Product Description

This lucid and engaging introduction guides the reader through the world of videogaming, providing a history of the videogame, from its origins in the computer lab to its contemporary status as a global entertainment industry.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126402 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
'A wealth of well-written, scholarly but accessible perspectives on industry practice and commerical imperatives ... Newman can do this only because he is a serious games scholar.' - Media Educaiton Association

From the Back Cover
Newman's lucid and engaging introduction guides the reader through the world of videogaming. It traces the history of the videogame, from its origins in the computer lab, to its contemporary status as a global entertainment industry, where characters such as Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog are familiar even to those who've never been near a games console.
Topics covered include:
* what is a videogame?
* why study videogames?
* a brief history of videogames, from Pac-Man to Pokémon
* the videogame industry
* who plays videogames?
* are videogames bad for you?
* the narrative structure of videogames
* the future of videogames.
Newman traces the battle for dominance among key players such as Atari, Nintendo and Sega, explains how new videogames are developed and produced, and outlines research into the effects of videogaming on players, challenging the popular notion that too much Playstation is bad for your health.

Customer Reviews

review from a third year media comms student
As any gamer would I jumped at the chance to do a module on videogames. Having been lured into seemingly fun modules in the past (I did a course on science-fiction which got a bit intense by the end). I was a little dubious at first on just how games based it would be. James Newman's book was our core text for the module. You get the impression from the start that this is a little different from other books about videogames insofar that although the videogame theory is there, you get the impression that it written by a Academic who likes his videogames. Not just an academic hack applying your basic 'media effects' theory to another aspect of popular culture, coming to the conclusion that we're all doomed because of it.
'Videogames' has that un-put-downable quality which many academic texts are severely lacking. For non-gamers as well as console hoarders its a definite one for the bookshelf.