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"Nintendo made a rare false move with their 1994 release of the 3D game system Virtual Boy. However, they released the Silicon Graphics-powered Ultra 64 console in Japan that same year, following with the 1996 release of the same system, now renamed Nintendo 64(or N64 for short), worldwide..."
This book was not written by console gamers.
Wasn't the Virtual Boy released in 94? And that Ultra 64 thing is definitely not a typo as I originally said it could be. Given the context, it's just sloppy research.
The VB came out in 1995 but it was first displayed in 1994. It's the Ultra 64 comment that bothered me.
I don't want to make the book look too bad. It's still a great information source overall and like I said before, it fills in the necessary computer gaming history gaps. It's about time people realize that arcade, console, and computer games are all video games and their histories are completely intertwined.
I couldn't read through High Score. There wasn't enthusiasm in the writing like there was in Steven Kent's Ultimate History of Video Games. High Score just seemed to list the facts (and get them wrong a quarter of the time) and move on to the next topic. Nice pictures and layout, though.
If you haven't already, you really, really need to get the Ultimate History of Video Games. It's written in such a conversational, novel-like tone so that it doesn't come off like a school history book, and it has hundreds of direct quotes from the most important people in the industry. I especially enjoyed that aspect of the book, as the story of Atari's downfall or Nintendo's rise is much more interesting through the words of the people that were there, rather than the author just writing out a timeline.
Werd.Quote:
Originally posted by omfgninjas
I couldn't read through High Score. There wasn't enthusiasm in the writing like there was in Steven Kent's Ultimate History of Video Games. High Score just seemed to list the facts (and get them wrong a quarter of the time) and move on to the next topic. Nice pictures and layout, though.
If you haven't already, you really, really need to get the Ultimate History of Video Games. It's written in such a conversational, novel-like tone so that it doesn't come off like a school history book, and it has hundreds of direct quotes from the most important people in the industry. I especially enjoyed that aspect of the book, as the story of Atari's downfall or Nintendo's rise is much more interesting through the words of the people that were there, rather than the author just writing out a timeline.
Kent's book is the best one on average although for me a lot of its info was a repeat of Phoenix, which is to be expected. Phoenix is not an exciting read nor well-written but it was the first of its kind and is chock full of early '80's info.
Another good book I just remembered about is Scott Cohen's Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari. Good luck finding it though. It was published in 1984. I read it in '94 around the same I first read Game Over and my copy of Phoenix arrived in the mail.
yeah, i got high score a month ago and there's tons of mistakes. especially with all the screenshots. Sonic the Hedgehog 4? What?
Supercade is my personal favorite - not a wealth of information, but an excellent coffee table book.
Steven Kent's book should be a prerequisite for posting on this board. It's excellent.
Arcade Fever is a humorous yet informative look at coin-op gaming from birth to the arrival of the NES.
Game On is a look at the cultural aspects and effects of gaming. Lots of personal anecdotes.
High Score is an OK book, but I prefer the four I listed.
1001 Video Game Heroes just came out. Anyone check it out?
High Score was a decent book, mostly for the photos. A bit skimpy on everything after the 16-bit era.
Anybody know why Squaresoft refused to let this book use any images from their games? There's some sort of copy on the page of PSX game images that reads:
???Quote:
Noticebly missing are all the amazing Playstation games by Squaresoft. We respect Square's request not to be included in this book...
I bet the author was thinking of Killer Instinct and Cruisin' USA, the two arcade games with the Ultra 64 logo in the attract mode. They appeared in the US in 1994... well in advance of the N64.Quote:
Originally posted by NeoZeedeater
Did you know the Ultra 64 came out in Japan in 1994?
That is the most unforgiveable error in High Score. Every gaming book has its errors, but that one is especially bad.
And why he called it the Ultra 64, rather than Nintendo 64... go figure. :( The guy needed to get his facts straight before sending this to the presses.