r/todayilearned • u/DueNeedleworker5036 • 4h ago

TIL that the Civilizations games (and others) include creator Sid Meier's name in the title because Robin Williams joked that it would help sell more copies of 1987's Sid Meier's Pirates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier#MicroProse

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98% Upvoted

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Imagine offhandedly making a joke at dinner in 1987 and accidentally inventing one of the most recognizable autor-branding prefixes in video game history. Robin Williams truly was ahead of his time.

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u/The_Hunster 4h ago

Other than this and Tom Clancy I can't even think of a single other one.

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u/Chrononi 4h ago

Madden 96, Madden 97, Madden 98, Madden 99, Madden 2000.. you get the idea. And yes, Madden 27 does exist.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 3h ago

TIL Madden is named after a person

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u/SuperkickParty 3h ago

You need to delete this before it makes a bunch of people feel really old.

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u/TeraTelnet 2h ago

Too late. I remember playing the first Madden game. On an Amiga.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

Next you're telling me Amiga is another person's name

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

Wait, you're serious

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u/TheGoalkeeper 1h ago

Yes I am

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u/theBloodedge 2h ago

I don't think it has anything to do with age, people outside the states know literally nothing about american football or their personalities.

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u/MattieShoes 1h ago

Yeah, i get it... but if you are American, it's something that'd be hard to miss. He had an iconic voice, said iconic stupid things, and if you're old, was one of the best (American) football coaches in history. Every Thanksgiving, he was the announcer. Every Super Bowl. He died about 5 years ago, so nearly everybody experienced him growing up.

Kinda like Dick Clark on New Year's. He was the host from 1972 to 2011

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/theBloodedge 2h ago

What does that have to do with this discussion?

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

They're still getting soled outside of the US

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago edited 1h ago

In my case it's both

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u/SuperkickParty 2h ago

And John Madden was on the cover of everyone of those games between 1988-2000.

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u/ArtistWithoutArt 2h ago

I felt old before I read it.

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u/nty 2h ago

did you think it was the verb

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u/zdy132 2h ago

I just thought it's some american foodball terms.

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u/GatoradeNipples 2h ago

Well, it sort of is? John Madden was a football coach (famously for the Oakland Raiders in the 70s).

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

And people literally call them Madden. To one day hear he was in the cover was crazy.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

I didn't think about it at all. Just wondering about the weird name

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u/mongo5mash 2h ago

All that CTE Maddens a man, ya know?

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u/lycoloco 2h ago

I genuinely have to know what you thought A Madden was before today.

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u/Yorick257 1h ago

Just a made up word. Like Skyrim

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u/CitizenCue 2h ago

What else would it mean?

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u/AvocadoJealous5204 2h ago

The other sports games are named after leagues, i also thought Madden was some American sports league. Had no idea it was a name

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u/CitizenCue 1h ago

Ah, that makes sense.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

I don't know. Could be a word I don't know.