A History of Video Games in 64 Objects audiobook

Perfect introduction to history of video games. For those who were there from beginning (pre-80's), this is nostalgia trip hard to resist. For young gamers (and now I realize some of those may be born after 2010., holly joystick), this is rare learning experience in written form they might actually enjoy.The point of the book, I think, wasn't to list all your favorite or even concensually favorite games of all time. It's more to bring out the incredible diversity of the art form and peripheral devices. And also point to utilitarian, even humanitarian value of some of them just to plug the mouths of all the naysayers.

My first memories of video games were of watching my older brother play his Atari 2600. I was young enough that when I picked up the joystick I would almost immediately die, but I could spend hours watching him play The Empire Strikes Back and Pitfall.I was part of the NES generation, and I can still beat Super Mario Bros using just one life. So many hours, summer vacations, spring breaks playing my favorites, like Super Mario 3, Ducktales, Snake Rattle n'Roll, and California Games. Should I mention that one of my favorite activities in high school was getting drunk with my friends and playing Oregon Trail? We were rad. Now that I'm an Adult, with a job and a kid and all those responsibilities, gaming isn't something I make time for very much anymore. I know there are certain games I have to avoid like the plague or else I risk losing entire weeks to slovenly unproductiveness (I'm looking at you, SimCity, Animal Crossing, and Pokemon Go), but even though I don't seek games out anymore doesn't mean that the nostalgia factor has gone away. Not at all. And that's what this book is: full of history and nostalgia that will make you read passages out to your spouse because THIS IS JUST SO COOL and OMG, DO YOU REMEMBER THIS? Not to mention the pre-1970s games I had no idea about. This book is seriously fun, the items that were chosen are really well-rounded to a variety of different interests, and as a woman, I really appreciated that the authors made a point to highlight the accomplishments of women in video games, and acknowledge that the industry tends to cater to boys over girls. And now to break out my NES and spend the remainder of my weekend reliving my childhood.

Fun and informative vignettes, though it has a positive and forward-focused approach that I think undermines the importance of discussing the less savory aspects of gaming culture. Like, this was published in 2018 and doesn't mention GamerGate? I suppose it does try to focus on the evolution of game development rather than on videogame culture, but it does feel like a big oversight.Still, a great book to pick up and peruse, or listen if you went with the audiobook version like me, to get a taste of a handful of key areas in videogame history.The earliest sections on the pre-history of videogames, discussing pinball and Tennis for Two and other progenitors, I found especially strong. Its highlighting of moral panics caused in response to innovations in video game tech was really cool too. I liked the inclusion of some lesser-known or more niche entries, like the one on HeR Interactive, the developers of the Nancy Drew games. Although not to knock That Dragon, Cancer, but it felt... odd to construe it as the first significant game that was made with distinctly emotional motivations in mind.There are gaps here for sure--especially when considering non-Western gaming--but it gets the ball rolling.

Un must para el memory lane.4.2/5

The games/items chosen to represent the history of video games in this book range from the expected (Donkey Kong), to the surprising (the NES Hands-Free Controller), to the head-scratching (Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen). There were also some glaring omissions, like Rogue (which spawned an entire sub-genre of games named after it), or recent games like Undertale or Rime, which both highlight the rising prominence of indie developers, as well as the fact that even today, a good story can vastly outweigh graphical shortcomings. Despite a few questionable choices and blank spots however, A History of Video Games in 64 Objects is still an illuminating, entertaining read, full of interesting milestones that you may not have heard of, even if you're into this subject, like I am. E.g. Everyone knows about the moral panics surrounding video games, rock music, and comic books, that cropped up in American history, but did you know there was a similar panic over pinball of all things?Very informative on the topics it covers, and certainly worth a read for anyone who's interested in a broad cross section of the history of gaming as a whole.

64 Objects focuses on a history of videogames starting with a 1947 pinball machine going up to 2016's That Dragon Cancer and takes a look at the more influential interactive electronic games in terms of social, economic and cultural trends as opposed to the best video games as voted by a bunch of basement dwellers.This was a really solid read and an easy recommendation for those interested in the larger leaps and bounds in the medium's history. It goes into a decent level of depth, especially for the more obscure entries that even someone who's been playing games their whole lives won't necessarily know of.My one quibble is the cover which features peripherals for consoles that aren't discussed anywhere in the book like the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast as well as the Nintendo Switch which was released after this book's printing I imagine. Also there are some omissions here like Tomb Raider and perhaps a Souls entry as well as indie titles like Super Meat Boy and others which I feel could have taken the place of less important titles, but this feels more like a limitation due to the catchy title of the book itself. Maybe another edition can get published soon with some new entries and additions.

A must-read for anyone who is interested in the history of video games. I consider this book a "starter pack" of sorts for people who wish to gain more knowledge on the subject, and a fantastic addition to the bookshelves of the people, like me, who already own a number of books about video games. This is one of my favourites, because it summarizes the evolution of video games extremely well with an interesting format. Each step forward in history is represented by an object found at The Strong National Museum of Play; the object is described and put into context, which offers both excellent information on the object itself and the state of video games at the time of its conception, as well as its impact on modern technology and social development. Additionally, I was surprised at how much this book goes out of its way to showcase obscure, but meaningful, objects (ex. NES Hands Free Controller) alongside other well-known artifacts (Tennis for Two, Pong). Most books about the history of gaming focus on the obvious players, but I appreciated learning about the impact lesser-known inventions. This one's a yes from me.

Fascinating book that illustrates the timeline of video games, using both well-known, blockbuster games (such as Doom and Pokemon Go) and lesser-known milestones and artifacts, such as an accessibility accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Each object is pictured, described in its historical context, and given further place and context in the story of video games, up until about 2016. The book also serves as a partial catalog of the collection of the World Video Game Hall of Fame, at the Strong National Museum of Play. I'd love to see some of the game design documents and memoirs in that collection! And indeed, that's my only flaw with this book -- as with most resources of this type, I would love to see more pictures and images of the items discussed; sometimes one image doesn't tell the whole story.

This book is an emotional roller coaster through the history of video games and computers too. It shocks you by pointing out the real starters of it all that many don't know about and goes to the present covering mobile games and a really touching PC game that just reading about it might make one a bit emotional, I know it made me tear up a little. The objects are all very unique and some are pretty unexpected while others can be a little obvious if you know anything about video games. The details are great covering specifics and making sure everyone gets their credit unlike what other books tend to do where they gloss over the names that need credit, the programmers that spent hours not sleeping to make those video games we all desire to play.

Come molte storie dei videogame americane, questo libro dà molta enfasi ai fenomeni culturali del passato USA: Pong, Atari, Pac-man, la crisi dei videogame, il NES etc., e tratta superficialmente e senza metodo i fenomeni più recenti o avvenuto fuori dal Nordamerica. Lo sforzo di arrivare fino a Pokèmon Go c'è, ma la parte dopo il 2000 è frammentaria e sfilacciata: forse questo periodo è semplicemente troppo recente per un'analisi storica. A parte questo, il libro nasce da un museo e quindi ruota intorno a degli oggetti fisici, con belle foto di corredo: è un approccio interessante, e complessivamente è ben scritto.

I had intended to give this book to my 12 year old son because he loves facts, video games, and trivia. Before he had a chance to read it, I flipped through it and ended up reading through it. The 64 items were not the ones that I had envisioned, they were even better. DOOM! Oregon Trail! Madden! Dungeons and Dragons! I had not heard of The Strong National Museum of Play in New York, now I have added it to our family's to do list.Once my son did get his hands on it, he read it while telling me facts that he found interesting. He has flipped through it several times since. I call this book a success.

A nice walk through the history of video games, courtesy of the Strong National Museum of Play. They choose an interesting variety of representative objects, from the obvious ones you'd expect (like the Atari 2600 and the NES) to esoteric obscurities (such as Death Race or Utopia). Each object has a key place in game history and/or involves an interesting tale, and every history is a worthwhile read, even if they occasionally streamline things for better storytelling. Definitely recommended for fans of video game history, and likely of interest to those curious about pop-culture history in general. (A-)

While I feel like there were some missed opportunities; such as documenting the Nintendo Switch or Animal Crossing; I really liked the stories of The Sims and the Wii, both important games in my life... and the last entry really touched me. I’ve been searching for the value in my life recently, and I feel like this has made me feel that I do, at least for today. I’m really thankful to have found this book.

If you are of that vintage, this brings back memories. Atari consoles, games and arcade units, NES, Apple, PC, and more modern consoles. Games that resided on them to entertain, frustrate, pass time and challenge the brain, from Zork, Pong, Mario, Doom, Halo, Warcraft and much more.Short chapters about the evolution of the computer game from single text mainframe to MMORP games.As said, enjoyable read and brought back some memories.

In this book, we are treated to the history of video games as told by objects. The objects begin with the first computer game and continue onto Playstation 2 and beyond. Each entry contains text that is about 1-2 pages long as well as a few photographs. The book is very well presented and it a quick read that one could read in about 2-4 hours.