The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond

by Mark J.P. Wolf (Editor)

The Video Game A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond traces the growth of a global phenomenon that has become an integral part of popular culture today. All aspects of video games and gaming culture are covered inside this engaging reference, including the leading video game innovators, the technological advances that made the games of the late 1970s and those of today possible, the corporations that won and lost billions of dollars pursing this lucrative market, arcade culture, as well as the demise of free-standing video consoles and the rise of home-based and hand-held gaming devices.

In the United States alone, the video game industry raked in an astonishing $12.5 billion last year, and shows no signs of slowing. Once dismissed as a fleeting fad of the young and frivolous, this booming industry has not only proven its staying power, but promises to continue driving the future of new media and emerging technologies. Today video games have become a limitless and multifaceted medium through which Fortune 50 corporations and Hollywood visionaries alike are reaching broader global audiences and influencing cultural trends at a rate unmatched by any other media.

Genres: Games, Nonfiction, Video Games, History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Mark J. P. Wolf is Professor in the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primarily a time line of video game development it lacks and historical context and analysis. While it purports to offer something new, it presents the history of the industry in a way that has been done a hundred times before. Promises much in the introduction but fails to deliver on those promises.

[Joel Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of un-even articles on video games is a fun trip down memory lane. Because of the nature of its writing (separate articles, rather than one comprehensive telling of events), there is some redundancy but, overall, this recaps video game history from inception into the PlayStation One era.