Game On

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Not A History
Review: Any book that says on its cover "The History abnd Culture of Videogames" and doesn't mention Ralph Baer (the inventor of home videogames) or only devotes one sentence to Nolan Bushnell ( the founder of Atari), isn't worth its price in salt. Stick to Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames or The Ultimate History of Videogames.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Not A History
Review: Any book that says on its cover "The History abnd Culture of Videogames" and doesn't mention Ralph Baer (the inventor of home videogames) or only devotes one sentence to Nolan Bushnell ( the founder of Atari), isn't worth its price in salt. Stick to Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames or The Ultimate History of Videogames.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Not A History
Review: This book accompanies the Game On exhibit. As such it is a good introduction to the growing field of game studies. It makes a good introduction to those who have never thought of videogames as anything but entertainment and shows that videogames are just as worthy of serious academic thought as film or television.
That being said, it is only an introduction and does not break any new ground. For someone who is already interested in game studies, this book may be too superficial and lacking in any in-depth analysis. However, this is not what it is attempting to do, and it should be evaluated on thsoe terms.
It is richly illistrated throughout and has a nice design. I found the second half of the book to be more interestiing, and found myself asking why some of the articles in the first half were included.
Overall, a good introduction with nice pictures. So if you are new to game studies, pick it up, if not you may want to pass, or try to find a used copy at best.

Rating:
Summary: good intro, not very deep, by design
Review: This book accompanies the Game On exhibit. As such it is a good introduction to the growing field of game studies. It makes a good introduction to those who have never thought of videogames as anything but entertainment and shows that videogames are just as worthy of serious academic thought as film or television.
That being said, it is only an introduction and does not break any new ground. For someone who is already interested in game studies, this book may be too superficial and lacking in any in-depth analysis. However, this is not what it is attempting to do, and it should be evaluated on thsoe terms.
It is richly illistrated throughout and has a nice design. I found the second half of the book to be more interestiing, and found myself asking why some of the articles in the first half were included.
Overall, a good introduction with nice pictures. So if you are new to game studies, pick it up, if not you may want to pass, or try to find a used copy at best.

Rating:
Summary: Reading the Rants of Unknown People
Review: This book is subtitled "The History and Culture of Videogames," but it focuses on the latter, not the former. Granted, there are a lot of nice photographs of consoles and screenshots of games, but the bulk of the book consists of essays from little-known authors, freelance writers, and assorted educators who are (at most) nominally involved with the videogame industry. Some of their opinions are interesting, but most offer little in the way of entertainment or educational value.

The book might have been fine as a companion to a museum show (which it apparently was), but as a stand-alone volume it is lacking. Even though there aren't very many books written on the subject of videogames, I can't recommend this one. Game Over, High Score, and The First Quarter are more educational, Supercade has more information and better pictures, and Arcade Fever is more entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Reading the Rants of Unknown People
Review: This book is subtitled "The History and Culture of Videogames," but it focuses on the latter, not the former. Granted, there are a lot of nice photographs of consoles and screenshots of games, but the bulk of the book consists of essays from little-known authors, freelance writers, and assorted educators who are (at most) nominally involved with the videogame industry. Some of their opinions are interesting, but most offer little in the way of entertainment or educational value.

The book might have been fine as a companion to a museum show (which it apparently was), but as a stand-alone volume it is lacking. Even though there aren't very many books written on the subject of videogames, I can't recommend this one. Game Over, High Score, and The First Quarter are more educational, Supercade has more information and better pictures, and Arcade Fever is more entertaining.