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Jamie Lendino

Adventure: The Atari 2600 at the Dawn of Console Gaming Paperback – June 4, 2018

by Jamie Lendino (Author)

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The sprawl of Adventure. The addictiveness of Breakout. The intensity of Space Invaders.

Once upon a time, you could only experience this kind of excitement at the arcade. But in 1977 that changed forever. You, and maybe a friend or a sibling, could instantly teleport from your own living room to a dazzling new world—with nothing more than a small plastic cartridge.

This was the promise of the Atari 2600—and it was delivered in ways no one ever expected. No, the games it put on your TV weren’t what you saw when you plunked in your quarters at the convenience store or in the noisy, smoky business on the other side of town. But they brought the arcade home—and it hasn’t left since.

With Adventure: The Atari 2600 at the Dawn of Console Gaming, Jamie Lendino takes you to the front lines of the home gaming revolution, exploring the history of the world-changing console and delves into the coin-op ports and original titles that still influence gaming today.

Before your next trip to a magical universe with your Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Nintendo Switch, see how the home gaming industry truly began.

Print length

277 pages
Language

English
Publication date

June 4, 2018
Dimensions

6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1732355207
ISBN-13

978-1732355200
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ziff Davis (June 4, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 277 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1732355207
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1732355200
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #738,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #194 in Computing Industry History
- #1,497 in Video & Computer Games
- #1,784 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides

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85 ratings

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Jamie Lendino

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Jamie Lendino is an author, editor, mix engineer, and technology enthusiast. In addition to his books about vintage computers and video games, he has written for PC Magazine, Popular Science, ExtremeTech, Electronic Musician, Consumer Reports, Sound and Vision, and CNET. Jamie has also appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and other television and radio programs across the United States. He lives with his wife, daughter, and two bonkers cats in Collingswood, New Jersey.

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Thomas

Great showcase of the Atari 2600's heyday

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 26, 2022

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Here we have a well-researched and -written account of the heyday of the Atari VCS/2600 home gaming console. Key games (mostly successes, but some notorious failures) are profiled, including some from third party developers. This book does a great job explaining HOW and WHY the system was first a runaway hit, and then later faded from popularity. It's clear that the author lived through this era himself, which makes the book easily readable for those who took that same ride in the early 1980s.

One person found this helpful

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Mike Pontillo

A well-written historical perspective

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a large stack of unread books on the nightstand. So when I get word of new books like this on a topic of great interest, it goes on the wish list for some future time. But then I saw some troll post a negative review here based entirely on the title and not the content, which incensed me into pulling the trigger and getting it read. And I'm glad I did.

Most Atari fans have memorized the history of the 2600. What Lendino uniquely does here is to relate those details in the context of the era in which they occurred, with a perspective informed by knowing now how it all turned out. It's part personal memoir, but not so much as to become a vanity project - just enough to evoke memories for those of us who were around in the 1977-1984 time frame and lived this stuff. I'd forgotten quite a bit.

In addition to the history, the book includes short but comprehensive reviews of the most significant games released for each year the 2600 was sold. Significant means best and worst, and Lendino chose well, including important third-party releases from Activision, Imagic, and Parker Brothers. Each game features a screenshot (would have loved having those in color, but you can't always get everything you want in publishing), a gameplay synopsis, and just enough technical information without getting bogged down in arcane details best left to other books.

It's good stuff, whether you lived it the first time like I did, or if you came in later on and want to appreciate the Atari phenomenon in its original context.

21 people found this helpful

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Matthew Sunrich

Great!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 18, 2021

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I am a retrogamer through and through, and when I saw this book I knew I had to check it out. Excellent overview of the games released for the 2600. I even discovered a few that I had never heard of.

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Jolt

The author had me with the title “Adventure”. My favorite Atari game..

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

A wealth of information to satisfy the nostalgic and “lapsed” gamer like myself. I really like the author breaking down so many cartridges; the simple games that defined the childhood of so many. Love having this book in my retro game library,

One person found this helpful

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J. Sicuranza

A great read for those who were kids and played the games in that era.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

Interesting read on the history, detail of, and folloup of the Atari 2600 platform and its games. Having owned 2600, 5200 and an actual Asteroids Deluxe machine I can appreciate his history, nostalgia and detail of an exciting time that shaped many. Wheather you are a retro game or old computer hobbiest you will enjoy this book.

One person found this helpful

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SPAM

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 27, 2020

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I enjoyed this because I'm very into old consoles for some reason.

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Fultonbot

Good Read of a Unique Perspective on the Atari VCS

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

A breezy, well researched tome about the world first "important" video game system. Lendino mixes technical details, company history, game reviews, and personal memoir into a unique perspective sure to please discerning Atari fans looking for interesting non-fiction read about their favorite company.

9 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a well told and well annotated work. If you Atari, you will like having this in your library.

4 people found this helpful

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BOBELE

ACHTUNG!! Täuschung in der Vorschau... aber trotzdem tolles Buch

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on April 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Gleich vorweg: Der "Blick ins Buch" auch für die gedruckte Version zeigt etliche bunte Bilder, die aufgrund ihrer Häufigkeit den Eindruck des Buches deutlich bestimmen. Das tatsächliche Buch ist aber nur ein eher billig wirkender schwarz-weiß Druck. Ein Versehen? Oder Täuschung? Normalerweise wäre das aber Grund genug, das Buch zurückzuschicken...

... aber dummerweise ist es so spannend und toll geschrieben, dass es auch in dem Zustand den Kaufpreis mehr als wert ist. Ich habe es regelrecht verschlungen. Darum gebe ich dem Buch trotzdem 5 Sterne und kann es nur empfehlen.

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Giorgi Bastos

I love this book

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on October 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

As an Atari infatuated fan I may sound biased saying this - One of the best books on Atari history I have ever read! Every Atari fan and retrogamer must have this one in their collection.

One person found this helpful

SCJONES07

HAPPY RETRO GAMER

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on March 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

Brought as a gift for my son that loves Retro gaming. He loved this book, he has re-read a few times !!

Tony A. Cruise

Very written, the author has lots to say

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on August 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

The text was very well written, with the author adding their own views and opinions on each of the titles covered. It was also nice how it was presented in a time line of releases.

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