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

by Steven L. Kent

Book Overview

The definitive behind-the-scenes history of the dawn of video games and their rise into a multibillion-dollar business

"For industry insiders and game players alike, this book is a must-have."--Mark Turmell, designer for Midway Games and creator of NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and WrestleMania

With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761536434
• ISBN13: 9780761536437
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Great book on video game history!

I found this book very easy to read and entertaining. It gives a wonderful insight into the video game industry circa early 1970's through around 2000. Wonderful interviews with the "big hitters" of the industry including the creator of Atari, the person who headed up Nintendo of America, etc. Well worth the price.

Outstanding. Extremely informative and deep.

I've been playing video games for 20 years now. I began with the Atari, saw the market crash, grew up with Nintendo, and got caught up in the 90's proliferation of newer and hotter systems. I know a great deal about the industry, yet this book puts my knowledge to shame. Exhaustively researched and crammed ridiculously full of information, anecdotes, and hundreds of direct quotes from every walk of video game life, this book is worth more than one read-through. My copy is well-worn because I find it so easy to take with me on plane trips and just start reading through at random points. It's written in a very friendly, conversational tone and engages you with its prose. The book is extremely interesting because the author is clearly interested in the subject himself. He manages to get the kind of details and answer the type of questions you'd want to know, yet stays very thorough and accurate throughout. Loads of different subjects are covered, sometimes at great length: The bar where Pong was first tested. Nintendo's lawsuit against Galoob's Game Genie. Tengen illegally producing Nintendo games and the big N's forceful prosecution. The battles over Donkey Kong and Tetris. The founding of Electronic Arts. Sega's mid 90's dominance and slip of the cd based systems. The furor over Mortal Kombat. School shootings. I can't list enough, and I can't go on enough about it. This book is extremely comprehensive and covers the entire video game industry and all its major players chronologically from the 70s until the turn of the century. It's well-written, accurate (given all those direct insider quotes) and completely objective. One of the best things about it is the fact that it gives details of so many things from my video game youth, such as the first Nintendo commercials, as well as the good old days of parents rampaging through stores for a copy of the "low supply" games. Aside from interesting industry information, this book helped me reminisce. I've read "Game Over" (the only book comparable to this one on the subject, though it centers on Nintendo), "Phoenix, the Fall and Rise of Videogames, "Masters of Doom", and several other video game books. Honestly, this one still entertains me after four years. Though it ends at about the dawn of the PS2 and Xbox, it covers so much history and gives so many informative, interesting, and humorous stories that it really does deserve the title "Ultimate". Forgive me for not being more objective, but I must shrug and stick to my story. At 500 pages, and with such a wealth of information about so many familiar faces, companies, and games, I just find this to be the best book on the subject without question. Absolutely worth checking out for any video game player.

Captivating read for all who have loved video games

Having been born in 1984, I was open to the video game revolution when Nintendo became a big influence. My life revolved around near worship of Nintendo of America. From buying the systems, games, and gear, I totally immersed myself in the culture of video games. However, I was not aware of the heritage that had preceded my birth and the work and love that had gone into the video game industry. This book has opened my eyes to that and has given me a much greater appreciation for the work done by the great geniuses in the video game industry.Kent begins with the major pinball companies to give you a grounding in the leading companies that would eventually move into the coin-op and then consumer video game businesses. The book chronicals the making of games from a ragtag group of MIT students to Nolan Bushnell's grand experience of Atari and then all the way up to Microsoft proposing X-Box. The major focus of this book is the early years of gaming. Much of the material chronicals the work of the early Coin-op and console manufacturers. This is a very refreshing view of the industry, showing the original roots of the market.I definitely suggest this book. Kent's light-hearted style is augmented by the thoroughness of his work. This book is brimming with direct quotes from the major players in the gaming industry. If you have had an interest in the work done to make the video game industry as popular as it is, this book is a definite suggestion. Read away!

A Must-Buy for Gamers and a Must-Read for Businessmen

I love to read about video games, and I pretty much devour everything I can find on the subject. So I became excited when I heard about the release of this book, written by one of America's most beloved (and yet perennially controversial) video games journalists. Steve Kent's MSNBC, USA Today and Next Generation columns are always honest and a bit quirky, which is a good combination from my perspective.When I buy books, especially ones with the word "ultimate" in the title, I expect a lot. This book, a properly edited and indexed version of Mr. Kent's self-published "The First Quarter," absolutely delivers on its title. As a telling of history, The Ultimate History of Video Games is not pretentious, nor is it heavily opinionated, and those are among its greatest assets. The approach: interview nearly every major decision-maker involved in video gaming and let their words tell the 25-plus-year story of the industry. And Ultimate History actually tells the WHOLE story. It's not just about Nintendo. It's not just about 10 years worth of old arcade games. It covers everything -- from before the dawn of video games to just before the releases of the Xbox and Gamecube. Plus it does so without pulling any punches. It's a big thick book with a lot of previously undisclosed information. Fans of The First Quarter will even find some surprising new additions inside, too.This is the sort of book you stay up all night reading and then consult again whenever you're talking with your friends. And it's also the sort of book that ANY person considering a career in video games, especially the gaming business, really has to read. These are the reasons it rates a "buy" instead of a "borrow" or a "skim." I keep a copy on my shelf at work.

Lives up to its name--a must-read

Combine Leonard Herman's accurate but dry Phoenix with the intimacy of David Sheff's Game Over and you've got The Ultimate History of Video Games, the best account of video game history to date. Numerous anecdotes from the people who made the games that made history--from Atari's Al Alcorn and Nolan Bushnell through to Square's Hironobu Sakaguchi and Sony's Kaz Hirai--give the book an personal, friendly tone. Gamers should note that this is a reprinted but noticably improved version of Kent's self-published The First Quarter, with a full index, more photographic examples, a more attractive layout, and the removal of all the confusing typos and minor errors (sadly, the original book's clever title was removed as well, but the amended facts are worth it). Ultimate History's conversational tone, broad scope, and authoritative direct quotes make it very compelling as a narrative but just as useful as a reference. Along with David Sheff's Game Over, it's an entertaining must-read for students of gaming history.