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Abbeville Press

Video Games: From Pong to the PS5 (A Visual History of Video Games and Consoles)

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Description

Celebrate five decades of gaming with this beautifully illustrated tribute to the consoles, culture, and creativity of video games―from Pong to the PlayStation 5. A must-have coffee table book for anyone who loves video games, pop culture, or digital history―created by a passionate gamer (and founder of a video game museum) for his fellow fans. Packed with vibrant color photography and rare retro images, this book takes readers on a nostalgic journey through every generation of gaming. From the arcade classics of the 1970s to the modern multiplayer worlds of today, it highlights iconic titles, game-changing hardware, and the stories behind the screens. With chapters covering every console generation, plus features on legendary games, developers, and subcultures, this is the perfect gift for gamers of all ages―whether you grew up with Atari, mastered Mario, or are just joining the world of Twitch and the PS5. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abbeville Press


Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 12, 2024


Edition ‏ : ‎ Bilingual


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0789214857


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 50


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.7 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.6 x 1 x 10.5 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #261,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #649 in Video & Computer Games #702 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides #1,160 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A pretty fun exploration into the gaming scene
Review Image by Farrow Tech
This book was a blast to read! I really appreciated many of the background stores and insight that helped craft the industry as it is. The author clearly took great heart when researching these topics. I'd definitely recommend this title for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the gaming industry as a whole or for hobbyists just yearning for new perspectives. No complaints whatsoever. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2025 by Farrow Tech
    • A book for beginners and general historians
This is a book for someone who wants a general or beginner's look at the history of video games. It takes a general look at each era/game console while singling out a few examples of games that personified the era (some examples I disagree with). There are plenty of photos to give the beginner enough of a look to understand each period/console. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2025 by Melnik
    • Gamers Unite
There are so many game consoles that I know and have seen and others I haven't heard about. This book has everything you need to know about video games, then and now. Very good indeed.
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2025 by Duane Anton Crichlow
    • Coffee table book for gamers
This is an extensively illustrated history of video games with quality photos of hardware, ads, and box labels, and with good, if brief, descriptions of video game history. It is a book that a computer gamer can display on his coffee table: cloth-bound and nicely printed on glossy pages. There is typically a half-page or so of text along with a photo or two for each topic. It is mostly about the games, but it touches on players and their devotion to gaming, about economics and the development of in-game purchases, and a bit about the psychology of video gaming and its place in society. It briefly discusses the developers of games, but this is a book about the games themselves and people are seldom discussed at length. The text is written to be interesting to a lay reader as well as a gaming enthusiast. There are very few screen shots, and the book does not go into depth about software development or actual game play. Keeping to its video game topic, it also does not cover text-based computer games such as the classic "Colossal Cave Adventure." While there are photo credits and an index, there are no references nor a bibliography. The book is an enjoyable reminiscence of gaming by someone who knows the subject and writes well about its concepts, attractions, and development. The reader won't learn to program, build, or play video games, but there is nostalgia and enthusiasm for the subject that is contagious. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2024 by Laser Larry
    • More of a focus on the devices than the games themselves
This is a great coffee table book for gamers. We remember when even the earliest of these gaming devices came out and can now prove to our kids that what were are telling them is true. I had Channel F growing up and even it is documented in this book where it is hard to find proof of its existence anywhere else. One thing that I would have liked to see more of in this book is a bit of a catalogue of more of the early games. We remember certain games but can't remember what they were called, so that would have been a great addition because it only has mention of a few select games that went with each device. Also, although the dates are in there, I would have loved more of an obvious visual representation of the dates in one of the top corners of the book so you could flip through more easily by time. All in all, it isn't terribly in-depth about the games themselves, as examples are only given here and there of what the graphics looked like. I can only guess that this was done for copyright reasons, but it would have really been cool to see a page comparing side by side how the graphics evolved over time. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2024 by Ode to Onion Rings
    • Great short history of video games with awesome pictures
Review Image by Bookish
Review Image by Bookish
Review Image by Bookish
This is a nice quality book with some great pictures and I think the overall history is a good overview of video games. There are plenty of great games covered to give you some ideas of new things to play and pretty much all the major consoles are covered along with plenty of obscure things which is nice to see. Reading through this definitely makes me want to try some things I never played. The quality of the paper and binding seems good. Some of the photos are a little dark but that might just be what they had to work with. There are a fair number of cool historical photos that I had never seen before. Lots of the book is nice and vibrant and colorful. Price seems fair for the quality. I think any video game lover would enjoy this. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2025 by Bookish
    • Great history book.
It's hard for me to call this a history book as all but the first few years of it happened in my lifetime, but it's a great book all about the history of gaming. It hits the highlights, but goes in detail in many places as well, especially the older years. It doesn't talk about VR very much, barely mentions the PS4 VR, and doesn't mention the PS5 VR2 at all. There isn't even much mention about the PS5 or XBox X/S. One thing I found interesting was on the title page right in the front of the book; this was "transcribed from the Italian". The book has nice weight pages, a properly comfortable font size like books used to have anyway, great illustrations and photography properly placed to go with the narrative, and a nice heavy weight (a little too heavy to just hold and read for very long, you'll want to set it on a table or your lap if you intend to read a while). Great book, and terrific for any gamer who cares about how games, and consoles have changed over the years. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2024 by Scarlytt
    • Neat book!
Fun book. It’s an actual hardcover book which I wasn’t sure about with product image. But it is! And it reads like a big magazine compilation so it’s a quick read but informative and fun for any video game lover.
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2025 by Jess

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