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

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 ... Appendices.

Professional Practice & Development

Roberto Dillon