The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games (Schiffer Book for Collectors) [Hardcover]

Bill Kurtz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Book for Collectors | Publication Date: July 2007

Here's a fun-filled trip back in time to the colorful arcades of the 1970s and '80s. More than 600 photos present the dot-munching PAC MAN, bomb-dropping SPACE INVADERS, and other favorites. Nostalgic baby boomers have made arcade video games one of the hottest collectibles around. This comprehensive reference presents photos of every popular video game manufactured, along with some long-forgotten machines and even some you've probably never heard of. You'll also find information about the manufacturers who produced these classic games, a section about video game collectibles, and information on how to locate your favorite games and start your own collection. With many never-before-published photographs, beginning collectors and long-time game enthusiasts alike are sure to enjoy this nostalgic and informative look at the world of arcade video games.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764319256
• ISBN-13: 978-0764319259
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the expense, September 14, 2009

By 

Trevor Brown "TrevEB" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games (Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Hardcover)

As reported by several others, the photos are dreadful.
There is nothing here that you cannot get in better quality from google images or from a good MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) frontend.

I chose to return the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not good., August 9, 2008

By 

Rich - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games (Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Hardcover)

The picture quality is horrendous throughout, apparently just scanned from old magazines. The pics are superimposed on bland white backrounds which, as there's little text, makes for an unbelievably amateurish looking endevour.
I just have to return this one.

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a Good Book That Could Have Been Better, November 28, 2011

By 

William H. Roberts Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games (Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Hardcover)

I had read the reviews of this book and had seen that it received some negative reviews. This seemed to be mainly about the quality of photos. I decided that I could overlook this as long as the content was solid. So I decided to buy it.

I'll say that "The Encyclopedia of Arcade Video Games" is fairly impressive. It does show a lot of photos of classic arcade video games. I also like that it focuses only on the games that were in the arcades and did not feature home console games such as Atari 2600 and Colecovision. I especially enjoyed seeing the photos of the games from the 1970's. A lot of those games have been overlooked over the years and it's a treat to see how the arcade cabinets changed as time went on.

But...This book could have been so much better. It would have been nice to see better photos featured, especially since this book was written not too long ago and photos from the Internet could have been provided. However, my biggest gripe with this book is that it is incomplete. For instance, it mentions the game "Eagle" but not its original version "Moon Cresta". Also, it lists most of the Pac-Man games but not "Jr. Pac-Man". If you are going to call a book the encyclopedia of arcade games, then I expect it to be more thorough. After all, the Killer List of Video Games website was around when this book was written (and is even mentioned near the back of the book). There's no excuse for sloppy research when the Internet was available. It also would have been nice to have an index at the book of the book listed the games in alphabetical order.

All in all, a good book but it could and should have been better.