1st Edition

The Golden Age of Video Games The Birth of a Multibillion Dollar Industry

By Roberto Dillon Copyright 2011
    218 Pages 186 B/W Illustrations
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    218 Pages
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    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.

    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

    Biography

    Roberto Dillon

    … 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