Exploring the impact of Atari 8-bit computers, this book highlights how the Atari 400 and 800 transformed the landscape of both gaming and home computing. It delves into the features that set these machines apart, such as their superior graphics, sound capabilities, and adaptable programming environment. Additionally, it emphasizes the significant support from the emerging home computer community, marking a pivotal moment in technology that defined a generation.
The book explores the groundbreaking impact of Mattel's Intellivision on the video gaming landscape in the early 1980s. It highlights the system's innovative features, including the first voice synthesis in gaming and unique controls that set it apart from competitors. With a strong lineup of arcade-style games, Intellivision not only provided exceptional family entertainment but also posed a significant challenge to Atari's dominance in the market. The narrative captures the excitement and competitive spirit of this transformative era in gaming history.
Arcade fans remember the Golden Age of the late 1970s and early 1980s, but the heyday of coin-op video games really spanned more than 20 years. From the beginnings of the modern video arcade through the so-called renaissance of the early 1990s, Attract Mode: The Rise and Fall of Coin-Op Arcade Games covers a 23-year span starting in 1971 with the launch of Computer Space. Attract Mode covers more than 130 games in vivid detail and includes discussion of some 200 more, all within the context of the industry as it rose and fell. From the sweat and urgency of Space Invaders, to the gripping gameplay of Robotron: 2084, this book has it all-arcade industry beginnings, the rise of vector graphics games, and the increasingly wholesome image and the meteoric rise of arcade games as pop culture and how it all came crashing down-only to see multiple revivals, even as gamers increasingly played console and computer games at home. This book analyzes what made arcade coin-op games great, and specifically what was great about playing the games in the arcade that you can't get from an emulator. Whether you're a student of arcade and video game history or simply want to relive some of the best times of your youth, be sure to get your copy of Attract Mode today.
In Starflight: How the PC and DOS Exploded Computer Gaming 1987–1994, author Jamie Lendino tells the full story, starting with the PC’s humble CGA and monochrome origins, moving through early ill-fated (if influential) failures such as the PCjr and Tandy 1000, and diving deep into the industry-shattering innovations in processing, graphics, sound, software, and distribution that gave the PC (and the gamers who loved it) unprecedented power and reach.