades trying to make MUD a viable commercial project, Richard returns to academia after publishing his seminal book, Designing Virtual Worlds, and begins teaching and researching game worlds and…
Richard Bartle - Part 1 - MUD (Multi User Dungeon) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:12:51
While there are many founders of the video game industry writ large, the dawn of multiplayer gaming is a much more select group of luminaries and our guest today, Richard Bartle is most definitely one of them. He cocreat…
John Wood - Sally Dark Ride [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:26
Mechanical amusements have long been a mainstay of theme parks and travelling fairs. In the 1980s, this technology entered the realm of the arcade, most notably through Chuck E. Cheese and since then, has merged with the…
September 1994 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:08:22
Nintendo owns CES, The future belongs to the internet & EA disses Sega These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industr…
Jeff Johannigman - Part 2 - Origin, Dynamix, Microprose [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36:40
From a bedroom coder to Game Developer's Conference OG to the creator of one of the greatest one-on-one action strategy games of the 8 bit era, Jeff Johannigman worked for some of the most legendary companies of the 80s,…

12345...10»