iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

📣 NEW ROMCHIP PRESENTS 📣 Julien Mailland on his new book Soviet Blocks: The Bizarre Puzzle of How Tetris Embraced Western Values 🖥️☭⚒️🧩 TUESDAY October 6 @ 7PM. LIVE on Twitch. More info here: www.tickettailor.com/events/romch...

book cover of Soviet Blocks. tetris block piece fall into the shape of an american flag.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Need more reasons to 🗓️save-the-date on ROMchip's March 13th, 2027 fundraiser?🤔 We'll be hosting id Software co-founder and Doom legend ✨️extraordinaire✨️ John Romero for an hour of Quake!

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Congratulations on this milestone and the exciting work to come!🥳🎉

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY↩️: Did you know we’re multilingual?🤯 In our December 2019 issue, Bhernardo Henrique Viana translated the editorial introduction of the journal into Portuguese!🇵🇹🇧🇷 romchip.org/index.php/ro...

Webpage header introducing a ROMchip article in Portuguese, showing a patent-style schematic of a coin-operated game cabinet at left and a translator's note with author credits and Portuguese text on the right.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

IT'S OFFICIAL: ROMchip's 4TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISER is set for Saturday, March 13th, 2027!🎉 To celebrate, we're dropping the names of our first two streamers: Everest Pipkin and Chris Kohler! Mark your calendars and join our newsletter to get all the updates📰: eepurl.com/crCul1

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY↩️: Will Partin & Iris Bull intro our July 2021 special issue on Esports Histories. "A history of esports can be an examination of many things: a history of work, of play, of data usage [...] of race, of gender, of game publishing [...] and more" romchip.org/index.php/ro...

Masthead Screenshot of URL: https://romchip.org/index.php/romchip-journal/article/view/146
Text: What is Esports History a History Of? An Introduction to the Special Issue. William Clyde Partin III (Data & Society) and Iris Bull (Indiana University).

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Nicolas Labarre @labarren.cpesr.fr · 05/09/2026

I really enjoyed Michael John Hughes's history of John Holstrom's videogame comics, published in ROMchip - @romchip.bsky.social This is an article I considered writing at one point and would definitely not have done so well. romchip.org/index.php/ro...

romchip.org

Pushing Buttons | ROMchip

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY↩️ from our very first issue July '19: “Game history becomes the story of evolving progeny, each child more capable than its parent.” -Nathan Altice riffs on the knowledge creators and players bring to game history. romchip.org/index.php/ro...

New Metaphor for Game History
Nathan Altice (University of California, Santa Cruz)
History is indelibly bound to metaphor. Arrows and arcs, foundations and ruptures, trees and roots, currents and courses—these poetic juxtapositions give structure to the intractable chaos of lived experience. We speak and think their shapes into being, and those shapes, in turn, guide our understanding. Some slip away, bound to the times and thoughts that first gave them life. Others reify into doctrine. What once was allusive or evocative becomes dogmatic.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Dolly Parton's larger than life footprint even extended to games: she had her own Bally pinball machine produced in 1979, featuring her likeness on the playfield and backglass.

Vintage promotional image for the Dolly Parton pinball machine. Dolly Parton, wearing a burgundy pantsuit, stands beside the machine and gestures toward it against a starry blue background. Text reads, “Presenting Dolly” and “Making her pinball debut with Bally.”

Close-up of a brightly colored Dolly Parton pinball playfield, featuring illustrated portraits of Dolly, record-shaped targets, musical-note graphics, bumpers, ramps, and red, pink, turquoise, and gold decorative elements.

Full view of a vintage Dolly Parton pinball machine in a workshop or restoration space. The illuminated playfield and backglass feature colorful Dolly Parton artwork, with the cabinet decorated in pink, blue, and cream graphics.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

in case anyone is looking for updates on The Hat Wars: TWO WORDS: 28 ONE WORD: 19 wanna weigh in? romchip-a-journal-of-game-histories-shop.fourthwall.com

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The Video Game History Foundation (@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social) is dropping a gift to us all with this massive new collection of E3 materials!

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rian c. johnson @riancj.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

this is a really cool and really important piece as chinese games have started to enter western gaming culture in the last few years almost entirely removed from historical industrial context.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

🎮📜 A new issue of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories is here! 📜🎮 This summer we're traveling from 1980s China to the 1990s cable wars, with stops in Switzerland and the UK along the way! 🕹️📖 www.romchip.org 🌟 Get cozy. Get reading. SUBSCRIBE: eepurl.com/crCul1 DONATE: bit.ly/4wmQqKC 🧵⬇️

romchip.org

ROMchip

ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories is a platform designed for the advancement of critical historical studies of games.

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Felipe Pepe @felipepepe.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Lastest @romchip.bsky.social has a really interesting article on Chinese game history, giving an overview + a feminist perspective: romchip.org/index.php/ro... It's great to get articles in English from outside the usual US-center perspective & its citations are a great source for further reading!

Old photo showing members of the feminist collective at Xintiandi company, helping organize the 1998–1999 “China’s Lara” model contest with PopSoft.

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Dave Parisi @daveparisi.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Coming up this eve at 7 pm ET, @pdmcdonald.bsky.social on the @romchip.bsky.social Twitch channel to discuss his excellent new book The Impossible Reversal: A History of How We Play (published by @uminnpress.bsky.social).

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

it'll be a grand ol' time! we're excited to be hosting @pdmcdonald.bsky.social and can't wait to see you all in the chat!

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Upcoming July 15-16: our friends at @analoggamestudies.bsky.social are collabing with Game in Lab to host the Generation Analog 2026 conference abt tabletop games and education. The theme this year is GREEN! Online event, free and open to the public! analoggamestudies.org/generation-a...

analoggamestudies.org

Generation Analog 2026 “GREEN” Program | Analog Game Studies

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🚨🚨🚨 we're sweetening the deal w/ a FREE ROMchip videogames/video games hat (dealers choice) for anyone who can track down either a playable copy of this game or substantial corroborating historical materials (packaging, reviews, references in business articles, information on the developers, etc).

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

📣 Don't forget! In less than 1 week 📆 we're hosting @pdmcdonald.bsky.social for a talk 💬 about the managerial origins 📈 of and influences on game design! More info below 😊

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Adrienne Shaw @adrishaw.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Found in the classifieds section of The Advocate across a few issues from 1983 if that helps @romchip.bsky.social @textfiles.com @lainenooney.bsky.social

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Stephanie Boluk @chouxsalad.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

any leads out there?

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

pride month ain't over yet 🌈 friend of ROMchip @adrishaw.bsky.social is looking for help tracking down the bathhouse-inspired 1983 game VAPOR PALACE. Published by BANANASOFT (yes you read that right) Released for the Timex 1000, TRS80 III, Apple II and IBM PC can anyone help, game history fam?

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Peter McDonald @pdmcdonald.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

ROMchip is hosting free, online talk about my new book The Impossible Reversal. I'm going to talk about how games came to be designed objects in the 1950s, and some early management simulation games played on IBM mainframes! Find out more at: www.tickettailor.com/events/romch...

An image of Top Management Decision Simulation, a game from 1957. A game facilitator enters information into an IBM Type 553 card-read punch in the background while another facilitator reads a printout from an IBM 407 printer.

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Eric Stein (he/him) @steinea.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Cool to see, and a nice write up on the history of the franchise I work on. FIFA 23 was my first shipped AAA title, the thirtieth FIFA, and the last FIFA, all in one.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Late to get this news b/c The Strong isn't on this bird site, but here's their latest inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame! Angry Birds 🐦 Dragon Quest 🐉 EA Sports FIFA ⚽ Silent Hill 🏚 www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/wor...

picture of game boxes and merchandise of the 4 2026 inductees

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

our friends @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social comin' in hot on what the the ESA should be doing as the game preservation crisis accelerates: "Everyone agrees this is a serious problem but the ESA has repeatedly opposed the efforts of cultural heritage institutions to reform digital copy protection laws."

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solon in the stacks @chorby.org · 28/06/2026

oh perfect timing, guess what just came in from @romchip.bsky.social! What a comfy and categorically correct hat

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Laine Nooney @ 🔥🗑️🔥 @lainenooney.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

we got our next ROMchip Presents Twitch talk lined up. Come hear Peter McDonald talk about his new book The Impossible Reversal and game design's indebtedness to management thinking!

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

just in time for that summer sun: VIDEOGAMES v. VIDEO GAMES (even has a romchip logo on the back! get your exclusive journal merch here: romchip-a-journal-of-game-histories-shop.fourthwall.com)

two nearly identical light blue hats for sale on the ROMchip merch store: one says videogames (as 1 word) and the other says video games (as 2 words)

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sincerely, rob dubbin @robdubbin.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

thanks to the @romchip.bsky.social stream chat for collaborating with me on this hourlong ZZT creation, in which you upstage dan rather at conveyor-belt sushi. here it is in its entirety.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

we've got @kendraserra.bsky.social on in mere moment to flail their way through survival mode of The Long Dark. join, watch, laugh, donate: www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

We’re $2K short of our Tier 1 goal w/ 3 hours left. Final boss energy activated. ROMchip is 100% reader-funded. No paywalls. No ads. If we hit this goal, we fund the journal for another year. JOIN US: www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal If 100 folks give $20 we’re there. If you can’t give, BOOST.

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Video Game History Foundation @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Our friends at @romchip.bsky.social are hosting an all-day stream to raise money for their video game history journal! Lots of great content over the next 7 hours. Hang out with us! www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal

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Dave Parisi @daveparisi.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Up now: Todd Anderson, tapping in for the OG Magic computer game experience, Magic: The Gathering (Microprose, 1997). Hourly Raffle: Copies of Jon Peterson's Playing at the World, Volumes 1 + 2, courtesy MIT Press!! Donate for a chance to win.

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

in 15 mintues we've got @halfrobot.com streaming cult disaster Cosmology at Kyoto #cosmologyatkyoto join us! www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal

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Pablo F. Quarta 🐍🌺 @pfquarta.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

ROMchip's annual fundraiser stream has just started! 🙌🎉✨ Please join us and support the journal if you can. There's an incredible schedule of wonderful streamers and games! 🦑✨ I'll be on at 7 PM ET to talk shamelessly about my love of Smash Bros. Melee! 🖤🖤🖤

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Patrick LeMieux @alt254.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Hey! At 1PM PST/4PM EST I'm playing a modular synth set focusing on house music and samples of home themes for the @romchip.bsky.social fundraiser! Learn more at donate.romchip.org and watch the stream (live now) at www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

We're starting our 3rd annual fundraiser momentarily -- join us! www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal

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Dave Parisi @daveparisi.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

We're 25 minutes from our opening ceremony!

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Sharang Biswas @sharangbiswas.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

ROMchip is an excellent journal that does the impressive & challenging work of documenting game histories! Check our there fundraising livestream this weekend (featuring my department-chair, ooh!)

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Naomi Clark (@metasynthie) 暗悪直美 @halfrobot.com · 19/02/2026

On Saturday at 3 PM ET I'm going to be streaming a game I haven't thoroughly played since the mid-90s -- Cosmology of Kyoto, the early game that blew Roger Ebert's mind with the possibilities of an "open world." Also you can get molten metal poured into your ass and out of your mouth! Be there.

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chris xu @chrysaora.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

absolutely STACKED lineup

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Bollformad demon @lagomhygge.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Watched and contributed last year. Looking forward to this one. Just look at this schedule!

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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories @romchip.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Here's our whole fundraiser schedule at a glance! It all goes down THIS SATURDAY, February 21, 11AM-11PM ET -- don't miss it! (and don't forget to donate!) donate.romchip.org

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Felipe Pepe @felipepepe.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Reminder that ROMchip is doing a fundraiser this week: donate.romchip.org/2026-schedul... Lots of fun streams, from playing Cosmology of Kyoto to designing a ZZT game live with chat

donate.romchip.org

2026 Schedule

ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation (d.b.a. Hack Club), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).

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