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High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, Second Edition 2nd Edition

by Rusel DeMaria (Author), Johnny L. Wilson (Author)

35

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In this lavishly illustrated full-color retrospective, discover never-before-seen photos that bring to life the people and stories behind the most popular games of all time, including Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, SimCity, Quake, Myst, Tomb Raider, and more. This is the inside scoop on the history, successes, tricks, and even failures of the entire electronic games industry.

ISBN-10

9780072231724
ISBN-13

978-0072231724
Edition

2nd
Publisher

McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Publication date

December 18, 2003
Language

English
Dimensions

7.75 x 1 x 9.75 inches
Print length

400 pages
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Rusel DeMaria
17
Paperback
2 offers from $40.40

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Ultimate History of Electronic Games

“This is a great work that shows the humanity, creativity, and passion inside the art and business of games. The public is playing a lot of games today, and Rusel's and Johnny's fine book gives them a terrific look behind the scenes.” --Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts and 3DO

“As an industry veteran, I am excited to see that Rusel and Johnny have poured their hard work and talent into creating this visual and textual compendium of the history of computer entertainment. Just as I was, I think you will be amazed to see how far we've come in so few years. The pictorial content of this book represents a glimpse at great milestones of our recent past that are quickly going to be impossible to see, perhaps ever again, outside this volume.” --Richard Garriott, computer gaming pioneer, developer of the Ultima series of games, and founder of Origin Systems

This lavishly illustrated full-color retrospective takes you on a guided tour of the evolution of electronic games from blips on a tiny screen in a computer science lab to the multi-billion-dollar industry it has become today. Hundreds of images of arcades, consoles, and PC games span more than 30 years of game history from the beginning to the present day. Meet the people who changed the world of entertainment and hear the tales of their amazing successes and spectacular failures--including many stories that have never been told in print before.

Rusel DeMaria has been a participant and observer in the electronic gaming industry since its inception. He has written nearly 60 strategy guides and is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of that book genre. DeMaria has been a senior editor and columnist for several national magazines, a speaker at the prestigious Computer Game Developer’s Conference as well as other industry events.

Johnny L. Wilson has been group publisher for Wizards of the Coast periodicals (Dragon, Dungeon, Star Wars Gamer, and Star Wars Insider magazines) and editor-in-chief of Computer Gaming World magazine, the world’s oldest PC-specific game magazine. A game reviewer for more than 17 years, he has made frequent appearances as a computer game historian/expert on the History Channel, National Public Radio, and a variety of local television newsmagazines.

About the Author

Rusel DeMaria (Grants Pass, OR) has been an observer and/or participant in the electronic gaming industry since its inception. Beginning in 1980, he began writing professionally about games. He has written nearly 60 strategy guides and is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of that book genre. In addition to his books, Rusel has been a senior editor and columnist for several national magazines. Johnny L. Wilson (Seattle, WA) is Group Publisher for Wizards of the Coast’s magazine group, which includes Dragon, Dungeon, Top Deck, Star Wars Gamer and Star Wars Insider. He is perhaps better known as the former editor-in-chief of Computer Gaming World (1992-1999), the premier magazine for computer-gaming fans.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0072231726
Publisher ‏ : ‎ McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 2nd edition (December 18, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780072231724
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0072231724
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 1 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,378,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,081 in Video & Computer Games
- #7,798 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides
- #160,171 in Unknown

Customer Reviews:
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John Smith

Outstanding Trip Through Video Game History

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2004

Verified Purchase

Perhaps there are only a few changes since the first edition, but if you've never read the first edition, this is a must-get for video game fans.

Full-color photos of hardware, screenshots, and gaming popular culture (e.g. Atari high score patches) take you through video game history. Not only are systems like Atari, Coleco, Intellevision, Nintendo, Sony, and Sega looked at, the authors also look at specific games and milestones for each hardware platform. A lot of obscure systems are covered and even computers from Commodore, Coleco, Atari, Apple, etc.

The authors have done a great job. From the Nintendo Game and Watch series to Sid Meier's Pirates, a great deal of video game history (past to present) and even memories (for some) are contained within the book. Highly recommended.

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Navarro Parker

Absolutely terrific! A must read for videogame fans.

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2006

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An amazing and comprehensive picturebook of all electronic games through history (not just "video" games). This book has some great photos of consoles and game prototypes you may have never heard about -- like the Atari Game Brain and Cosmos. It's just packed with images on thick glossy paper. My only complaints is there were no images of the very first videogame, "Tennis for Two". The book is also so thick and heavy, I don't know how long the binding will last under multiple readings. But these are minor gripes. A must have if you are interested in the beginnings of electronic entertainment.

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Lonnie Jones

Very comprehensive

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2007

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I've been designing games for a while now and started programming them. This book was a good book to reference games to see what I could and couldn't program.

As for the actual content of the book... the author makes the material interesting. His organization of the book could have been better. It goes in chronological order (most of the time). The visual design of the book is outstanding. The appendix in the back is good.

Its a great book for the most part.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017

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Excellent book about video game history.

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Bethany

Don't go cheap on used Amazon books...

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2022

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The media could not be loaded.

I realize this is my fault for buying the cheapest copy (roughly $3.00 as opposed to the full amount), but I would assume an 'Acceptable' copy wouldn't have numerous images cut out of the pages... other than that, it's a good book, very informative!

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Robert J Pitt

Quality book at a great price!

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2015

Nice book!

Ordered as gift but never given

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2023

I ordered this book for my gamer son many years ago, before realizing that he holds nearly all print matter in low regard. Consequently, even though he remain a big Mario fan, I've never wasted this gift on him because I know it'll just sit on some shelf forever.

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Melante

Both well written and visually appealing

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2011

Many books have been published on video game history recently, covering all its many different sides and to suit different types of readers: there are books which are mostly interview driven (like the classic Kent's "Ultimate History" and the recent Donovan's "Replay"), books that aim at presenting an objective development of the industry through a more rigorous analysis of events and games (like Dillon's "The Golden Age of Videogames"), picture-based coffee table ones (like Van Burnham's "Supercade") and game centered ones (like "1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die" and Loguidice/Barton's "Vintage Games".

Despite a crowded catalogue, I know "High Score!" is, and will remain, one of my all time favorites. Why? This is arguably the only book able to properly match information to a visually appealing product: this is actually a coffee table item you can really pick up and read, not just look at. Besides, it also succeeds at providing an international perspective on games, showcasing companies and titles not only from North America but also from UK and Japan.

In summary, a great book that shouldn't be missed by any classic games lover! Get it!

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Estookay

2022 Review

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2022

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I bought this way back in 2004, and it served me well to give breadth and depth of Video Game history.
Obviously a lot has changed since, but this is a great book up to the time it was published. Newer books will tend to overlook the early 2000s era.
Perfect Nostalgia

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High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, Second Edition 2nd Edition

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