The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

When I was younger, I loved playing video games especially during the 1990s and early 2000s. I can even remember how, mainly during the sixth generation of consoles, my own addiction to the history and people of the video game industry. I could not get enough of it, even if I knew that I would never get to play many of the most popular games. With a book like The Ultimate History of Video Games, from the earliest days of arcades and the first consoles to the launch of Xbox, a great story is told. As the title of the book implies, the entire history of the video game industry is looked at. The first half of the book is pretty heavy on Atari. Nolan Bushnell plays a big part in Atari's early success. Many details are included such as Atari's internal affairs and how the budding industry got onto its feet. This led to the so-called golden age of video and arcade games in the early 1980s. After the North American video game crash in 1983, it would take a company from Japan, Nintendo, to rescue home video gaming. The rise of Nintendo is detailed in the book along with its fierce competition with, and eventual dominance of, Sega. The book ends with the release of three major consoles in the early 2000s: Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox. Throughout the book, many individuals who played key parts in video game history are looked at and even interviewed. Many gamers have probably heard of men like Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, and Shigeru Miyamoto, but many others played part not only in designing games but also the executives who ran companies. Not only are the major points in video game history looked at but also the minor side events that marked the way. Controversy is no stranger to video games and the book looks at the two times the U.S. Senate held hearings on the matter. Companies would sue each other, or at least threaten, for a variety of reasons. I thought this book was an excellent history of video games for the period of time it covered. Although the previous twelve years are not covered due to when this book was published, the historical information available is invaluable. My only disappointment with the book was that I felt too much coverage was given to Atari and not enough to other companies at the time, such as Coleco. However, the sheer amount of information available more than made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of video games.

This book was previously published as simply "From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond...The Ultimate History of Video Games: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world" (without the "volume 1"), and had different cover art, and with the 2021 release of volume 2, this has been reskinned so that both books look like they belong together on a bookshelf. If you frequently buy books on the subject of video game history, you may want to make sure you don't already have the original 2001 edition before buying the "volume 1" edition. That said, this excellent book covers the history of video games prior to 2001 very thoroughly, and anyone with an interest in video game history will almost certainly find it to be a good read.

While I was never an arcade rat (born in 1981), I can remember playing on an Atari 2800, and the love for console gaming has never ceased. It had been a goal of mine to finally pick up video games history book, and this is the one I chose. Before writing this review, I read through a few others to see if anyone shared my views, and they have. Like other readers suggested, the majority of this book is fantastic and detailed. It's all you want to know about the rise and fall of Atari, and their interwoven relationships with other gaming companies (i.e. Namco, etc) and prominent figures of today (i.e. Steve Jobs, etc). Also detailed is Japan's introduction into the American arcade market, most specifically Nintendo. No detail is left out. I loved reading about the work atmosphere of early Atari, how they made more money than they knew what to do with in such a short amount of time, and the crucial decisions they made early on to advance the arcade and home video game market. It's really hard to get a feel on whether Nolan Bushnell was a genius or simply lucky. Also great were the risks that Nintendo made to break into the American market, along with their determined positioning behind the team of Arakawa and Lincoln. However, when you get up to around the mid-1990's, the book falters tremendously based on what came before it. The last decade of video game history up to this book's publishing isn't well represented with the behind-the-scenes info that you've become used to from early in the book. Like someone else said in their review, it felt rushed, but it also felt as if the author wasn't anywhere near as well versed about recent happenings in the industry. You'll realize quickly that when you get to the launch of the original Playstation and Saturn, you've only got 2 or 3 chapters to go. While I wouldn't call this the "ultimate" history because of the lack of detail in more recent times, it definitely is the ultimate history of video games from their inception up to the 16-bit era. That's why I still give it 4 stars, because it's really good reading for those interested.

Impressive book. My son who loves gaming also loves nonfiction reading so it was a good match. Both volumes are huge and totally comprehensive. Great gift for a tech/gaming nerd who you love but want them to look at something other than a screen occasionally :)

I've been playing videogames for nearly 25 years, starting with the Atari 2600 and eventually catching the bug when my parents brought home a Nintendo back in 1986, a decision I'm sure they are still regretting to this day. This book provides a very in depth history of games from way back before the Atari era through to the crash of the market to it's rebirth and beyond. The book is written without bias and covers a good smattering of systems and people. There are a few things that hold this book back from a true 5 star review. For one, it is rather dated. The book ends right before the beginning of the last console generation (PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox) and the last 100 or so pages feels rather rushed and isn't as in depth as the previous sections. Not very much is covered beyond the 16-bit era, leaving it somewhat starved for information in regards to the Saturn and beyond. Also, as far as the Kindle edition goes, it does not have Speech to Text, which is a feature I really like, so not having it is something I feel I should note. Still, the lack of information later on is very much compensated by the wealth and depth of information earlier in the book. This is a definitive book to learn about the history of video games and how they evolved into what they have today. If it's video game history you seek, then this definitely belongs in your library.

If you've read the other reviews first, they say it all. This book is brilliant, well researched, and covers pretty much all you would want it to. It is written in a riveting fashion too- If you love video games and its history, you just won't want to put it down. It is without doubt the best book you can buy on video games, from a quality of how it's written, and information point of view. However, I put the book 'High Score!- The Illustrated guide' slightly higher, as I love the coffee table layout, and the many beautiful and rare photographs.Comparing the two is very hard; they are different styles of book really, one with depth, one with style. I personally found it impossible to pass up either once I knew they existed. Together, you have the best set of video game guides, and two of the four 'must own' books on video games available. (Ultimate guide, High Score Illustrated Guide, Phoenix: Fall and Rise of Video Games, Game Over: Nintendos History). If you are picking only one book on video games for your shelf however, it's definately down to the first two- Dependant on whether you need the full depth story or great photographs. I can't see any fan on gaming history passing up either. Just wonderful.

I’ve been a video game nut for quite a long time now, and I never get tired of learning about the past, present and future in the world of video games. “Ultimate History” tells us the beginning of it all starting from the 50’s, slowly rising during the mid-70s to into the mid 2000s, with many quotes and interviews from iconic names in the industry. We learn of many important events such as Atari being the first video game giant, the Golden Age of arcades, the 1983 video game crash, Nintendo bringing video games back and many other consoles entering the video game wars. Kent’s book is truly the definite telling of video game history as there’s so such to process in. Video game lovers will get all the history in this book, and plenty of amazement. <b>A (100%/Outstanding)</b>

Video games as a medium have been around for an extremely long time. Each console bringing it's own unique and memorable experiences to the plate. As the genre progresses and gains more recognition, it's all the more important that it's heritage be preserved for future generations to learn about. This is where "The Ultimate History Of Video Games" comes in. While other books devoted to gaming merely gloss over certain topics, "The Ultimate History Of Video Games" leaves absolutely no stone unturned and provides such an incredible wealth of information and detail that you'd swear you experienced it first hand. The book covers gaming from it's humble beginnings as mechanical games of chance all the way up to the introduction of the PS2, Gamecube, and XBOX. It also of course has several chapters devoted to the entirety of Atari's lifespan, dishing out more insight than you could ever hope to know. Like Nolan Bushnell (Atari's founder) stealing the idea for "Pong" from Ralph Baer (the creator of the Magnavox Odyssey) during a play through demonstration. The case was later taken to court and Atari had to pay Baer and Magnavox a small licensing fee. Apple founder Steve Jobs and his companion Woz were also present during the creation of the VCS/2600. Woz's re-design of the system was so incredibly tight that no one could duplicate it. So much is contained within this thick, "grade school sized" tome that is could have easily have been a book series, with each individual title devoted to a specific company's history. Mr. Kent did THAT good of a job on it. My only complaint is that sometimes the chapters feel a bit scattered. For instance, you could be reading about the historic crash of '82 and suddenly be learning about the creation of Donkey Kong and Activision. It's a mild gripe, but more thought should have been put into how the book was structured. Regardless, the book is an absolute necessity for any reader with even a passing interest in video games as a whole.