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The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2
- Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the Billion-Dollar Battle to Shape Modern Gaming
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
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The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2
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The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1
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With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. Starting in arcades then moving to televisions and handheld devices, the video game invasion has entranced kids and the young at heart for nearly fifty years. And gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
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A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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3 out of 5 stars
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The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1
- From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond . . . The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
- Written by: Steven L. Kent
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 23 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. Starting in arcades then moving to televisions and handheld devices, the video game invasion has entranced kids and the young at heart for nearly fifty years. And gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
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Written by: Steven L. Kent
-
Game On!
- Video Game History from Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and More
- Written by: Dustin Hansen
- Narrated by: Ryan Burke
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5
Veteran video-game designer Dustin Hansen takes YA listeners on a fun and fascinating trip through the brief but intensely innovative history of video games. Find out about the fast and furious growth and evolution of video games (including how they are quickly taking over the world!) by looking at some of the most popular, innovative, and influential games ever, from Pong, the very first arcade game ever, to modern hits like Uncharted.
-
3 out of 5 stars
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I appriciate this is for a younger audience, but..
- By Chris on 2022-01-27
Written by: Dustin Hansen
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- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- Written by: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic!
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- Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality
- Written by: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
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-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
From iconic books like Neuromancer to blockbuster films like The Matrix, virtual reality has long been hailed as the ultimate technology. But outside of a few research labs and military training facilities, this tantalizing vision of the future was nothing but science fiction. Until 2012, when Oculus founder Palmer Luckey - then just a rebellious teenage dreamer living alone in a camper trailer - invents a device that has the potential to change everything.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love the scene-based style
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-02-13
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- Narrated by: John Romero
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story5 out of 5 stars 12
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-
5 out of 5 stars
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Not What You’d Expect
- By Anonymous User on 2024-04-26
Written by: John Romero
-
Disrupting the Game
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- Written by: Reggie Fils-Aimé
- Narrated by: Reggie Fils-Aimé
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
Reggie Fils-Aimé, retired President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Inc., shares leadership lessons and inspiring stories from his unlikely rise to the top. Learn from Reggie how to leverage disruptive thinking to pinpoint the life choices that will make you truly happy, conquer negative perceptions from those who underestimate or outright dismiss you, and master the grit, perseverance, and resilience it takes to dominate in the business world and to reach your professional dreams.
-
3 out of 5 stars
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For businesspeople more than Nintendo fans
- By Gerry Corcoran on 2022-05-25
Written by: Reggie Fils-Aimé
Publisher's Summary
The definitive behind-the-scenes history of video games’ explosion into the twenty-first century and the war for industry power
“A zippy read through a truly deep research job. You won’t want to put this one down.”—Eddie Adlum, publisher, RePlay Magazine
As video games evolve, only the fittest companies survive. Making a blockbuster once cost millions of dollars; now it can cost hundreds of millions, but with a $160 billion market worldwide, the biggest players are willing to bet the bank.
Steven L. Kent has been playing video games since Pong and writing about the industry since the Nintendo Entertainment System. In volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games, he chronicled the industry’s first thirty years. In volume 2, he narrates gaming’s entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to capture the global market.
The home console boom of the ’90s turned hobby companies like Nintendo and Sega into Hollywood-studio-sized business titans. But by the end of the decade, they would face new, more powerful competitors. In boardrooms on both sides of the Pacific, engineers and executives began, with enormous budgets and total secrecy, to plan the next evolution of home consoles. The PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast all made radically different bets on what gamers would want. And then, to the shock of the world, Bill Gates announced the development of the one console to beat them all—even if Microsoft had to burn a few billion dollars to do it. In this book, you will learn about:
- The cutthroat environment at Microsoft as rival teams created console systems
- The day the head of Sega of America told the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog to “f**k off”
- How “lateral thinking with withered technology” put Nintendo back on top
- And much more!
Gripping and comprehensive, The Ultimate History of Video Games: Volume 2 explores the origins of modern consoles and of the franchises—from Grand Theft Auto and Halo to Call of Duty and Guitar Hero—that would define gaming in the new millennium.
What the critics say
“Video game geeks, and anyone else who finds the history of electronic games fascinating, will drool over the pages of Steven Kent’s latest history of who did what and why in that magical world. It’s a zippy read through a truly deep research job. You won’t want to put this one down until you reach the back cover.”—Eddie Adlum, publisher, RePlay Magazine
“Steven Kent knows video game history better than anyone, and once again provides a thorough and fascinating look into the stories that shaped a generation.”—Andrew Reiner, editor in chief, Game Informer
“A wonderful chronicle of so many games that have shaped our industry and a must-read for both fans and aspiring developers.”—Ted Price, founder and president, Insomniac Games