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Steven L. Kent

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World Paperback – September 6, 2001

by Steven L. Kent (Author)

470 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Ultimate History of Video Games

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The definitive behind-the-scenes history of the dawn of video games and their rise into a multibillion-dollar business

“For industry insiders and game players alike, this book is a must-have.”—Mark Turmell, designer for Midway Games and creator of NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and WrestleMania

With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. Starting in arcades then moving to televisions and handheld devices, the video game invasion has entranced kids and the young at heart for nearly fifty years. And gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.

The Ultimate History: Volume 1 tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, Kent chronicles firsthand accounts of how yesterday’s games like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today’s empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you’ll discover

• the video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy
• the serendipitous story of Pac-Man’s design
• the misstep that helped topple Atari’s $2-billion-a-year empire
• the coin shortage caused by Space Invaders
• the fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega
• and much more!

Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this book is a must-have for anyone who’s ever touched a joystick.

Print length

624 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crown
Publication date

September 6, 2001
Dimensions

7.32 x 1.25 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

0761536434
ISBN-13

978-0761536437
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this rollicking, mammoth history of video games from pinball to Pong to Playstation II Kent, a technology journalist and self-professed video game addict, covers almost every conceivable aspect of the industry, from the technological leaps that made the games possible to the corporate power struggles that won (and lost) billions of dollars. Anecdotes are legion. Readers learn that early Atari, for example, had the corporate climate of a dot-com startup, with rampant drug use and meetings staged in outdoor hot tubs. The original name for Pac-Man turns out to be Puck-Man; its creators changed the name after worrying that vandals in arcades would replace the P with an F. In 1978, there were so many people playing Space Invaders in Japan that the game caused a national coin shortage. Kent meticulously documents the rise of home video games and the console wars of the past decade, when Sega, Nintendo, Sony and others raced to produce the fastest, most powerful game system. Also addressed is the public backlash of the '80s, when video games were thought to distract students from homework, and the '90s, when Doom and other violent games were linked to the massacre at Columbine High School. Along the way, Kent interviews virtually every key player in the industry. At times, Kent's comprehensiveness is exhausting 500-plus pages on video games may be a bit much, even for their most ardent admirers. But most often Kent's infectious enthusiasm is enough to carry the reader along. Equal parts oral history, engineering study, business memoir, game catalogue and Gen-X nostalgia trip, Kent's book is a loving tribute to one of the most dynamic (and profitable) industries in the world today.

From the Back Cover

Inside the Games You Grew Up with but Never Forgot
With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade. "The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. From the arcade to television and from the PC to the handheld device, video games have entraced kids at heart for nearly 30 years. And author and gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
This engrossing book tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, you'll read firsthand accounts of how yesterday's games like "Space Invaders, Centipede, and "Pac-Man helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today's empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you'll discover:
-The video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy
-The serendipitous story of Pac-Man's design
-The misstep that helped topple Atari's $2 billion-a-year empire
-The coin shortage caused by "Space Invaders
-The fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega
-And much more!
Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this book is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.

Start reading The Ultimate History of Video Games on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; 1st edition (September 6, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 624 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0761536434
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761536437
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.22 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.32 x 1.25 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #81,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #89 in Movie Direction & Production
- #306 in Communication & Media Studies
- #310 in Video & Computer Games

Customer Reviews:
470 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		80%
4 star		12%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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SuperMastodon

Does not contain history of 2001 and beyond, superb read regardless

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent volume of video game history and well worth the read.

However, be warned: It was published in 2001.

I am writing this in May 2016. In 2001 the 6th generation of game consoles had only just been released. The Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001 but the more well-known members of this class; PS2, Gamecube, and the Xbox, were barely released before the end of the year.

The 7th and current 8th generation of game consoles is not contained in this book. If you are looking for history of the recent generations, this is not the book you are looking to buy.

Just be sure you know what you are buying.

27 people found this helpful

Helpful

S. Jane

It's a long book but I felt like it flew by

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2017

Verified Purchase

I couldn't put this one down. It's a long book but I felt like it flew by. I appreciated the more in depth approach taken on the earlier history, as anything after the SNES era is in general less interesting to me, personally. I learned some stuff I hadn't picked up from other sources and picked up some more in depth knowledge on some topics I only knew a bit on. Being born in the mid-80s, this book did a great job at describing the feeling of the eras I wasn't around for. The book ended between the release of the PS2 and the Xbox which for me was a perfect ending point as the end of the Dreamcast, and hence the end of Sega hardware, is where my interest also ends.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

R. Sanders Fabares

By far the best book about the history of games that I have ever read - entertaining!

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2018

Verified Purchase

I was expecting this to be somewhat of a dry read, filled with facts and figures, dates and names-- BUT I was so wrong. The author does an excellent job making the history of the medium both interesting and timeless. This is our history that we have lived through and experienced. It is a walk down memory lane. It is games that you can go right out now and play, experience history and see how they fit into it all. Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

A plethora of information

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

I give it 5 stars, for being impeccably researched, and for being twice as long as comparable books.
It's packed full of facts and anecdotes.
Very entertaining overall, except maybe the sections covering all the lawsuits, which was kind of dry.
There's a ton of interview clips, so you get the inside scoop on things.
Definitely well-written, I really couldn't put it down until I finished it.
I recommend this book if you like video games and are interested in the history, or if you are interested in big business in general.

Helpful

Rachel

Enjoyable (even in College)!

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

I used this book for a class in college and I was deathly afraid the content was going to be boring and/or outdated. Thankfully it was neither and I was shocked how much I not only enjoyed the class, but loved reading the book! Obviously the history only goes so far but they did a great job of not outdating themselves. In fact you could read it now and still get a lot of great history! I recommend college professors to use this in their video game history classes more often or even if you're not in school, check this book out and get some phenomenal video game knowledge out of it!

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

riot_shark

The Gamer's Bible

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2013

Verified Purchase

Video games as a medium have been around for an extremely long time. Each console bringing it's own unique and memorable experiences to the plate. As the genre progresses and gains more recognition, it's all the more important that it's heritage be preserved for future generations to learn about. This is where "The Ultimate History Of Video Games" comes in. While other books devoted to gaming merely gloss over certain topics, "The Ultimate History Of Video Games" leaves absolutely no stone unturned and provides such an incredible wealth of information and detail that you'd swear you experienced it first hand. The book covers gaming from it's humble beginnings as mechanical games of chance all the way up to the introduction of the PS2, Gamecube, and XBOX.

It also of course has several chapters devoted to the entirety of Atari's lifespan, dishing out more insight than you could ever hope to know. Like Nolan Bushnell (Atari's founder) stealing the idea for "Pong" from Ralph Baer (the creator of the Magnavox Odyssey) during a play through demonstration. The case was later taken to court and Atari had to pay Baer and Magnavox a small licensing fee. Apple founder Steve Jobs and his companion Woz were also present during the creation of the VCS/2600. Woz's re-design of the system was so incredibly tight that no one could duplicate it.

So much is contained within this thick, "grade school sized" tome that is could have easily have been a book series, with each individual title devoted to a specific company's history. Mr. Kent did THAT good of a job on it. My only complaint is that sometimes the chapters feel a bit scattered. For instance, you could be reading about the historic crash of '82 and suddenly be learning about the creation of Donkey Kong and Activision. It's a mild gripe, but more thought should have been put into how the book was structured. Regardless, the book is an absolute necessity for any reader with even a passing interest in video games as a whole.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Mayernator87

Might look for a more RECENT book next time.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book has received many great reviews stating it as an excellent read and one that would keep me engrossed for hours. I wanted a book that thoroughly detailed the history of videogames and didn't just skim over it.

This book does that, but it ends in 2001/2, and i bought this in 2013. It laugh when it describes "Microsofts exciting new XBOX console".

But apart from that extremely minor set back. It is a great read!

One person found this helpful

Gordon

Great service from seller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

Excellent product

mr.m.g.ward

good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2019

Verified Purchase

excellent

Mel

Good value.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Good value.

Filipe

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

A video game entusiast must have
cool history bro

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