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The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven L. Kent
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $10.99
You Save: $8.96 (45%)
New (35) Used (17) from $10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 13229
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0761536434
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.809
UPC: 086874536432
EAN: 9780761536437
ASIN: 0761536434
Publication Date: September 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Back cover bent up a bit, but otherwise fine. Ships within 1 business day.
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Product Description
Inside the Games You Grew Up with but Never Forgot
With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade. The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. From the arcade to television and from the PC to the handheld device, video games have entraced kids at heart for nearly 30 years. And author and gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
This engrossing book tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, you'll read firsthand accounts of how yesterday's games like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today's empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you'll discover:
The video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy
The serendipitous story of Pac-Man's design
The misstep that helped topple Atari's $2 billion-a-year empire
The coin shortage caused by Space Invaders
The fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega
And much more!
Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this book is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 Enjoyable book, but... July 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having been playing games since 1989, when I was four years old, I feel like video game history is a part of my own personal history. I picked this book up to satisfy my nostalgic needs, but I do have a few problems with it that left me wanting more. First off, I want to say that this book is a quick and easy read, and it is incredibly informative about the history of console and arcade games, ranging from the origins of company histories, to the Atari, all the way to the Playstation 2. I learned a lot of interesting little tidbits of information packed away in video game history that I've never even heard working at a game store for the last year.
Now on to my problems with the book...the biggest one is that I've been more into computer games than consoles since Doom came out in 1993, and this book is severely lacking in any PC Gaming storyline. The book does talk about DOOM revolutionizing the 3d graphics in computer games, and details a little bit about "Doom clones" such as Duke 3D and Quake, then says nothing about PC games for the rest of the book. What the heck! As if Age of Empires, Warcraft, Diablo, Everquest, Ultima Online, or any other '90s computer game wasn't as important as the countless Mario and Sonic sequels!
Another problem with the book: It's seven years old! A lot has happened since then. Update, please!
All in all, this book is a must-have for anyone that grew up on Mario and Sonic. The book focuses more on the successes and failures of the companies involved (Atari, Activision, Nintendo, Sega, etc.) than the evolution of gameplay, but not so much that it loses the average sitting-in-front-of-the-TV gamer. I just wish out of 624 pages the author could've dedicated more to PC games, and that an update would come out soon.
 Sorry....just a bit too dry March 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very Sad I wasted the money on this book.
It has some good factual material and seems to be complete...but comparing against other video game history books...this one is dry.
Very few black and white pictures...
This book will put you to sleep...sorry just not happy with this one.
 Absolutely incredible - a must-own for gamers! January 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As others have stated, this book truly lives up to its name. Jam-packed with more information than you can imagine, all written in a lively, entertaining style. Set aside plenty of time though - you won't be able to put it down!
Bottom Line: An absolute must-own for any gamer. Period.
Must have for every gamer December 18, 2007
The book is really good, although I think at the beginning it focuses only in the Atari point of view, a lil incomplete but hey, you could write an entire encyclopedia about gaming and it would still be short.
But still if you are a gamer or a businessman, this is a must have, must read and must memorize.
A good read, but make sure you read this first! November 16, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm a vintage game geek. I loved video games from my first Magnavox home system, through my Atari, NES, up to my PS2. I grew up in an arcade at my local shopping mall. I've not moved on to the current systems because life (mainly job and wife) kind of make growing up a necessity. However I've always had fond memories for those early gaming years. Now that you know where I'm coming from, it'll give a little background to my review.
This is a very well researched and written account of the birth and growth of the video game industry. I've read this book cover to cover and truly did enjoy the in-depth history and annectdotes that is put forth in the book. But I can't say enough how much I was really wanting this book to be THE definitive book on the video/arcade game culture. That should include far more photos and captures from the games themselves. This book lacks severely for photos at all! The book reads a lot like a text book, but I think some re-formatting to something even like Jon Stewart's "America" text would actually benefit this book. In fact, I'd be willing to pay the increased cost to have such a book.
That said, you will certainly come away from this book with a cool understanding of how the industry ebbed and flowed over the years. If you are prone to setting down a book that is pretty wordy, you may want to think twice about this book, but know that you will be missing a lot of the inside story that connects so much from the past to the present.
Hope that gives you some good information to make an informed purchase.
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