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Topic: The Ultimate History of Video Games

By Steve Kent.  I really just started reading it and I'm only up to about 1980, but it's been good stuff so far.  The early part of the book is obviously focused on Atari, but it gets in deep with the other earlier companies as well, and basically starts off with the dawn of the pinball machines.  Great interview quotes from some of the execs and engineers.  So far I'm digging it.

Have you had your derp today?

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Re: The Ultimate History of Video Games

Just finished it.  I'd have to say that the editing isn't so great, but otherwise I found the book to be quite informative.  I got to relive basically every bit of entertainment I grew up with as I read along.

My first system was an Atari 400, which was stored in favor of the NES when that came out.  Then the Game Boy was added, followed by the Super Nintendo.  I did nothing but PC gaming after that (Wolfenstein and then Doom were huge hits in my house, along with X- Wing).  It wasn't until one of my roommates played Final Fantasy 7 that I bought back into consoles (and the PlayStation technology).  Obviously you all know I'm a PC guy now, but I've put my fair share of time in on those game pads and popping cartridges/discs in and out.  Good memories.  And they're all in the book in detail.

The book was written before Xbox made its presence felt and obviously before WoW woke people up concerning computer gaming.  As such, there is little discussion regarding computer games unless it impacted the way the industry behaved, like Commodore 64s and whatnot.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this to anyone wishing to learn the history of our favorite entertainment.  smile

Have you had your derp today?