Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9424 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Synopsis
Based on more than 500 first-hand interviews with the creative geniuses and inspired crazies who transformed a back-room novelty into a cultural phenomenon, The Ultimate History of Video Games is the definitive account of the brilliant, quirky, wacky world of electronic entertainment. Readers will discover the behind-the-scenes story of the games they grew up with - from Pong, Pac-Man and Mortal Kombat to Pokemon and beyond. They will follow the exploits of eccentric designers, insanely great programmers and manically driven entrepreneurs who wagered everything on a modern-day art form that no one thought would succeed. But succeed they did. This one-of-a-kind book is filled with invaluable insight from such industry giants as Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani and hundreds more. It also includes such recent developments as the explosive launch of Sony's Playstation 2, the sudden fall of Sega and the coming thunder of Microsoft's Xbox. Entertaining, addictive and as mesmerizing as its subject, this book is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.

Customer Reviews

Videogame's Historic Encyclopaedia
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.

The business of gaming
This is an engaging and well-written account of how the games industry got started and grew to the size it is today (actually it ends at around the Xbox / PS2 era). Don't be fooled by the cartoonish cover this is more of a book for older readers. If you're interested in economics and business deals then you'll find them here, if on the other hand you want more discussion of the actual games then I'd recommend The Video Games Guide. Still there's fun to be had in finding out about how the various companies got one up on each other (often quite ruthlessly), they may be in the business of making games but they certainly aren't playing.

Intruiging insight into the origins of the video game...
'The Ultimate History of Video Games' offers a great insight into the origins of the video games medium.
With great focus shifted on the early years of the video arcade and home video gaming, this books covers in-depth the emergence of a 'craze that touched our lives and changed the world'.

Covering the time span from the introduction of the mechanical arcades, to the point when Microsoft was about to enter the market with the Xbox, this is an essential read to anyone who vaguely interested in this medium, providing detailed information on the majority of important soft- and hardware developments of the video gaming industry, the effects of video games on culture and factualising less important information such as to whom Mario was named after.

This book is from written from an American standpoint, and as pointed out in other reviews, it is a shame that there was not more detail on either the Japanese or European markets. Also, this book does not include near enough of information on the development of pc gaming (not really surprising given that it is a history of video games, but it would have been nice to see Kent expand a couple of computer related stories). However, these are minor drawbacks in an otherwise well written book, which makes a very entertaining read all the way through (coming from a guy (me) who generally dislikes reading).

In summary, anyone who is either looking to purchase a book on video gaming in general, or requires a vast and detailed pool of information on the birth of the medium and the emergence of a multi-billion industry, should seriously considering purchasing this book. Worth its weight in gold.