Book Review: The Ultimate History Of Video Games by Steven L. Kent

Opinion by Oliver Banham, published on Wednesday 17th September 2008

Many gamers of the - shall we say - hardcore variety, would claim that their knowledge on the history of video games is satisfactory. They’d say that Pong was the first ‘proper’ video game to be released, Nintendo started off manufacturing playing cards, and Space Invaders was a roaring success, amongst other little snippets of information. They’d think that’s all there is to it - but once you read ‘The Ultimate History Of Video Games’, you’ll realise how much history there really is to this fantastic medium; five hundred and ninety-one pages, to be exact.

That’s five hundred and ninety-one pages of utterly captivating history, and you’ll find it hard putting it down a lot of the time, since author Steven L. Kent weaves his words so well as to make things entirely compelling, from beginning to end.

Past an encouraging foreword by Lionhead mogul Peter Molyneux and a jam packed timeline, the book begins in ‘The World Before Pong‘, as the first chapter states. It eases you in with an interesting look at arcade favourite pinball, and from there you learn of the first video game ever made in Spacewar, a two player game made with a lot of technical computery, taking creator Steve Russell six months and nearly two hundred hours, to complete.

From there you’ll visit Atari studios, and learn of how it almost single-handedly started off the video game industry in an engaging set of tales detailing its many ideas, and problems. You’ll follow the success stories of such companies as Coleco and Magnavox, and the part they played in the first stages of video game hysteria.

The ‘golden age’ of video games is fully explored in a two part extravaganza, with a great look at the games that shaped the industry. Nintendo crash the party soon after, and their tantalising story is told excellently, and it’s needed to be, since such events as their near bankruptcy (shock horror!) is suitably a big part of proceedings. As you march on with the book you’ll get a good look at the handheld industry and such phenomena as Pokemon, and the rise and fall of Sega – by this time you’ll feel fully knowledg’d up. And all this is just scratching the surface of what to expect in the book.

It could be argued that ‘The Ultimate History Of Video Games’ contains perhaps too much older history as opposed to recent, with the first few years of video games taking considerably more chapters and pages than the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 days, but perhaps this is because there is much more to say about the beginning of video games than the current. It should be said that the book was published in 2001, with the end of the book detailing the launch of PlayStation 2, and the unveiling of Gamecube, and the then startling announcement of a certain Microsoft console. If you’re more interested in the current generation and the history of last generation, then you’d be disappointed. Regardless, the book will still satisfy.

One thing about the book that makes it stand out amongst the rest is just how much information it gives you. Want to know what the very first Easter egg in a game was? It’s there. How about the many video game lawsuits? You got it. What makes this book so great is how rich in every little detail it is. The whole book is filled with quotes and opinions from hundreds of gaming stalwarts, as well as less recognised but just as important characters. If you’re a person who loves cold hard facts and dates, then you’ll have hit the jackpot with this book, too.

What Kent has done is craft a fascinating and compelling book, without writing in such a way as to alienate certain audiences. His writing welcomes readers of all experiences, from the cultured reading fanatic to the casual magazine dabbler. By writing in an educated yet not overly complex way, it makes for a read of incredibly relaxed proportions, and one that a middle age man would just as much enjoy as a teenage girl.

When you size up everything ‘The Ultimate History Of Video Games’ has to offer, and the amount of work author Kent has put into it, the amount you get for your money is quite impressive. As far as content goes, it’s unrivaled, there’s even some interesting pictures confined in the middle of the book for when your eyes can’t take any more words. ‘The Ultimate History Of Video Games’ is entertaining, addictive, and the most comprehensive guide to video game history yet. It’s a stunner.