The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond . . . the Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

Steven Kent leves no stone unturned in this extremely comprehensive history of video games. The book is extremely addictive, and also fun to read. I recommend this book to anyone who likes technology and wants a retrospective of the video game market.

Fun read. Delivered as described.

Finally the videogame industry has a book worthy of its association. While Trigger Happy by Steven Poole is a interesting read in its own right, it is book aimed at trying to distinguish what exactly is at the heart of a computer game. The Ultimate History of Video Games, however, is just that. An exhaustive biography of how the industry grew from the early seventies with Nolan Bushell and Atari right through to the latest battles between Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, virtually no stone is unturned. Kent's exploration through the twenty five years of the industry reveals so much about the companies and the people who nurtured its growth: the 'work less, think hard' mentality of early Atari, the humble beginnings of Nintendo in the U.S., the moral outrage over such games as Doom and Mortal Kombat and so on. What I didn't realise before reading this book was how self-destructive the industry has been. As you will discover, the number of law suits filed against rival companies over patent issues is phenomenal and Kent highlights a number of these. There is so much crammed into this book that it's difficult to pinpoint a highlight. The entire book is a highlight. It is a little unfortunate that Kent's book does not focus on the industry within Britain (such as the rise and fall of Clive Sinclair and Wipeout, the game that really launched the PlayStation in the UK). This is not a criticism though, as the author is based in the U.S., but it would have been nice to see a little more of the influence the U.K has had rather than just reading about Rare's exploits during Donkey Kong Country and silicon graphics. If you are a serious gamer interested in the heritage of videogame industry then this is an absolute must. Despite weighing it at a hefty 600 pages I was gripped throughout.

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.

Il libro di Kent è consigliato per chiunque sia interessato alla parte storica dei videogames. Partendo con un capitolo (a sorpresa molto interessante) che parla del flipper (pinball) va avanti fino agli "annunci" delle console 128bit. I paragrafi si leggono benissimo ed includono le storie dietro la creazione, non tanto dell'aspetto tecnico dei giochi, quanto di fatti ed evoluzioni che hanno portato al concepimento di macchine e successi (ed insuccessi), con numerose citazioni di gente del settore. Forse mezza stellina in meno data da una specie di sensazione di disorientamento per i lettori europei (o meno "esperti"). Ma va ricordato che in effetti la storia dei videogiochi è iniziata e si è evoluta proprio in USA oltre che ovviamente in Giappone e che per alcuni anni il vecchio continente non è stato un vero e proprio protagonista della Storia dei Videogames. Tra le fonti S.Kent cita molti libri per approfondire. Il formato è una goduria (23x19 per quasi seicento pagine)!

Este libro contiene una narrativa de la historia, es interesante el formato en el que a modo de narrativa los actores mismos de la historia te cuentan un poco sobre su paso por esta industria. Me encantó.