The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond

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Mark J. P. Wolf
ABC-CLIO, 2008 - Video games - 380 pages
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The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond traces the growth of a global phenomenon that has become an integral part of popular culture today. All aspects of video games and gaming culture are covered inside this engaging reference, including the leading video game innovators, the technological advances that made the games of the late 1970s and those of today possible, the corporations that won and lost billions of dollars pursing this lucrative market, arcade culture, as well as the demise of free-standing video consoles and the rise of home-based and hand-held gaming devices.

In the United States alone, the video game industry raked in an astonishing $12.5 billion last year, and shows no signs of slowing. Once dismissed as a fleeting fad of the young and frivolous, this booming industry has not only proven its staying power, but promises to continue driving the future of new media and emerging technologies. Today video games have become a limitless and multifaceted medium through which Fortune 50 corporations and Hollywood visionaries alike are reaching broader global audiences and influencing cultural trends at a rate unmatched by any other media.

 

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It is a great book i recomend looking into it, and if you like it like i do then i would suggest buying it

Contents

Part I Looking at Video Games
1
Part II The Early Days Before 1985
29
Part III The Industry Rebounds 19851994
107
Part IV Advancing to the Next Level 1995Present
159
Part V A Closer Look at Video Games
229
Glossary of Video Game Terminology
311
Resource Guide
317
Notes
329
Index
343
About the Contributors
377
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

Mark J. P. Wolf is Associate Professor in the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin. He has a Ph.D. from the School of Cinema/Television at the University of Southern California, and his books include The Medium of the Video Game (2001), Virtual Morality: Morals, Ethics, and New Media (2003), The Video Game Theory Reader (2003), and The World of the D'ni: Myst and Riven (2006).

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