Sacred Symbols+, Episode 150: The Man Who Always Gamed (Patreon)

William Holbert is a 74-year-old retired San Antonio police officer, married for 52 years (!), with a daughter, a couple of grandkids, and even a great grandchild. He's also been playing video games habitually since 1972. Students of the industry will know '72 is significant, and is widely-considered The Beginning of Video Games As We Know Them, as that's the year Pong launched (and it was indeed Pong that caught Billy's attention). Since then, he's seen, owned, and played it all: From the earliest arcade games and crudest consoles to hobbyist computers, IBM-compatible PCs, and consoles galore. The earliest electronics and games shops? He bought things there. The first magazines and newsletters? He subscribed to them. The cassette tapes we'd listen to music on in the '80s? He'd store data on them. Fast-forward all of this time, and these days, he and his 22-year-old grandson still play. He loves Skyrim. He loves the Witcher. He thinks Game Pass is amazing, and marvels at how his back-catalog is made better by Series X. He's currently stuck in Guardians of the Galaxy. He's a treasure, really. So let's pick his brain. He's William Holbert, and I really, really think you're gonna love hearing from him.