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Title: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World by Steven L. Kent ISBN: 0761536434 Publisher: Prima Publishing Pub. Date: 06 September, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67
Rating: 5
Summary: MyMac.com Book Review
Comment: I have always enjoyed video games, be it arcade, hand-held, or home gaming systems. And lately, I have been getting more and more into home electronic games. As such, I was very interested when I found this title on Amazon.com for under $...(U.S.)
The Ultimate History of Video Games is an impressive name for any book, and weighing in at 624 pages, you would think that Steven L. Kent has written just that. Without reading very many other books about the history of video games and the companies that create them, I would have to say that for me, this is an accurate statement.
The book, however, ends a little early. Neither the X-BOX nor the Nintendo GameCube had hit the streets when this title was published in September 2001. Unfortunate, as I think the current state of video games is more interesting than the Pokemon craze that this book ends on.
For those wondering just what happened at Atari, this book will tell you. How in the world did Nintendo ever revive video games after the almost-death of the industry after the early 1980÷s? When did SEGA become a big player, and where are they now? How did the Sony PlayStation ever get a foothold in the gaming market, and how did they end up trouncing Nintendo at the beginning of this decade? Who were the people that created all those great games? What is the best selling video game of all time? The Ultimate History of Video Games will tell you.
I would rather have seen this book broken up into multiple books. Ten-year increments to the story would have been nice, which would have given the author more time and space to really delve more into each company and game along the way. While Atari, Activision, Coleco, and other pioneering video game companies are represented well in the story, I would have loved more in-depth coverage. (Besides Atari, which is the entire first two-thirds of this book, but for good reasons.)
All negativity aside, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pleasure to read. Unlike some other history books which cover other industries, and some which cover the video game world as well, this book is filled with human interest stories, not just how many units of the Atari 2600 version of PacMan sold.
Steven L. Kent is a gifted writer who put a lot of time and passion into this book. I think he did a great job, and the only real gripe I have is that the book ended before I wanted it to. With luck, he has plans on reviving newer editions every few years to chart the progress of the industry.
If you are at all curious about the history of video games, you will want this book. Don÷t buy it hoping to find color photos or screen snapshots of Donkey Kong. This book is almost all text, for a very good reason. This is the Ultimate History of Video Games, after all, and 624 pages barely cover it.
Hats off, Mr. Kent. A job well done.
Highly recommended!
MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Robertson
http://...
Rating: 5
Summary: Tim Robertson MyMac.com Book Revire
Comment: I have always enjoyed video games, be it arcade, hand-held, or home gaming systems. And lately, I have been getting more and more into home electronic games. As such, I was very interested when I found this title on Amazon.com for under $... (U.S.)
The Ultimate History of Video Games is an impressive name for any book, and weighing in at 624 pages, you would think that Steven L. Kent has written just that. Without reading very many other books about the history of video games and the companies that create them, I would have to say that for me, this is an accurate statement.
The book, however, ends a little early. Neither the X-BOX nor the Nintendo GameCube had hit the streets when this title was published in September 2001. Unfortunate, as I think the current state of video games is more interesting than the Pokemon craze that this book ends on.
For those wondering just what happened at Atari, this book will tell you. How in the world did Nintendo ever revive video games after the almost-death of the industry after the early 1980÷s? When did SEGA become a big player, and where are they now? How did the Sony PlayStation ever get a foothold in the gaming market, and how did they end up trouncing Nintendo at the beginning of this decade? Who were the people that created all those great games? What is the best selling video game of all time? The Ultimate History of Video Games will tell you.
I would rather have seen this book broken up into multiple books. Ten-year increments to the story would have been nice, which would have given the author more time and space to really delve more into each company and game along the way. While Atari, Activision, Coleco, and other pioneering video game companies are represented well in the story, I would have loved more in-depth coverage. (Besides Atari, which is the entire first two-thirds of this book, but for good reasons.)
All negativity aside, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pleasure to read. Unlike some other history books which cover other industries, and some which cover the video game world as well, this book is filled with human interest stories, not just how many units of the Atari 2600 version of PacMan sold.
Steven L. Kent is a gifted writer who put a lot of time and passion into this book. I think he did a great job, and the only real gripe I have is that the book ended before I wanted it to. With luck, he has plans on reviving newer editions every few years to chart the progress of the industry.
If you are at all curious about the history of video games, you will want this book. Don÷t buy it hoping to find color photos or screen snapshots of Donkey Kong. This book is almost all text, for a very good reason. This is the Ultimate History of Video Games, after all, and 624 pages barely cover it.
Hats off, Mr. Kent. A job well done.
Highly recommended!
MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Robertson
Rating: 5
Summary: EXCELLENT! A must read for anyone interested in video games
Comment: All I have to say after reading this book is, WOW! Steven Kent has done a remarkable job compiling and telling the facts about the strange and delightfully twisted history of the video game industry. Throughout the book, he effectively transports you through time and brings you into the board rooms, behind closed doors, and into the private conversations of top industry executives and designers all over the world. By diving into just about every aspect of the video game industry, he chronicles its growing pains with an eye for detail that will simply amaze you. If you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in the back rooms of Atari, Nintendo, and Sega (to name just a few companies he dissects) then this is the book for you. I can only say that I hope Steven is deep into writing his next installment.
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Title: High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games by Rusel DeMaria, Johnny Lee Wilson ISBN: 0072224282 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media Pub. Date: 27 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: ARCADE FEVER The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games by John Sellers ISBN: 0762409371 Publisher: Running Press Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Trigger Happy : Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution by Steven Poole ISBN: 1559705396 Publisher: Arcade Publishing Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984 by Van Burnham ISBN: 0262024926 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: ARCADE FEVER The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games by John Sellers ISBN: 0761537082 Publisher: Running Press Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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