Video games are a popular form of entertainment for many people around the world, but so is reading. Luckily there are a number of books on the history of video games!
In fact, with so many curious minds in the world, there are many who will continue to seek to quench their thirst for knowledge and ability to learn. Of course, many will try to learn as much as possible about their passions, which for a large part of the world’s population are video games.
Video games have become huge, with numerous different niches and genres to be experienced now, many of which are likely to be created in the future as well. One such area where gaming has become popular is iGaming, where players can now play their favorite games for both money and entertainment. In fact, online gambling in Canada has seen tremendous growth in recent times, with the industry able to grow to new heights due to the country’s obsession with gaming.
So it’s perhaps no surprise that many have been searching for the best books that explore the story behind each video game, the technical knowledge of each game, and the illustrations that should be there to help readers grasp the content easily. In fact, reading about video game history is one of the best ways to better appreciate the games.
Interestingly, there are a number of excellent books on video game history that many gamers and gamblers neglect. Three of the best are discussed below.
The Console Wars
This is an interesting book published by It Publishers in 2014 and written by Blake J. Harris. It is based on interviews with over 200 employees from the two gaming companies Sega and Nintendo. Console Wars explains how Sega, a small company at the time, rivaled Nintendo to the point that the war escalated into brother versus brother, Sonic versus Mario, and the US versus Japan. It’s the story of how a humble family man with remarkable creativity and the ability to turn obstacles into advantages led a group of misfits to defeat a giant and spawned a $60 billion business as a result.
The story of the future
This is a true life story written by the bestselling authors of Console Wars and published by Dey Street Books in 2019. The story revolves around Oculus and Virtual Reality. At the time, Virtual Reality (VR), once hailed as the pinnacle of technology, was so expensive and experimental. But with the founding of Oculus, Palmer Luckey invested everything he had into developing a tool that would immerse gamers like him in virtual worlds, hopefully starting a VR revolution. He did this because he believed that his seductive vision of the future could one day be more than just science fiction.
Blood, sweat and pixels
This is a triumphant history of video game development. Published by Harper Paperbacks in 2017, the author (Jason Schreier) explained how the process of creating video games is more complex than the game itself. He took some of the best-selling games of recent times, including Dragon Age, Inquisition, Stardew Valley, and Destiny. He explained the different and unique challenges faced by the developers. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels takes readers on a journey through development hell, and at the end pays homage to the unsung heroes and devoted diehards who overcome insurmountable challenges to create the best video games possible.
Markus lives in San Francisco, California and is the video game and audio expert at Good e-Reader! He is very interested in new e-readers and tablets and games.
