The Ultimate History of Video Games: from Pong to Pokemon and beyond...the story behind the craze that touched our li ves and changed the world

Steven Kent

Crown Publishing Group, Jun 16, 2010 - Social Science - 624 pages

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.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

What people are saying

Review: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon - The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

User Review  - Eeoo - Goodreads

A crazy amount of detail. I skimmed through the first part but really enjoyed the history of Atari and ColecoVision, and how Nintendo came about. Even learning about the inception of the Playstation ...

Review: The Ultimate History of Video Games: from Pong to Pokemon and beyond...the story behind the craze that touched our li ves and changed the world

User Review  - Jay - Goodreads

Pretty good history of video games through 2000. The book is organized partly chronologically and partly topically. There are also sections of direct quotes, often followed by text saying roughly the ...

About the author

Steven L. Kent, a lifelong a gamer since the debut of Pong, writes weekly columns about electronic entertainment for the Los Angeles Times syndicate, MSNBC, and the Japan Times. His articles have appeared in USA Today, Rolling Stone, Replay, Wired, Next Generation, and numerous other publications. Mr. Kent has also appeared on CNN, the CBS Morning Show, and the NBC Nightly News. He lives with his wife and two children in Bothell, Washington.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Ultimate History of Video Games: from Pong to Pokemon and beyond...the story behind the craze that touched our li ves and changed the world
• Author: Steven Kent
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, 2010
• ISBN: 0307560872, 9780307560872
• Length: 624 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture