The Golden Age of Video Games: The Birth of a Multibillion Dollar Industry
Features
- Presents the history of game development
- Covers home computers and dedicated game machines
- Reflects the author’s experience teaching game history at the college level
- Provides an international perspective
Summary
This book focuses on the history of video games, consoles, and home computers from the very beginning until the mid-nineties, which started a new era in digital entertainment. The text features the most innovative games and introduces the pioneers who developed them. It offers brief analyses of the most relevant games from each time period. An epilogue covers the events and systems that followed this golden age while the appendices include a history of handheld games and an overview of the retro-gaming scene.
Table of Contents
FROM RESEARCH LABS AND ACADEMIA TO THE BIRTH AND BOOMING OF A NEW INDUSTRY
The Beginning
The First Commercial Game and the First Home Console
Atari, Pong and the Jackals
Pong Goes Home
Home Consoles
Meanwhile, in Japan ...
Computers Go Home Too!
Across the Pond: Sinclair
Games that pushed boundaries I
THE CRASH, HOME COMPUTERS AND AN EXTRA LIFE
1983: The Crash
Computers, Computers, Computers
Atari and Commodore: From Here, Where?
Nintendo gives consoles an extra life: the NES, ROB and Super Mario
New competition: the Sega Master System
Games that Pushed Boundaries II
16 BIT POWER, NEW GENERATIONS AND THE RISE OF THE PC
The Beginning of a New Era
New Generations amidst some of the Same Old Problems...
1991: Sony and Nintendo?
The PC Becomes Gaming Mature
Games that Pushed Boundaries III
Epilogue
Game Over
Press Start to Continue ...
Appendix A: A Brief History of Handheld Devices
Appendix B: Collecting Classic Games Today
Author Bio(s)
Editorial Reviews
… a fine history of the medium and the individuals and companies who influenced its growth and evolution. Highly recommended for any collection covering video game history.
—Midwest Book Review, December 2011
