Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood [Paperback]

Jamie Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2012

Hollywood is under attack from videogames. Movies defined the 20th century but games are now pushing them aside as the medium that captures our time, fascination and money. Generation Xbox digs into the love-hate relationship between games and cinema that has led us to this point. It's a story of disaster, triumph and Angelia Jolie in hot pants. Learn how Steven Spielberg's game-making dreams fell apart and why Silicon Valley pioneers wooed Stanley Kubrick. Discover the story behind the failed Halo movie, how videogame tech paved the way for Avatar, and what companies like Ubisoft and Valve are doing to take gaming to the next level. Based on more than 100 interviews with leading figures from videogames and Hollywood, Generation Xbox is the definitive history of an epic power struggle that has reshaped the entertainment landscape. Are you ready to play?

"The one book gamers should read this year." - The Jace Hall Show

"A fascinatingly detailed account," The Guardian

"Pretty damn good," Destructoid.com

"A definitive history of the intersection of the games and movie industries" - Eurogamer

"The most interesting and illuminating game-related book I've read in years." - Tony Mott, editor, Edge magazine

"I had flashbacks reading it." - Peter Hirschmann, writer/producer, Medal of Honor

"AMAZING stuff!" - Daniel Alter, film producer, Hitman

"A fine work that makes an important point, bringing to light an era of history that has had a vast impact and gone largely unappreciated." - Howard Scott Warshaw, creator of Atari's E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark games

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Yellow Ant (April 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0956507247
• ISBN-13: 978-0956507242
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jamie Russell is an author, screenwriter and journalist. His work has appeared in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Wired, Total Film, EDGE, and many others. He's happiest writing about zombies, first-person shooters and William S. Burroughs. One day he plans to combine all three obsessions in the same feature article.

His books include Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood ("fascinatingly detailed and revealing," reckoned the Guardian) and the bestselling Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema ("the definitive history of the living dead," according to director John Landis).

Jamie has a Ph.D. in English Literature but he only calls himself Dr when talking to bank managers. He lives in Shropshire, England with his wife and two daughters - who are fed up with "those silly zombies" and want him to write a book about princesses instead.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly researched, intelligently argued April 21, 2012

By Ling E. Teo

Format:Paperback

Those of us who have read Russell's "Book of the Dead: A Complete History of Zombie Cinema" can expect the same intelligent and sharp critique in his new book "Generation XBox" which explores the relationship between cinema and the videogames industry. His astute, detailed analysis is packed into an absorbing, concise, fast-moving narrative that brings together Spielberg, Kubrick, Atari, Nintendo, Silicon Valley, Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, The Matrix and Avatar. I am impressed by how Russell interviewed more than 100 games developers, film-makers, actors and executives in his research. He suggests that the nature of storytelling in film has been forever altered by the invasion of the computer games and graphics in Hollywood.
Cutting-edge and insightful. If you are serious about videogames, cinema or computer graphics, this book is a real treat!

Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema
Queer Burroughs

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended April 20, 2013

By James Fleury

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fascinating book for anyone researching or just wishing to learn more about the relationship between the film and video game industries.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Accurate Historical Account of the Most Unique Creatives in Entertainment March 7, 2013

By cganimation

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The accounts and interviews bring to life the unique personalities and challenges that have cemented the video game industry as a major force of change in the film industry, even re-defining the future of story driven entertainment. What you read here is an account of what is a contemporary art movement, a period of time and actions that have changed the way storytelling and visual arts have developed and evolved within a matter of a few decades. In hindsight, future generations now have an amazing account of first hand interviews of the rise of a new genre of entertainment and arts as defining as the culture it quenches.