David L. Craddock

Hi, all,

One of my big projects this year has been Bet on Black: How Microsoft and Xbox Changed Pop Culture. It's my latest long read (book-sized feature) for Shacknews, and part 1 went live last Friday. You can read it here.

Bet on Black chronicles Microsoft's history in PC and console games. In each chapter, you'll learn about games the software giant has published and/or developed, and gain insight into the company's culture to learn how that culture influenced Microsoft's attitude toward games.

I pitched Bet on Black as a history of the Xbox platforms. When I noticed there wasn't much centralized information on Microsoft's background in PC games, I broadened the long read's scope to cover as much of that early period as I could. Bet on Black: Part 1 starts in the early 1980s and goes through the launch of the original Xbox in November 2001. Bet on Black: Part 2 will be published on Shacknews next summer or fall.

Happy reading,

~David