Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Positives:
Has lots of pictures of many games.
Informative articles.
Very in-depth information covering arcade games from 1972-86

Negatives:
A lot of the pictures are grainy or of poor quality.
Seems like the author quit playing games after 1986,as not many games are covered and the info on most of them is pretty shallow.

Overall,it is still a cool book...it just could have been an incredible book had the author not "mailed it in" when covering all games after 1986.

This book is a great visual reference for both the collector of video arcade games and people who just want to remember them. No, the pictures are not the greatest all of the time, but a lot of these games are extremely hard to find, let alone in presentable condition for publication. What makes this book stand out is the fact that it doesn't just show and dwell on the common and popular games such as Pac Man, Galaga and Donkey Kong. This is the first book I have found that really shows a wide range of early, unique, rare and obscure games along with the more common games. I use this book like an old Sears Christmas Wish Book, and as a visual reference tool. The descriptions of the games are decent, and they have prices listed after the descriptions. Although, if you are looking for a spot-on price guide, this is not it. Like all price guides, the prices are dated or inaccurate as the market changes from month to month, but it makes for a good rough idea for collectors that are new to the hobby. As a collector, I commend the author on this book and recommend it to anyone with interest in these games.

This book is ESSENTIAL reading and a must have for anyone who collects Arcade video machines, or just interested in their history, and a pretty complete synopsis of all the major games put out by each of the major manufacturers, from the 70's all the way to just a few years ago. The book is very well laid out, packed with TONS of history of both the games evolution and of the manufacturers, interviews with the designers, and TONS of pictures. Get the book for the pics if nothing else! Do yourself a favor and pick this up, you won't be disappointed! Thisrally IS an Encyclopedia for pinball machines and collectors. Well worth the money, Highly recommended!

Jeff Scott
Orlando, FL

This is a really nice book for collectors and enthusiasts, it's mostly in full color and the quality of the paper is pretty good. It's light on text but is packed with photos of arcade cabinets and artwork. The graphic layout could have used a little bit of work and the reproduction quality of the photos isn't quite top notch ... also I ideally would have liked to have seen more games included of Japanese origin. But these are small complaints given how nice the book is as it stands. Really a great coffee table type book for enthusiasts and a 100% must have for anyone who loves classic arcade games. Very glad I made the purchase and really happy with it.