I adore video games, but at the tender age of 30, I’m well aware there are substantial gaps in my education.
My earliest memories are of the 2000 Spider-Man and X-Men: Mutant Academy on the original PlayStation. I know that when I tell this to some people, they turn to dust. Just as I feel the cruel hand of father time on my shoulder any time the younger members of the GAMINGbible team tell me the DS was their first console.
So for me, there are decades of history to catch up on. I’ve gone back and played many of the classics, of course, but what about the weirder and more obscure corners of gaming that helped shape the industry into what it is today?
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The Console: 50 Years Of Home Video Gaming by Mike Diver (formerly of this parish) is the perfect tome for gamers who want to take a look back into the mists of time and learn a thing or two. As someone who’s been writing about video games professionally for close to ten years, I’m happy to admit there are plenty of really awesome bits of trivia and history in this book that I had no clue about. Which is both a testament to Mike’s encyclopaedic knowledge and a damning indictment of me as a person.
Mike covers all the major players, of course, and devotes plenty of space to the likes of the Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360. But even as we wander these well-trodden memories, Mike manages to weave in genuinely interesting tidbits you probably didn’t know.
Naturally, Mike also delights in diving into some of the more obscure corners of gaming history. You can read all about some of the hardware that never left Japan, and failed experiments that’ll leave you wondering how video games ever managed to survive as long as they did. A video game console that used VHS tapes is, I discovered after reading this book, a very real thing.
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And if you are the sort of person to judge a book by its cover, it’s worth noting that The Console is a gorgeous bit of kit. I love a hefty hardcover, and this is the kind of book that just looks good on a coffee table. Inside you’ll find 192 pages filled with glossy information and plenty of shiny pictures, just in case you’re under 20 and trying to imagine what an Atari 2600 looks like gives you a nosebleed.
Whether you fancy yourself a video game historian, or are simply looking to learn more about your favourite hobby, The Console is a genuinely excellent and informative read. You can pick it up now from Amazon, Forbidden Planet, or any of the usual places.
Topics: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo