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Van Burnham
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Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984 Paperback – October 24, 2003

by Van Burnham (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars (132)
A gloriously illustrated history of the videogame and its legacy for both our mindscapes and video technology.

It was a time when technology was king, status was determined by your high score, and videogames were blitzing the world... From Pong to Pac-Man, Asteroids to Zaxxon—more than fifty million people around the world have come of age within the electronic flux of videogames, their subconscious forever etched with images projected from arcade and home videogame systems.

From the first interactive blips of electronic light at Brookhaven National Labs and the creation of Spacewar! at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; to the invention of the TV Game Project and the myriad systems of Magnavox, Atari, Coleco, and Mattel that followed; through the rise of the Golden Age of videogames and forward into the imagination of millions, Supercade is the first book to illustrate and document the history, legacy, and visual language of the videogame phenomenon.

Exuberantly written and illustrated in full color, Supercade pays tribute to the technology, games, and visionaries of one of the most influential periods in the history of computer science—one that profoundly shaped the modern technological landscape and helped change the way people view entertainment.

Supercade includes contributions from such commentators and particpants as Ralph Baer, Julian Dibbell, Keith Feinstein, Joe Fielder, Lauren Fielder, Justin Hall, Leonard Herman, Steven Johnson, Steven Kent, Nick Montfort, Bob Parks, Carl Steadman, and Tom Vanderbilt.

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  1. Print length
    448 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  4. Publication date
    October 24, 2003
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    10 x 9.62 x 0.97 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0262524201
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0262524209
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Editorial Reviews

Review

...[A] satisfying, illuminating read. Recommended for hardcore gamers (and ex-gamers) of all ages.—Dominic Al-Badri , Kansai Time Out, Japan—

...Big, glossy, comprehensive...a blitz of zippy words and zappy graphics.

—Iain Finlayson, The Times Weekend Review—

Who can resist a book that opens by tying invention of the video game to development of the atom bomb?

—Computer Gaming World—

Burnham's done a splendid job of recreating the cathode-lit dens and arcades of our youth...

—Bill Smith, LA Weekly—

It's impossible to praise this book too highly.

—Paul Di Filippo, Asimov's—

...[M]akes a crucial point...the 'golden age' of video games kick-started an entertainment industry that now rivals Hollywood.

—Erik Davis, Bookforum—

...this book celebrates...software, programmers, and machines that arose from nothing more than the desire to create the perfect game.

—Fin Fahey , New Scientist—

About the Author

Van Burnham is a Contributing Editor at Wired magazine and a member of the Video Arcade Preservation Society.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 24, 2003
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition, Second Printing
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262524201
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262524209
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.36 pounds
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 9.62 x 0.97 inches
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,147,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars (132)

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Van Burnham

Van Burnham

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
132 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book visually appealing and fascinating to read, with one describing it as an "absolute explosion of eye candy." Moreover, they appreciate its historical value, with one customer noting it's a great piece of history at your fingertips. However, the information quality receives mixed feedback, with some finding it amazing while others disagree. Additionally, the book's physical durability is criticized, with one customer noting that the paperback doesn't hold up well.

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BeautyVisual contentHistoryReadabilityInformation qualityBook durability
7 customers mention "Beauty"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautiful, with one describing it as an absolute explosion of eye candy.

"Beautiful book, in great condition." Read more

"It's very pretty, and very big, and knowing Van I would love to give it a glowing 5-star review, but in an attempt at being impartial I need to dock..." Read more

"...the most academic approach to this medium, but this one is certainly appealing if a bit irreverent in terms of its overall presentation." Read more

"Received the book and looks great with good deal price. Thanks!" Read more

6 customers mention "Visual content"5 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the visual content of the book, with several noting the interesting pictures, and one customer highlighting how it provides a comprehensive visual record of the era.

"Interesting tidbits of information and lots of photos." Read more

"...The design of this coffeetable book is beautiful, jam-packed with images, many familiar, others of rarely-seen videogame gems...." Read more

"...The visual pictures illustrations are fantastic. it is a great piece of history at your fingertips. love the history of early video games!" Read more

"...for a quick read if you've got a few minutes and the pictures are equally interesting for a casual flip-through...." Read more

5 customers mention "History"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's historical content, with one describing it as a great piece of history at your fingertips and another noting it's essential reading for retro gaming enthusiasts.

"Great for a trip down memory lane, but certainly not a "scholarly" approach to the videogame era...." Read more

"...about the classic era of videogames that strikes a gorgeous balance between history lesson, nostalgia trip, and that initial lo-tech excitement that..." Read more

"...it is a great piece of history at your fingertips. love the history of early video games!" Read more

"This book is great for anyone who remembers or wants to learn more about the arcades and home video game units of the 1970s and 1980s...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book quite fascinating to read.

"...The book is thick and heavy but worth the read. The visual pictures illustrations are fantastic...." Read more

"...book as a textbook for one of my classes, and it's really quite fascinating to read - whether you have a particular interest in video games and..." Read more

"Interesting book..." Read more

9 customers mention "Information quality"6 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the information quality of the book, with some finding it amazing while others report it contains only small snippets and is not very useful for research.

"Interesting tidbits of information and lots of photos." Read more

"...for anyone interested in the history of video games but not very useful for research." Read more

"...that are interspersed amongst the large images are well-written and informative...." Read more

"It's very pretty, and very big, and knowing Van I would love to give it a glowing 5-star review, but in an attempt at being impartial I need to dock..." Read more

4 customers mention "Book durability"1 positive3 negative

Customers report issues with the book's durability, mentioning that the paperback doesn't hold up well and the cover corners fray easily.

"Cover corners fray a bit easily, but otherwise your typical paperback coffee table book. Very vivid colors...." Read more

"...heavy color pages that needs some serious binding, and the paperback just didn't hold up...." Read more

"...The book holds up fairly well (relatively) on the raster games, but on the true XY games, the emulator screen shots do no justice to the beauty of..." Read more

"...This book was extremely popular and throughout the years it wore down and got tattered. I bought a second book to keep at home...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Jim Van Cise
    5.0 out of 5 stars Tried the rest. This is the BEST coffee table book offered
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2003
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    In recent years, I had bought the other similar historical reference books on the subject and saved this one for last because I took the bad reviews about the photo quality seriously. I work in printing/graphic design and I avoided buying the book until the price came down. After thumbing through it for only five minutes, I knew I'd found the best one. Yes, it may be true that many of the images could have lifted from MAME screen shots but here's my take on that. I was looking for the best VISUAL record of the era. That's what this about isn't it? Walking into an arcade today may have the same visual appeal with all the lights and noises, but since the late 80's, our expectations obviously changed. No one can milk a quarter for more than 3 minutes anymore. My memories of the old arcades are the unique characters, the first time that we were able to play with multiple players and all those other "firsts" that influenced what we see today. This "found art" really takes me back in time. The images may only be low rez screen shots, but for the most part they are clean and made more fun by being enlarged to the point where you can see all the pixels. I think the word from art school I'm trying to remember is MACRO. Where you zoom IN to a particular piece of the image and crop it to make it more interesting visually. These photos are big and bleed beyond the edge of the page. It's funny now to how those huge pixels made us spend so much in the 80's in our era or super slick realism in current games. While THE FIRST QUARTER and THE ULTIMATE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES may be a "good read" for historical facts and funny stories, they lacked imagery. The book ARCADE FEVER is another strong visual book for it's sharp photography of actual game cabinets and more traditional screen shots. Supercade is an artsy (but not cheesy) way of showing the era. I was also happy to see arcade games featured that came along years after 1984. This book goes the extra mile visually.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Virgil
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book and good deal price!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Received the book and looks great with good deal price. Thanks!
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  • Daniel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Essential book on retro gaming
    Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Beautiful book, in great condition.
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  • Tim Weaver
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Nice coffee table book for a man cave arcade.
    Doesn't contain any detailed information on each game though
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  • azolivas
    5.0 out of 5 stars bought this twice
    Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    i originally bought this book almost two decades ago. I am a teacher and sometimes bring my own books into class to use in our library. This book was extremely popular and throughout the years it wore down and got tattered. I bought a second book to keep at home. The book is thick and heavy but worth the read. The visual pictures illustrations are fantastic. it is a great piece of history at your fingertips. love the history of early video games!
    Helpful
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  • Matthew Gutberlet Jr.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Just really beautiful the way it ties together both information and vintage photos. Highly recommend to any arcade fan of the appropriate age!
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  • Anthony Volpe
    5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute explosion of eye candy
    Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    As far as coffee table books go, this is probably the greatest video game related book ever made. The information in this book is exhaustive, the layout is fantastic, and the information in this book is amazing. By the time you’re through the middle of this book, you’re still barely out of the 1970s. This book is an absolutely wonderful combination of eye-opening information and I candy.

    Apparently the author is working on a sequel that takes us to the present day, and if that’s the case, I am buying this book on day one.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Adriana Roberts
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous and beautiful
    Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2001
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Finally, a book about the classic era of videogames that strikes a gorgeous balance between history lesson, nostalgia trip, and that initial lo-tech excitement that videogames garnered back in their early '80s heyday. The design of this coffeetable book is beautiful, jam-packed with images, many familiar, others of rarely-seen videogame gems. The articles that are interspersed amongst the large images are well-written and informative. A very immersive book, one that belongs on every classic gamer's coffeetable -- perfect for a quick flipping through of pages by curious house guests, after which you will soon be suckering them into a few quick rounds of arcade classics on your Playstation (or hell, even your Atari 2600, if you still have one.) A bit pricey, but hey, it's a huge, hefty, HARDCOVER book, so what do you expect? It's worth it.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Homo_Ludens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Opulenter Bildband über eine faszinierende Ära des Videospiels
    Reviewed in Germany on February 18, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    "Supercade" ist - wie im Titel bereits erwähnt - ein äußerst aufwendig und opulent gestalteter Bildband über die Frühzeit des Videospiels. Im Großformat wird dem Leser auf Hochglanzpapier in Bildcollagen oder Großaufnahmen von Screens der Glanz und Charme der frühen Coin-Op- und Homecomputer-Ära nahegebracht.

    Wer noch das Glück hatte, in den achtziger oder frühen Neunzigern zumeist im Ausland in einem Pub oder auf Fähren die lärmenden Automaten mit seinem eh nicht umwechselbaren Kleingeld füttern zu dürfen, wird vermutlich nie den faszinierenden Charme vergessen, der von den damals in der Regel jeglicher im eigenen Hause stehenden Hardware unendlich überlegenden Automaten ausging.

    Die Autorin fängt diese Atmosphäre mit den großformatigen Abbildungen sehr gut ein. Aber nicht nur das Bildmaterial überzeugt, sondern auch die Texte weisen im Regelfall einen großen Informationsgehalt auf und/oder sind mit interessanten Anekdoten gespickt.

    Schade nur, dass der Bildband bereits mit dem Jahr 1984 endet. Andererseits sind bereits so 430 großformatige Seiten zusammengekommen; eine Fortführung bis in die frühen Neunziger hätte wohl den Umfang des Bandes gesprengt. Auch aus struktureller Sicht bot sich der Schnitt im Jahre 1984 an: Der Crash der Videogameindustrie zog weitgehende strukturelle Veränderungen mit sich, die das bisherige Erscheinungsbild der elektronischen Unterhaltungsindustrie weitgehend umgestalteten (Wechsel von Arcade/Videospiel hin zu Multifunktions-Heimcomputern wie dem VC-20 oder dem C64).

    Insgesamt halte ich diesen Bild- und Textband für eine lohnende Investion für alle, die sich mit dem Thema auseinandersetzen oder einfach noch einmal in ihrer Kindheits- und Jugenderinnerungen schwelgen wollen.
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  • Cesare B.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Un pezzo di storia
    Reviewed in Italy on February 11, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Il libro ripercorre i primi anni nei quali i videogiochi fecero il loro debutto, facendolo in modo molto dettagliato menzionando sistemi di gioco che proprio non ricordavo.
    Quello che mi ha deluso però è la qualità delle foto/immagini presenti nel libro. Centinaia di pagine sono occupate da grandi foto spixellate prese dai videogiochi che sono descritti nel testo. Personalmente avrei preferito più schermate in un formato più piccolo e che quindi avrebbero avuto una risoluzione migliore e più appetibile per gli occhi. Un vero peccato.
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  • Darren Borg
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book
    Reviewed in Australia on April 9, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Great book. Highly recommended for the retro gamer at heart.
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  • Kranibal
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
    Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I got to buy the most recent Supercade (1985-2001) before I got this one and I was totally amazed! I didn't really have any expectations for this book since it was covering a period in video game that was less interesting to me. Although I knew the still shots from that gaming era was not as interesting to me, the ads and game cover art / posters from that era blew me away.

    The book pages, quality and printing is absolutely the same as its sidekick (Supercade (1985-2001)) and this is impressive knowing this book was published 22 years ago!

    Do not wait to fetch a copy, I have a nagging feeling once it goes out of print, this book will skyrocket in price.
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  • L. M. Davis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning piece of Nostalgia!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2004
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I had seen this book advertised on various sites and as I am a devotee of computer games old and new I felt I needed this in my life ;-)
    The book itself it HUGE and contains pages and pages of nostalgia. There are full page photos of game screenshots and old advertisements.
    This book WILL appeal to anyone who has grown up with computer games and played different formats (the book seems MAINLY geared towards the home console history).
    Everytime I want to relive my childhood the book comes out - what I want to know is, when is Supercade 2, 1984-2003 coming out!!!!
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