Video Game History Books

[Schloss Ritter]

Over the past few years, I have become somewhat of an amateur video game historian with an interest in reading articles and books on the subject. Here's some books that I have read (that I recall) or want to read.

Feel free to post any others that you know of and discuss what has been posted.

[Schloss Ritter]

Dungeons and Dreamers: The Rise of Computer Game Culture from Geek to Chic

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dreamers-Rise-Computer-Culture/dp/0072228881/

King and Borland's crisp study of computer game specialists reads like a screenplay and would make ideal film material. The authors offer an intriguing protagonist in Richard Garriott' date=' who overcame disapproval from his astronaut father and the lonely isolation of being a geek to produce the Ultima Online series. Vowing to create dungeon worlds as rich and frightening as Tolkien's, Garriott went into business with his brother and pursued his goal through lean years and unsatisfying corporate alliances. The authors, both journalists, also profile other colorful characters, such as Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, creators of the first MUD (multiple-user dungeon), a place where gamers could meet online; John Carmack and John Romero, creators of Doom ("the ultimate visceral experience of kill-or-be-killed"); and Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, Dungeons & Dragons' masterminds.[/quote']

Despite not having played any Ultima games (but having read a decent amount about them) and this book's heavy focus on that franchise, I found it enjoyable to read and hard to put down. That and the other subjects are a great trip down memory lane, along with being informative about some of the goings on behind the scenes. As it was written just before WoW took the gaming world by storm or was really even heard of, it is interesting to see the authors' conclusions and predictions of then upcoming trends (guess Tabula Rasa didn't catch on as well as they thought, heh).

[Areala]

(guess Tabula Rasa didn't catch on as well as they thought, heh).

Like many, many other games of this type, Tabula Rasa had the utter and complete misfortune to be a non-licensed title released after World of Warcraft, thus ensuring that nobody would give this otherwise extremely awesome and unique MMO the time of day. Matrix Online and Star Wars Galaxies at least had the staying power of a popular brand name; Tabula Rasa...not so much. Such a shame.

*huggles*

Areala

[Areala]

There are several of these types of books that I have read and enjoyed greatly, but perhaps none moreso than Racing the Beam. I grew up in the era of the Atari 2600, and reading Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost's book about how the game designers at Atari (and Activision) had to work within such incredibly tight hardware constraints and yet managed to produce such incredible feats of gaming greatness as The Empire Strikes Back and Pitfall blew me away. It's technical without being inaccessible, historical without being boring, and an awesome read for anybody who remembers their 2600 fondly.

Another one I liked reading was Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. It's essentially a look at the game culture of Japan, both those who develop and those who play, and shows how it has crept into the Western world ever since Nintendo decided to take the Famicom world-wide. The chapter on Akihabara, the video game Mecca of the world, is enough to make any proper gamer ruin his or her shirt with drool and race to Priceline.com to see what ticket prices are looking like.

And while it isn't about video games so much as it is a tale of simply growing up with technology, I read Extra Life: Coming Of Age In Cyberspace straight through in one sitting, and by the end, I was both crying and smiling at the same time because I saw a bit of myself in David Bennahum's story. Memories, for me, are priceless, and he brought back some wonderful ones while managing to never lose that child-like sense of wonder we all had the first time we sat in front of a computer screen and some of the magic was revealed to us.

*huggles*

Areala

[Thor]

I had one that was all about the history of Nintendo but I can't remember what it was called. It was such a good book started back in the 1800's going on through the present time and talked about the dirt of Nintendo's past and even the stuff we are used to from Nintendo today.

[Areala]

I had one that was all about the history of Nintendo but I can't remember what it was called. It was such a good book started back in the 1800's going on through the present time and talked about the dirt of Nintendo's past and even the stuff we are used to from Nintendo today.

No doubt you're thinking of David Sheff's Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, & Enslaved Your Children. Sheff's work in that book with regards to the tech specs on the NES itself were so good that they were what the earliest NES emulator authors used as reference material to make their programs work with the various types of memory mappers present on the different roms before this information became more readily available on the Internet.

Sheff followed this up a few years later with Game Over: Press Start to Continue, which updated the saga of Nintendo into the 1990s and showed how they were growing with technology like the Game Boy and Super NES. Both are really good reads.

*huggles*

Areala

[Redstar]

This book is franchise-specific rather than a general piece on video games, but Pikachu's Global Adventure always makes me laugh. Published in 2001/2 and written by 14 anthropologists and other experts, the book is essentially an examination of the rise and fall of Pokemon as a global dominating franchise. The funny part? Pokemon grosses over three times as much money as it did back then, has expanded its games to many genres and consoles, and is immensely popular among the college crowd that grew up with it. (Now retro and cool to play it again)

Pokemon ended as a fad but stayed on because it was genuinely innovative and enduring. Just because it's not plastered everywhere doesn't mean it still doesn't make money all over. These "experts" jumped-the-gun.

[Schloss Ritter]

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

(aka The First Quarter : A 25-year History of Video Games)

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon/dp/0761536434/

In this rollicking, mammoth history of video games from pinball to Pong to Playstation II Kent, a technology journalist and self-professed video game addict, covers almost every conceivable aspect of the industry, from the technological leaps that made the games possible to the corporate power struggles that won (and lost) billions of dollars. Anecdotes are legion. Readers learn that early Atari, for example, had the corporate climate of a dot-com startup, with rampant drug use and meetings staged in outdoor hot tubs. The original name for Pac-Man turns out to be Puck-Man; its creators changed the name after worrying that vandals in arcades would replace the P with an F. In 1978, there were so many people playing Space Invaders in Japan that the game caused a national coin shortage. Kent meticulously documents the rise of home video games and the console wars of the past decade, when Sega, Nintendo, Sony and others raced to produce the fastest, most powerful game system. Also addressed is the public backlash of the '80s, when video games were thought to distract students from homework, and the '90s, when Doom and other violent games were linked to the massacre at Columbine High School. Along the way, Kent interviews virtually every key player in the industry. At times, Kent's comprehensiveness is exhausting 500-plus pages on video games may be a bit much, even for their most ardent admirers. But most often Kent's infectious enthusiasm is enough to carry the reader along. Equal parts oral history, engineering study, business memoir, game catalogue and Gen-X nostalgia trip, Kent's book is a loving tribute to one of the most dynamic (and profitable) industries in the world today.

At 625 pages, this is still the most in-depth, exhaustive work on the subject to date. At least I think it is safe to assume so from the summary above and reviews I've read - I've yet to get a hold of the book for myself. And going on 10 years since this was published, some of the references to the then-new PS2 era may likely be a bit dated. However, I'm sure the sections on older games are still pretty timeless.

This book is supposed to be such a major entry in the category that I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. Did I mention that I want it? Heh.

[Areala]

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

(aka The First Quarter : A 25-year History of Video Games)

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon/dp/0761536434/

At 625 pages, this is still the most in-depth, exhaustive work on the subject to date. At least I think it is safe to assume so from the summary above and reviews I've read - I've yet to get a hold of the book for myself. And going on 10 years since this was published, some of the references to the then-new PS2 era may likely be a bit dated. However, I'm sure the sections on older games are still pretty timeless.

This book is supposed to be such a major entry in the category that I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. Did I mention that I want it? Heh.

I have this and have read it cover-to-cover (twice, actually...I have no life...). As you pointed out, it's a decade old now, and as such is lacking for anything newer. But for your old-school, retro needs, it is second-to-none. Open it to any page and random, and you'll get sucked in.

*huggles*

Areala

[Schloss Ritter]

Also, judging from the title, it looks like it ran with the untrue but popular opinion that Pong was the first video game. Whereas, it is now known that video games date back a decade to three earlier, depending on your definition. The earlier games just mostly weren't marketed to the general public like Pong.

[Areala]

Also, judging from the title, it looks like it ran with the untrue but popular opinion that Pong was the first video game. Whereas, it is now known that video games date back a decade to three earlier, depending on your definition. The earlier games just mostly weren't marketed to the general public like Pong.

It's difficult for most people writing for the mainstream to differentiate between an "electronic game" and a "video game". Electronic games, especially ones that involved lights that turned on and off, or oscilliscopes that produced lines/patterns on a monitor, were around long before Pong, it's true. But since they were not generating a video display, it would technically be inaccurate to refer to them as "video" games. On the other hand, Pong and Space War did use a video display to generate moving images, and Pong especially was marketed specifically as a "video" game (or a "television game" if you bought one of the models that hooked up to your TV). Hence, it is considered the first "video" game.

It's one of those "six of one, half-a-dozen of another" issues that you always get with history. Technically, George Washington wasn't the first president of the USA, but history books have chosen to ignore the half-dozen or so people who were "in charge" of the Continental Congress before his office. It all depends on where you draw the historical line as to when the "United States" came into being as to who is more correct.

*huggles*

Areala

[Schloss Ritter]

Not a book but a lengthy television special was:

Game On! The Unauthorized History of Video Games

CNBC's Game On! takes an inside look at gaming pioneers and powerplayers and their quest to gain global market share in this fast paced, highly addictive industry.

The $27.5 billion a year video game industry has revolutionized the entertainment world. This increasingly growing entertainment medium is no longer just childs play!

CNBC examines the game behind the game and its impact on our lives and our

wallets.

This was a nice and detailed, and relatively unbiased, from CNBC in 2006. It gives pretty much equal attention to each era, along with other major happenings in the industry up to 2006. It's an interesting watch if you have a couple hours to kill. The link above is to a Youtube playlist (surprisingly not taken down yet), as I couldn't find the torrent any more on underground-gamer. If anyone is interested, I may be able to re-torrent it at UG.

[MagikMilk]

I wish there was a Educational Textbook on Super Mario or Final Fantasy or the "History of Ken Kuturagi's PSX"

[Schloss Ritter]

I wish there was a Educational Textbook on Super Mario or Final Fantasy or the "History of Ken Kuturagi's PSX"

GameTrailers.com did a decent Final Fantasy Retrospective if I recall correctly. Covers the series up through 2007:

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/the-final-fantasy-retrospective/4831

[KiwiArcader]

I have a paperback that was bundled with a CVG issue in 1980's about the rise of Nintendo from memory.

Full paperback ... not cut down at all .... and not a bad read. Will try and find it again methinks.

[xlenigma]

Thanks to this thread and the one similar at A@H forum I have purchased 5 Mags on the topic. You guys and girls (if any ) are awesome!!!

[Areala]

You guys and girls (if any ) are awesome!!!

I fall into the "if any" category.

Nice to know we're being helpful!

*huggles*

Areala

[Schloss Ritter]

Dang, I wish I would have thought of this during the best topic contest.

[KiwiArcader]

Found the book I had and it is called "Game Over - Nintendo' Battle to Dominate Video Games". It came free with an issue of Arcade magazine.

[Schloss Ritter]

Found the book I had and it is called "Game Over - Nintendo' Battle to Dominate Video Games". It came free with an issue of Arcade magazine.

Is it by David Sheff? It sounds awfully like the books listed by Areala in Post #6.

[KiwiArcader]

Is it by David Sheff? It sounds awfully like the books listed by Areala in Post #6.

Definitely David Sheff ..... maybe a variant of one of those mentioned by Areala? Nothing in the front of the book about other titles he has sold so maybe it is a UK specific edition as it was published there as opposed to the USA. Good read though

[Schloss Ritter]

Here's a newer one (2009) that sounds interesting (though what's with the increasingly long titles?)...

Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time

http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Games-Insider-History-Influential/dp/0240811461/

Vintage Games explores the most influential videogames of all time, including Super Mario Bros., Grand Theft Auto III, Doom, The Sims and many more. Drawing on interviews as well as the authors' own lifelong experience with videogames, the book discusses each game's development, predecessors, critical reception, and influence on the industry. It also features hundreds of full-color screenshots and images, including rare photos of game boxes and other materials. Vintage Games is the ideal book for game enthusiasts and professionals who desire a broader understanding of the history of videogames and their evolution from a niche to a global market.

[unbanned]

Here's a newer one (2009) that sounds interesting (though what's with the increasingly long titles?)...

Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time

http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Games-Insider-History-Influential/dp/0240811461/

Uggh! I just downloaded the E-Book of http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Games-Insider-History-Influential/dp/0240811461/

There are screenshots of Grand Theft Auto 3 in there that have the wrong aspect ratio. So lazy. It's like he just googled some screenshots and pasted them in. A lot of the scans of boxes are different brightnesses which also make it look amateurishly copied from google and ugly.

[Schloss Ritter]

Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Home-Video-Games-1972-1984/dp/0786432268/

This thoroughly researched reference work provides a comprehensive guide to popular and obscure video games of the 1970s and early 1980s, covering virtually every official United States release for programmable home game consoles of the pre-Nintendo NES era. Included are the following systems: Adventure Vision, APF MP1000, Arcadia 2001, Astrocade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Fairchild Channel F, Intellivision, Microvision, Odyssey, Odyssey2, RCA Studio II, Telstar Arcade, and Vectrex.

Organized alphabetically by console brand, each chapter includes a history and description of the game system, followed by substantive, encyclopedia-style entries for every game released for that console, regardless of when the game was produced. Each video game entry includes publisher/developer information and the release year, along with a detailed description and, frequently, the author's critique. A glossary provides a helpful guide to the classic video game genres and terms referenced throughout the work. An appendix lists a number of "homebrew" titles that have been created by fans and amateur programmers and are available for download or purchase.

Looks to be the start of an interesting series.

[Treasurefan2]

I've heard really good things about The History Of Nintendo. Vol.1

http://pixnlovepublishing.com/nextreleases/page1.html

The only negative that I've heard is that the translation isn't perfect. I plan on picking it up soon.