Video Games: A Popular Culture Phenomenon

[rolenta]

Usually, I don't criticize videogame books by other authors (there's only one that I've criticized anyway), but today I received one from Amazon.com that is obviously written by someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. The book is called "Video Games: A Popular Culture Phenomeon" by Arthur Asa Berger and printed by Transaction Publishers, an imprint of Rutgers University (my alma-mater).

 

Although this book sports a 2002 copyright date, neither my book, Pheonix, nor either of Steve Kent's books are included in the bibliogaphy. Instead, Berger cites J.C. Herz's Joystick Nation. The back of the book says: Berger begins by tracing the evolution of video games from simple games like Pong, to new, powerfully involving and complex ones like Myst and Half Life." However, wjen you peruse the index, you won't find names like Baer, Bushnell, Higinbotham, or even Atari.

 

Berger's history goes like this:

"The Historical Development of Video Games

 

Modern video games can be said to have started with graphics-based games such as Pong, Donkey Kong, Battle Zone, Centipede, Asteroids, Missile Command, Space Invaders and Pac-Man-in the early 1980s. Pong was created in 1972 and was a relatively primitive game, that approximated Ping-Pong, but Pac-Man, created in 1980, represented a major leap forward as far as the design of video games was concerned. It started as an arcade game and was very popular, so a home version was designed, that was enormously successful. There was also a Ms. Pac-Man, which appealed to many female players. Pac-Man was the most popular video game in America for several years."

 

If you do want to pick this book up, it can be ordered from Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765809133/qid=1019916331/sr=1-8/ ref=sr_1_8/104-6802921-3132716://http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...6802921-3132716://http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...6802921-3132716

[AtariDude]

I haven't read the book that you mentioned in question but I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of these types books written by those who only real purpose will be to make a quick buck on the nostagia phase.

 

I have your book, Phoenix, as well as Mr. Kent's book and they are both excellent and present the true history of video gaming in different ways and they compliment each other.

[+Cafeman]

I read Kent's book a year ago. I just bought yours at Philly and I've read up to the late 70's. Can't see needing one like that one, which is 'lite reading' in comparison. Sounds like he glosses over so many facts that I almost want to disagree with what he's saying, since it's so 'simplified'.

 

Oh well. Back to Phoenix III ....

 

P.S. -- while the subject is mentioned, what is that girl "Van"'s book about? Van Burnham? I forget her last name.

[rolenta]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cafeman:

what is that girl "Van"'s book about? Van Burnham? I forget her last name.

---

 

That's her name. Supercade is 'a visual history of the videogame age 1971-1984'. It contains full color phots and essays of most of the consoles and a good deal of arcade machines from the golden age of videogames. I wrote the chapter about the 2600 and Steve Kent wrote about Donkey Kong.

 

A Tips & Tricks review of Supercade and Phoenix can be found at:

http://www.rolentapress.com/reviews/3rd/ti...0&%20tricks.htm

 

Joe Santuilli's review of Suprecade can be found at:

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00091.htm

[Scott Stilphen]

Len, that book sounds like a 6th grader's essay. How books like that and Joystick Nation get the full treatment, I'll never know Sounds like the perfect bathroom literature....for when you run out of tp

[atariz28]

Man is Van Burnham a babe or what? Lets see, MIT grad, videogame junkie, drop dead pretty. Did you see that pic in her book. Soooo 80s. Where were all the girls like that when I was in 80s high school geek mode? They were not hanging out in the arcades I was. My wife is a math/cs degree and a looker. I can't get her to play videogames to save my life though.

 

I liked the Supercade book a lot also. Not a lot of info I did not know but a lot of great Pics.

[slapdash]

(I think Van is pretty hot too, but to get back to the original point of this thread...)

 

I have to second Leonard's assessment of this book, as I finally got to read it on vacation. It's crap. Spends a lot of time saying nothing, the one part that would maybe have gotten interesting is way too textbookish, and in the end sums it all up with an assessment that games might be harmful. Dreck.

 

As soon as I can find the time (I mean if...), I'm going to post a negative review on Amazon so people won't keep giving this guy money. What a load of hooey.