Selected Book
ARCADE FEVER The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games
- Paperback
- Author: John Sellers
- Publisher: Running Press
- Release Date: August 2001
- ISBN-10: 0762409371
- ISBN-13: 9780762409372
- List Price: $18.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryHave You Mastered the Delicate Art of Hyperspace? Can You Say "Joystick" in Polite Conversation Without Blushing? Do You Remember the Difference Between Playing "Singles" and "Doubles"? If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, Arcade Fever is the book for you—the world's first illustrated history of video games, with tributes to 50 all-time favorites like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Defender, Q*Bert, Tetris, and many, many others. You want little-known tips, tricks, and secrets? You want behind-the-scenes creation stories from the original programmers? You want to read about the first guy who actually DIED playing a video game, or the arcade classic that inspired an episode of Seinfeld? It's all right here, in a jam-packed celebration of '70s and '80s arcade culture. Includes: o Interviews with programmers, musicians, animators, and other legends from the golden age of video games o A chronological history of video arcades—from the first coin-operated arcade game (no, it wasn't Pong) to obscure classics like Elevator Action, Crazy Climber, and Food Fight o Tons of rad '80s spin-off products, including home systems, pajamas, alarm clocks, Saturday morning cartoons, sugar-coated breakfast cereals, and a really bad movie starring Jeff Bridges as a programmer who gets sucked into a computer. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
An Arcadian's Companion
Rating:
I found this book very fun to read for the price I paid for it. There were several classic arcade games mentioned in the book, each described in enthusiastic detail. The author was very biased about the games that were chosen, but I don't think that it detracted from any of the nostalgicness. I couldn't help but smile at every page I turned to. There were many "Oh I remember this!" moments as I read. It has also become a conversational piece wherever I lay it down.
I have only two complaints:
1.)It would have been nice to have more arcade games to reminisce over.
2.)Some arcade games mentioned never showed the pictures of the actual cabinets. Of those, screenshots of the games were given, but I wanted to see the cabinet art work more than screenshots of the games.
Overall, a great read and a great conversational piece to add to your rec room or classroom (if you are a teacher like me).
Arcade fever = the good old days of video games
Rating:
I didn't realize how many memories of old video games I had! I bought this book for my husband's birthday as more of a "filler" present than a serious gift. It turned out to be his favorite! He's not a huge reader but he reads some of this book every day. He's read a lot of it out loud to me & it seems good. There are some great pictures in it, too! He's totally serious about his 80's video games & this book gives him lots of little facts he didn't know before & stirs up a million good memories. It's written in a more casual way that's easy & pleasant to follow.
Re-Live Classic Arcade Action
Rating:
This is an excellent picture book showing all the classic arcade games and giving you some neat and interesting side notes about each game.
LOTS and LOTS of pictures...its mostly a picture book with captions...and this is what I wanted...
DEFFINATELY a must if you are an ARCADE FAN.
Great photos mixed with slanted text
Rating:
This book is more a photo album of memories for the author, than it is a true historical look at the games of the arcade era.
"Arcade Fever" provides a nice visual layout with plenty of colorful photos and MAME screen shots, but the author's historical recounting of each arcade game remains tainted with his personal biases, jokes, and at times, factual errors.
For some, the book may capture the flavor of the early 1980s thanks to the excited ramblings of the author...but most readers can do that for themselves. Tip: when it comes to Encyclopedic-style books, careful research and factual information are critical components. Pretty pictures are a bonus.
Written from the heart.
Rating:
This book falls into the trap that many such books do which is basically that it's written from an extremely biased "I remember this sweet game..." breathless style.
Don't get me wrong, I too am a fan of arcade games and I'm sure it'd be difficult for me to keep from interjecting my personal anecdotes into the narrative, but I was hoping that this book would contain a little more in depth information regarding the machines. As it is this book has some decent (but not great) pictures and some anecdotal memories of the arcade era of the early 80s.
If like me you can't resist any book on this subject, then by all means pick it up and support the author. However if you are looking for the definitive encyclopedic retelling of arcade history this book is not it.
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