ARCADE FEVER The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by John Sellers (Author) "Parts is parts: Games came with their own circuitry and controls, and in all shapes and the arcade an anthropological funhouse..." (more)
Key Phrases: various interchangeable terms, attract mode, fire button, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Star Wars (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
--[T]his illustrated history of the arcade's glory days will push any game geek's thrust button... -- Entertainment Weekly, August 17, 2001

--after you're a few pages into this fond tribute, suddenly vast expanses of your youth will come back into focus. -- Time Out New York, August 16, 2001

--magnificently researched, [and written] with an enthusiasm that bubbles out through the pages like so many dangling pairs of cherries. -- Philadelphia Weekly, August 22, 2001

Product Description
Have You Mastered the Delicate Art of Hyperspace? Can You Say "Joystick" in Polite Conversation Without Blushing? Do You Remember the Difference Between Playing "Singles" and "Doubles"?

If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, Arcade Fever is the book for you—the world's first illustrated history of video games, with tributes to 50 all-time favorites like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Defender, Q*Bert, Tetris, and many, many others. You want little-known tips, tricks, and secrets? You want behind-the-scenes creation stories from the original programmers? You want to read about the first guy who actually DIED playing a video game, or the arcade classic that inspired an episode of Seinfeld? It's all right here, in a jam-packed celebration of '70s and '80s arcade culture.

Includes:

o Interviews with programmers, musicians, animators, and other legends from the golden age of video games

o A chronological history of video arcades—from the first coin-operated arcade game (no, it wasn't Pong) to obscure classics like Elevator Action, Crazy Climber, and Food Fight

o Tons of rad '80s spin-off products, including home systems, pajamas, alarm clocks, Saturday morning cartoons, sugar-coated breakfast cereals, and a really bad movie starring Jeff Bridges as a programmer who gets sucked into a computer.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Running Press; illustrated edition edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762409371
• ISBN-13: 978-0762409372
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #520,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trip Down Memory Lane, January 2, 2004

By	C. T. Mikesell (near Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Arcade Fever is not a perfect book, but it's still quite good. A number of reviewers have taken the author to task for the book's shortcomings. Lighten up! It's a fun book about a fun topic. Don't be so serious, you'll get an ulcer.

First off, the book is subtitled: The Fan's Guide to the Golden Age of Video Games. As a "fan's guide" it works well - it's less a doctoral thesis in the field of Arcadeology than a simple overview of games the casual 1980s arcade visitor would know and likely love. If you want obscure references and arcane knowledge, this is definitely not your book.

Second, whenever I get together with my brother and sisters I revert to the maturity of a late teenager (my wife hates this). It seems that Sellers has reverted to that same level of maturity in his commentary, and probably for the same reason: It's fun to go back in time and try and relive our favorite moments. Cut the guy a break and get in on the fun. If you can read the word "poopy" without grinning, you're not ready for this book. If the Beavis and Butthead voice in your head says "he wrote `poopy'...cool...heh heh eh heh," you're ready to dive right in.

Third, I like the year-by-year history snippets. It provides a context for what else we were doing when not playing the games. Was it necessary? No. Does "Who Shot J.R.?" have anything to do with video games? No. Does it help get you back in the mindset of The Golden Age? I think so.

Fourth, I like the mix of games in the book. There are games you loved, liked, and hated. There are the popular games and the sleepers. Are one or more of your favorites neglected? Probably (I'd have liked a page for Tailgunner or Omega Race, myself). I wish Sellers hadn't ragged on Bosconian (but I was an English major, so that's probably why I like it so much). I liked Cliff Hanger more than Dragon's Lair, but I can concede that DL deserves the full review, CH the snippet.

Finally, the sole purpose of a book like this is to kindle the feeling of nostalgia in its reader. I had forgotten some of the things in the book: some of the games, some of the trends - I had totally forgotten about putting quarters up on marquee lip to reserve the next game. I feel better for having remembered them. If you were born in the late-'60s/early-'70s, no longer live in your parents' basement, and enjoy a fun, light read, you'll probably like this book too.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgic blast from a guy who KNOWS classic games!, July 2, 2001

By	K. Feinstein (NYC Area, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've spent a great deal of my life collecting, preserving and protecting the history of videogames through our museum exhibit VIDEOTOPIA, so I always hope for the best but fear the worst when a new videogame book hits the shelves. Arcade Fever, despite a silly title, is a FANTASTIC book.

We had the pleasure of assisting (very slightly) in the production of the book and this guy knows his games, and more to the point, he knows what made us LOVE them.

This is a fun and very visual walk through some of the greatest videogames of the classic era. If you are looking for the rush that you'd get walking into a great 80's arcade - this is the best way for you to get a good dose of a great golden-age arcade. Close your eyes and you can hear the sound effects!

Great book, great fun. Don't miss it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arcade Glory & Nostalgia: Revisited, December 25, 2002

By	J. Prescott (Henrico, Virginia) - See all my reviews

Mr. Sellers has compiled what is essentially a time capsule packed with vivid recollections of adolescent indulgence laced with ribald wit. Clearly an homage, Arcade Fever is transcendant. The feel of thick carpet, black light, Sbarro's pizza and pocketfulls of quarters fills the synapses while the pages turn. Replete with nostalgia, this title is perfect for anyone who skipped class to shoot B&W rocks or navigate a corpulent carpenter upward a steely skeletal edifice. The only drawback-- the realisation that scenes from Flynn's Arcade in Tron have ceased to exist. The games are harder to enjoy now-- victims of changing tastes and a market that dried up seemingly overnight. There are no downers though, and as a love letter (which this text obviously is) it didn't end badly at all. Now excuse me while i scrounge a quarter or two and find the nearby Asteroids machine at my local movie theatre...