A divinities history of video games

I really enjoyed this book. It takes you on a journey through the evolution of video games with lots of very interesting facts.

A great book for both gamers and game devs alike and can see this being invaluable to any one studying game development.

I found the narrator really good and kept the pace of enthusiasm throughout the book. I wasn’t bothered by his pronunciation of the letter Z. Some people have commented he is using the American pronunciation, I believe Zee is in fact also the Irish pronunciation.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Comprehensive, thoughtful and interesting

Tristan’s book is magisterial: a truly comprehensive study of video games globally from the early 50s to 2010 (with an update/second edition coming?). At least I assume it’s comprehensive as I can’t think of a game, genre, country, issue or theme he misses. Given he covers technology (inc a little on console wars etc), culture, the personalities and company ‘family trees’, genres and social and political aspects, he does a great job of weaving all these into a broadly chronological history. I haven’t seen anything close to this as an industry history. Well read too. Highly recommended for a thorough listen.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Informative but dry

Very informative with many unique points I was unaware of even as someone with interest in the subject. Narration was very good but a bit dry at times. I could have done without the chapter or segment about Japan's more unsavoury tastes. Not what I signed up for to listen to in bed.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A Fascinating History

A real Gem of a Book.

Encompassing both Hardware and Software developments from way back when, through the fledgling 70’s of Arcades and early Home Consoles, to the Creative Expansion of the 1980’s into the PlayStation and Nintendo consoles of the 90’s and into the second decade of the 21st Century.

And as a European gamer, it was great to hear how the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and even Russia brought colour and creativity to all platforms of gaming through this timescale.
And of course, the Japanese and American markets are also included.

Just a really good listen.
But…. Zee X Spectrum? Really?

Recommended and a fine light Irish Narration helps it along nicely. 5 Stars

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

If you like retro then you will like this

Overall I enjoyed this, I have many retro consoles so it appeals to my collection :)

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

At Last A Comprehensive History of Video Games

I loved this because the book covers things like the games scene outside of the USA, (such as UK gamers using the Spectrum, the Amiga etc. It also goes into each topic thoroughly, I learned loads of new stuff about every major game and platform and the memories came flooding back. Well written, well performed. 5 Stars all round.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Best "history of gaming" I've heard.

I've enjoyed many others, as they've drilled down into the personal stories of companies and their individual employees - but this is different.

Aim of this book is "gaming" - and it does its best to cover it all. All genres, all companies, all platforms and what I appreciated especially is all countries. When it covers the UK I can remember it as a consumer - but now I get the global context that caused it (with maybe some bonus Russian and French content which is initially interesting, but then culminates in explaining personal recollections).

What I really appreciated was how this book stitches together so many other stories I was aware of into a coherent whole.
Of course it can't be definitive - but closest I've seen anybody come so far.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

must listen if you love the history of video games

must listen if you love the history of video games. fascinating and well presented - an enjoyable read for people of all ages.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A brilliant ride through the pixilated past.

This book is wonderful, no hyperbole. It would be easy for a lesser author to get bogged down into technical jargon and industrial buzzwords. Tristan Donovan does not let all that cloud his narrative and alienate his readers. I imagine that even if one knew nothing about video games, they would come away not only with all the pertaining knowledge, but a thrilling story aswell. if like me, you already knew a thing or two about the subject going in. Well then you will come away with some interesting insights and the same very entertaining narrative that a newcomer to the subject would get. so it's basically a win win.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Game history focusing on innivations and outliers

This being the 5th book I listened to on the subject, it's nice to have a different perspective. since the topic is vast, it is not easy to provide a good summary, only if you focus on a niche area, which this book does well.
The reading is nice and enjoyable, though the accent can sometimes be misleading to a not native speaker, like myself, but it is not the reader's fault.
IMHO, this book is to those who have a general knowledge about video game history but need to have certain milestones to hold on to in order to have a better structure of the truly rich history of video games.

I really liked it and recommend it to all gamers out there who need that extra bit of wisdom.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!