Product Description: The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games is an insider's look at the entertainment novelty that drove the evolution of high-technology. The book was compiled from more than 500 first-hand interviews with such people as Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari), Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Donkey Kong), Toru Iwatani (designer of Pac-Man), etc.
Above all, this book provides an intimate look into the lives of a group of brilliant and quirky people, and the sometimes serious and sometimes wacky way they ran their business.
finally got my hands on this sucker. As books on gaming history goes, this one is excellent. It does an extremely good job of meshing together concise narrative with compelling quotations from industry luminaries. Mr. Kent does a good job of distilling the chaotic early days of Arcade games and the eventual boom of home video game systems. His gift is for making connections between seemingly disperate events. I have read several books that chronical the early days of Atari, but few of them provide such a rich background as to the influences on Nolan Bushnell and his band of pot smoking, hot tub soaking programmer-savants.
My only caveat is that this book has been entirely reprinted as "The Ultimate History of Video Games". So closely do these two books resemble each other that there are a number of typos that passed from one book to the newer edition.
Had I known that "The Ultimate History of Video Games" was a reprint I wouldn't have had this so high on my Wish List. My girlfriend search and searched and picked this book up for 75 bucks on ebay. The bonus for me is that it was signed by Mr. Kent...and the signature is vague enough that I can go...oh yeah...I saw him at E3. I don't mind having both this book and the reprinting in my collection and if you to are building the definitive video game history library, you should get it otherwise...I'd say track down the "Ulitimate History of Video Games" and be confident that you aren't missing out on anything in this book.
An engaging look at a fascinating story. Not being able to find "The First Quarter" I emailed Mr. Kent. He told me that the book he wrote being published by Prima, "The Ultimate History of Video Games," was was a rewrite of "The First Quarter" with a little added material. (So if you're loooking for this one and can't find it there you go.) This was the most interesting book I've read in a long time. Reading the stories and history from an insider's perspective was truely fascinating. If you're a gamer I highly recommend this title.
The Best in the Field This book is one of the most comprehensive tellings of the history of video games. The author puts you right in the middle of the discoveries and events that shaped how we view games today. I have read about a half dozen different books about video game history and this one is hands down the best written so far on the subject. So even if you are not a huge fan of games or havent picked up a controller in years, this is still the book for you!
A word from the author I want to thank the people who were so kind in their reviews.
The First Quarter has been re-released as The Ultimate History of Video Games by Prima Publishing. This new version of the book includes an additional chapter, a time line, the oft-requested index, additional art, and above all--PROFESSIONAL EDITING.
As stated in many reviews, The First Quarter suffered from my lack of editing skills. I self-published that book. While my writing skills may be questionable, my editing abilities are indisputably bad.
Finally, I want to thank the people who bought my book and read it. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing my enthusiasm for video games.
De Facto Standard I've been reading Steven Kent's articles in Next Generation magazine for a few years, patiently waiting for his book to come out. As soon as it was released, I purchased it and read it the next weekend. All I can say is I enjoyed the interviews, articles and historical information so much it inspired me to write a paper on the history of video game heroes for my Business Communications course! Good work!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
