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  • Press Reset

  • Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
  • Written by: Jason Schreier
  • Narrated by: Ray Chase
  • Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (108 ratings)

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Press Reset cover art

Press Reset

Written by: Jason Schreier
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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Publisher's Summary

From the best-selling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade's most renowned studios fell apart - and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.

Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.

The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark games - Bioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more - on to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely.

Schreier's insider interviews cover hostile takeovers, abusive bosses, corporate drama, bounced checks, and that one time the Boston Red Sox's Curt Schilling decided he was going to lead a game studio that would take out World of Warcraft. Along the way, he asks pressing questions about why, when the video game industry is more successful than ever, it's become so hard to make a stable living making video games - and whether the business of making games can change before it's too late.

©2021 Jason Schreier (P)2021 Grand Central Publishing

What the critics say

“Schreier covers the notoriously secretive gaming industry [and] knows it well.” (GQ)

“Jason Schreier is a huge fan of video games, and his enthusiasm is contagious.” (Booklist)

“My only complaint about Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is that there wasn't more to read.” (Forbes)

What listeners say about Press Reset

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

BioShock

BioShock is the main character. Other cast include: System Shock, BioShock's dad; System Shock 2, his uncle; BioShock 2, his brother; BioShock: Infinite, his son; and Mickey Mouse. Just like real life, the villains are EA, Ubisoft, Disney, 2K and the state of Rhode Island.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Mac
  • 2023-12-23

Could have been 3 chapters to tell this story

Learned how unstable the VG Industry is. Other than that it wasn’t informative. Back and forth from the 2010’s to the 2000’s, Biosbock, Kurt Schilling and a hundred studio names that opened and shut. Make this a 3 hour audiobook and it’s worth it

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not bad.

Not a bad book. Author feels the need to insert their politics from time to time but otherwise not terrible. There’s a couple spots where the audio gets a little distorted but it’s not too off putting.

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Shows the struggles of the gaming industry

tells the stories of unfairness in the gaming industry.
Shows what to look for in a job in the gaming industry.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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behind the games we love

fascinating behind the games book. well written and read. gives you a greater appreciation for the games we love.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Rare Insight with an easy to follow story.

An easy binge. Using Irrational Games as the center of the web to tell really important stories of people's lowest and best moments works wonderfully.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great stories otherwise untold.

The only fault I can find is that these stories feel like there is still much left unsaid. I can't fault Jason for this but it did leave me curious to know more of the ugly truths.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

great writing, but lacks a narrative flow

Jason Schreier is a talented writer and a gifted journalist. I really enjoyed his first book, Blood, Sweat and Pixels. Each chapter felt focused and complete, while still consistent with the greater themes he wanted to share.

In contrast, Press Reset lacks the focus of the author's first book - not to mention that of any well structured essay or article that seeks to argue a point. Certainly, the book demonstrates that working in the video game industry is difficult and unstable work, but the stories used do not flow together nicely. Often, the anecdotes of the game developers and studios used in the novel feel jammed together in the rambling notes of a journalist trying to include every separate (albeit mostly interesting) footnote. This is really evident in the final chapter, which lectures about the need for remote work - a topic not really touched upon previously.

I admire Jason Schreier immensely. It's my hope that his next book regains it's sense of direction and more effectively dissects a topic in the gaming landscape.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

better second book but still room to grow

I liked this one more than his first book but it's still missing a bit. There were definitely more stories to uncover but he focuses too much on a couple of connected studios and closures.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Engaging but Disjointed

Although the stories were compelling I cannot help but feel that this was a simple retelling of events without offering deeper analysis into each individual case study.

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