Customer Reviews

The First Quarter : A 25-year History of Video Games

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I want to thank the people who were so kind in their reviews.

The First Quarter has been re-released as The Ultimate History of Video Games by Prima Publishing. This new version of the book includes an additional chapter, a time line, the oft-requested index, additional art, and above all--PROFESSIONAL EDITING.

As stated in many reviews, The First Quarter suffered from my lack of editing skills. I self-published that book. While my writing skills may be questionable, my editing abilities are indisputably bad.

Finally, I want to thank the people who bought my book and read it. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing my enthusiasm for video games.

Incredible insight into the creation of some of the biggest video games. What's fascinating about this book are the revealing details behind the creation of these games. Having been in this business for 14 years, I was amazed with the amount of information that was acquired and only wish the book could have been even longer. Highly recommended!

This is a well researched book on the history of video games, starting from its roots. It is full, and I mean FULL, of anecdotes from the people who were there. The author does a good job of clarifying and expanding upon those stories.

I have a few quibbles: In the early '80s the author goes into great detail about Atari and even Coleco but doesn't cover Mattel's contribution enough. And later the Nintendo Game Boy is covered appropriately but the Sega Game Gear is hardly mentioned. There are also some minor formatting errors but my biggest gripe and the reason for 4 rather than 5 stars is the lack of an index. I don't think I've ever seen a nonfiction title like this one without an index. Want to find out who programmed Pac-Man? It's in the book but you won't find it easily. Still, I really enjoyed reading it.

Even before opening the book, the cover itself delivers a wonderful pun for a title: The First Quarter, which to some would mean the first 25 years, while to the true video game aficionado it could mean their own personal first quarter into an arcade machine.

However you perceive the title, once you dive into the book and experience the many historical recounts and rebuttals of the video game industries pioneers, and cultural icons you walk away truly knowing more about video games and the culture behind them then ever before.

From the days of MIT hackers to Sanders Labs to the Roller Rink of Atari hippie's all the way through up to todays "Giants" Nintendo, Sega and Sony. Kent's interviews bring a true sense of what the industry was and what it has grown into today.

Not being able to find "The First Quarter" I emailed Mr. Kent. He told me that the book he wrote being published by Prima, "The Ultimate History of Video Games," was was a rewrite of "The First Quarter" with a little added material. (So if you're loooking for this one and can't find it there you go.) This was the most interesting book I've read in a long time. Reading the stories and history from an insider's perspective was truely fascinating. If you're a gamer I highly recommend this title.

This book doesn't study video games so much as it studies the people who created them. That's a good thing, because the heroes of the early video gaming industry are fascinating. I'm talking about colorful personalities, cut-throat business deals, and bizarre corporate cultures. You'd think that these things would scare a fan away from the book, but I was only drawn in more. Author Steven Kent interlaces his words with hundreds of quotes from the very people he talks about.

This book gets 4 stars because it tries to do too much with too little space. The author himself admitted that he originally planned to end the book with the launch of the Sega Saturn and Playstation, but instead he carries the book through to just before the launch of the Playstation 2 - five years of intense history which deserve a book of their own. Kent should have saved these extra 80 or so pages and spent more time on the NES, Super NES, and Genesis. There were so many important games throughout video game history that Kent gives passing mention, or no mention at all.

As a side note, I was able to find ROMs on the internet of the very games Kent mentions, thus able to play video game history on my own PC. You can legally play these games if you delete them from your hard drive within 24 hours, so don't worry. Although they are incredibly easy and have terrible graphics by today's standards, they were still fun to play.

Stories have been floating around the video game business for years about Steven Kent's book on the history of video gaming. Now it's out, and it's everything I had hoped for.

Kent's book does more than just cover that dates and events in the history of the video game business. He brings to life the colorful characters who built it. He also let's his subjects tell their stories in their own words.

I've been in this business for over a decade, and can attest to the fact that Steven really captures his subject well. I even learned things for the first time about companies where I worked for years!

As a collector of arcade machines, retro computers and consoles, as soon as this book appeared in my `Recommendations` section prior to its release I put it on order.

Living in the UK, the postage on top of the price of the book may put many non Statesiders off. Don't let it stop you, just buy it!

As soon as the book arrived and I'd turned to the first page, I was glued to it. The First Quarter charts the history of videogames from the days before `Computer Space`, through to `Pong`, `Space Invaders`, `Asteroids`, `Pacman` and beyond, in an informative and enjoyable way.

The author, Steven Kent has done a brilliant job of tracking down many of `the legends` from the computer and arcade games over the years. The interviews and quotes from these people are generously smattered throughout the book, giving the whole thing and almost documentary style.

For me, the pre mid-80's sections were of most interest, but the numerous Nintendo/Sega court cases, fall of Atari etc are also compelling.

I could go on, but don't want to spoil it for you. If you've enjoyed `Game Over` and thought `Phoenix` wasn't very good, get this. It NEEDS to be in your collection.

This book is fabulous. I got much more than I expected from reading The First Quarter. The interview sections (strewn through out the book between Kent's narration) add so much color to the book. I really feel now that I have a good understanding of how the industry was in the beginning. Not just the "boring" (to non-techie or game addicts) information about which system came out when, and which was more powerful, Mr. Kent's book showed the insides of the industry, often times (by use of timely inserted interview sections) through the eyes of the people that were actually there and not just Mr. Kent's speculation or perception of the industry.

My only complaint with this book (other than it had to end) is that it seemed to me the second half was really cut short. It seemed to fly by jumping around (system to system, company to company) so fast without spending too much time in one place. The first half or so of the book gets you hooked on Atari (and others) and all the people and everything they did around that time. The second half seems to fly through lots of facts and seems to only scratch the surface of the "behind the scenes" in the industry.

Overall an excellent book which I will most definetly read again and again to familiarize myself with the industry I love and I hope to see another book from Steven L. Kent in the future. Thank you for this wonderful book!

Steven Kent has been a leading authority in gaming related journalism for years and has written some of the best interviews, reviews, previews, features etc. for MSNBC, Rolling Stone and other major publications, on- and offline.

He's also been involved in the business ever since it all began and is thus one of the few men to know the gaming world and its history from top to bottom... and it shows in this very comprehensive, sometimes controversial and always entertaining "holy book" of videogames.

Whether you're a member of the industry, a hardcore videogame afficionado or simply care for a little round of Goldeneye 64 every now and then, The First Quarter is a perfect read for you and will make any coffee table look good. Order it while supplies last! ;-)