The Ultimate History of Video Games
From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond
by Steven L. Kent · first published 2001
64% recommend36% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A well-researched narrative history of the video game industry, covering its business, technology and early companies like Atari. Suits history and tech readers and anyone curious about gaming's formative years.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This book is a history of the Video Game Industry, from types of electronic entertainment that were available before video games, to the improvements up until the year 2001. It begins with a look at the origins of Pinball, and other novelty games, then on to games that were played on giant computers, and then finally to the invention of the Video game, and the growth of the industry. Each section has many quotes from people involved with the creation, design, or field of video games. At the center of the book is a 18 pages of of black and white photos of the various people and events mentioned
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If anyone is interested in learning more about this topic, I highly recommend reading The Ultimate History of Video Games . [1] I picked it up on a whim at a thrift store and found it to be very informative and engaging. You'll also see some familiar names in there as it spends a lot of time talking about Atari. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon-...
on “Video game crash of 1983” ↗The other angle, which isn't mentioned here but is mentioned in Steve Kent's book The Ultimate History of Video Games is that a lot of communities had banned pool halls and arcades. By wrapping the arcade in a family restaurant, Bushnell and Atari were able to open more locations for their games and eventually work…
on “Chuck E. Cheese’s, Silicon Valley Startup (2013)” ↗…documentation of historical work is needed. There are some great reads out there about gamedev and gaming history, though: - Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier - Masters of Doom by David Kushner - The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent was required reading for me in college - Game Over by David Sheff - Dungeon Hacks by David Craddock
on “Deus Ex at 20: The oral history of a pivotal PC game” ↗I’m only mentioning the ones I haven’t seen mentioned here so far The Ultimate History of Video Games - Steven L. Kent - loved this. Sid Meier’s Memoir was good. And not really a must read but I enjoyed David Kushner’s Jacked about the Grand Theft Auto guys.
on “Ask HN: What are some must-read books about video games and gaming history?” ↗For the definitive history of video games, I recommend: The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1 & 2. (by Steven L. Kent) For the definitive history, with behind the scenes interviews and commentary by many legendary individuals including: Nolan Bushnell - Founder of Atari and a pioneer…
on “Ask HN: What are some must-read books about video games and gaming history?” ↗I have a long commute and am a history/tech/startup junkie. Just finished The The Ultimate History of Video Games (which was a fascinating blend of history, business and tech). Looking for recommendations from HN readers. Cheers.
on “Ask HN: Recommendations for Non-Fiction Techie Audio Books” ↗The Ultimate History of Video Games (2001) is amazing, if that's the angle you are looking for. Over 600 pages of great stories and information about the industry. I've read it twice and still think there sre things in there I haven't fully…
on “The NES turns 30: How it began, worked, and saved an industry (2013)” ↗I learned this and other interesting history from the audiobook version of "The Ultimate History of Video Games" (even though it's slightly dated now, the history is still the same). I'd recommend it if you're at all curious about the stories of the formative years of video games.
on “A basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600” ↗Give "The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2" a read. Sega America did well marketing-wise but Sega Japan was a shitshow and really dragged them down. Sega could have done much better with the Dreamcast than they did given the cheaper…
on “The GTA III port for the Dreamcast has been released” ↗It's interesting to see how Woz's attitude towards Steve Jobs has changed over the years. In the book The Ultimate History of Video Games (2001), I remember Woz being very bitter about Steve Jobs and characterized Steve as someone who would rip you off if he could.
on “Steve Wozniak remembers the early days [video]” ↗…design the thing. I also think I read that Steve Jobs lied to Woz about how much Atari paid him for it so he could cheat Woz out of the money. I'm pretty sure I read about this in a book called "The Ultimate History of Video Games". [1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-History-Video-Games-Pokemon/...
on “Jim Black's Steve Jobs Story” ↗…alleged sexist behavior disagreed with the categorization Nolan himself went on record in 2012 in Playboy describing a wild atmosphere and describing one of his employees as 'stacked', the 2001 book The Ultimate History of Video Games describes his attitude, Nolan told the San Francisco Chronicle "Some ladies feel comfortable around me, some don't."
on “Early Years of Computer Gaming: Steve Russell and Nolan Bushnell (2002) [video]” ↗…refining old ideas and letting his competitors catch up to him. He called his philosophy “eating your own babies” and said that if Atari didn’t (eat its own babies), somebody else would. -- Steven Kent (The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon) The issue today is the breathtaking speed with which people can rip you off by simply pointing an agentic coding harness at your original IP and laundering it into 50 copies in…
on “Valve Responds to Developers Fearing AI Slop and Clones” ↗I believe it was Steve Kent's The Ultimate History of Video Games Atari portion that really fleshes out Steve Jobs. The two anecdotes I remember are: 1. People in Atari generally considering him an oderous hairy hippie who once disappeared from work to go to India…
on “Startup CEOs who gave up fortunes to turn employees into millionaires” ↗…geoblocking on Humble Bundle which is really sad. "We're sorry, but these titles are not available in your region: To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History and Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon."
on “John Carmack Archive – Interviews [pdf]” ↗