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Vintage Game Consoles - new book on computers, consoles, handhelds

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Bill_Loguidice

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Many of you already know about this, but just in case, I wanted to start the topic for my upcoming book, Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time, which will be released in February, but is available for pre-order now. This is the next entry in the Focal Press Vintage Games series, which started with the critically acclaimed 2009 release, Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time. In contrast to Vintage Games, which covered 35 of the most influential computer, console, and handheld games of all time (up to the book's publication date), Vintage Game Consoles covers 20 of the greatest game playing computer, console, and handheld platforms of all time (up to 2001, which means no platforms still actively sold (i.e., their history is still being written)). It's full color throughout, with 400 images, an extensive preface, and major section introductions to complement each platform chapter, which provides a thorough history of the industry through the lens of the very platforms that helped define it. Any questions? Ask away! (also be sure to check out my other recently released book, CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer, and the next book to see release after Vintage Game Consoles, My Xbox One; March will also see the first unveiling of our major feature film documentary on the history of videogames (based loosely on the Vintage Games series books), Gameplay: The Story of the Videogame Revolution)

Contents:

Preface

Generation One (1971 – 1984)
Arcade (1971)
Apple II (1977)
Atari 2600 VCS (1977)
Atari 8-bit (1979)
Mattel Intellivision (1979)
PC DOS Computers (1981)
Commodore 64 (1982)
Coleco ColecoVision (1982)

Generation Two (1985 – 1994)
Nintendo Entertainment System (1985)
Commodore Amiga (1985)
Sega Genesis (1989)
Nintendo GameBoy (1989)
Nintendo Super NES (1991)

Generation Three (1995 – 2001)
PC Windows Computers (1995)
Sony PlayStation (1995)
Nintendo 64 (1996)
Sega Dreamcast (1999)
Sony PlayStation 2 (2000)
Microsoft Xbox (2001)
Nintendo GameCube (2001)

The cover art is by Nathan Strum, renowned homebrew cover artist. For those not familiar with the style, it's meant to evoke my first (and favorite) childhood magazine, Electronic Games. I think he nailed it:

51PhkXXhWIL.jpg
 
Not to be an asshole or anything, but you should probably cover the NEC 16-Bit PC Engine as they were somewhat historically relevant; First 4th-Gen system (Though ran an 8-Bit CPU), first system to use CD-ROMs.

Also, no Sega Master System? Sorry, I'm going to not only sound like I'm bashing on your work but I'm also going to come off as a fanboy, I am sick to death of all the attention the NES gets despite all it's shortcomings that get conveniently overlooked, the Master System wiped the floor with it - even likely sold more units, in Europe it DID sell more units - but it seems that just doesn't exist to a lot of people - of course you'd probably have to put a lot of work in including the SG-1000 too (not to mention the porting between that and ColecoVision) if you wanted to include it. I'm not bothered about the lack of handheld stuff as I never got into handheld games.

There are a few other things missing but they could be considered less important. I wish you the best of luck with your book.

Edit: Though thinking further, the ZX Spectrum should probably at least be mentioned if you're covering C64 as the C64 was not available from Commodore or as a clone in several territories, Spectrum clones appear to be the dominant system in those regions (Though Acorn/BBC and a few others were around) - I don't like the Spectrum but I kinda had to point that out.
 
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Assuming the book is written from a North American perspective, and does not attempt to cover what went on in Europe or other parts of the world...

High_Treason said:
Not to be an asshole or anything, but you should probably cover the NEC 16-Bit PC Engine as they were somewhat historically relevant; First 4th-Gen system (Though ran an 8-Bit CPU), first system to use CD-ROMs.
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The NEC TurboGrafx 16 (as it was known here) was only successful in some regions of the USA. Here in the NYC area it was heavily promoted on TV when it first came out, so most people knew about it and some people even had one, but it quickly got dwarfed by the Genesis (MegaDrive) and SNES. In other areas where the NEC was not widely advertised, most people probably never even knew it existed.

Also, no Sega Master System?
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Another minor player in the U.S. market. Even the Atari 7800 outsold it.

the ZX Spectrum should probably at least be mentioned if you're covering C64
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Non-existent in the USA. The Americanized Timex-Sinclair version of the Spectrum was a flop, and although you could buy an NTSC-version ZX Spectrum via mail order from Sinclair Research, I've never actually seen one.
 
This is a book about INFLUENTIAL systems, most likely from a North American perspective. Sadly, as much as I love the NEC line of systems (they are my favorite), they were a minor player outside of Japan. Stateside, they were too expensive at a time when the NES was not only more affordable, but was a household name. And by the time that the 4th gen systems came out, the differences between their 16-bit systems and NEC's 8-bit systems became even more glaring. And at similar price points, Keith Courage looked much less fun than Sonic, didn't it?

The only influential thing about the SMS was that it sold JUST ENOUGH units to keep Sega interested in making the Genesis, which was most definitely an influential and great system.

Think about it: growing up, how many people did you know who had an SMS? How many did you know who had the NES? I'm betting that the NES people far outweighed the SMS people. I only knew one person who had an SMS growing up. He wanted an NES, but the SMS was cheaper, and his parents thought all systems were created equal. I have an SMS now, and I picked up the standard games: Vigilante, Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden, Phantasy Star, Wonderboy, the 3D Titles.. to be frank, I was disgusted at how poor the graphics and especially the collision detection were in that game. Ninja Gaiden was a completely different game with rather poor graphics overall, and again, poor collision detection. Wonderboy and Phantasy Star played well, for which I was glad. Ditto on the 3D Titles (though these were more gimmicky than anything, weren't they?). Overall, after years of hearing SMS fanboys touting how superior it was to the NES, to be frank... I just didn't get it - and still don't. That's not to say that I dont still have my SMS, but it's collecting dust. The NES actually gets use.
 
Edit: This post was written in response to vwestlife and was not edited for the above post which appeared whilst I was writing it.

Rubbish. I'm tired and need to sleep, so I'll just list;

  • Gaming is international, not limited to the USA; Just because it was not big in the USA does not mean it was not historically significant. For example, Tetris sold a lot of copies in the USA but it originated in Russia where other systems were common, namely PDP-11 clones (Which it was written for; Electronika 60) and Z80-based systems. I would say it might just have been influential and important.
  • My point on the NEC still stands, it helped to push technology forward, again "USA, USA".
  • Master System? Again, the USA is the whole world isn't it? Gaming only happens in America, the whole world listens to America, only America matters. SMS still sold more in Europe and I knew nobody that owned an NES when I was growing up, not to mention, it is huge in Brazil.
  • Spectrum? See my Tetris entries. Also the Spectrum was a large player in "Basement Programming" of Independent Games, something that's rather huge today if you hadn't noticed.

To make one thing clear, I love America. Another thing, this whole scenario is turning out a bit like the C64 in the UK; In the UK the C64 apparently never happened and various organizations, including media, actively try to ignore it's existence - I strongly disapprove of this and what is taught in schools is nothing short of misinformation.
 
High_Treason said:
  • Gaming is international, not limited to the USA;
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Correct, but people's experiences with gaming are localized. Spending half the book talking about the ZX Spectrum and Acorn Electron will not be relevant to Americans, and likewise, the Atari 2600 and NES were nowhere near as popular in Europe as they were in the USA, so most Europeans wouldn't want to read a book which focused mainly on those systems either.
 
As for hitting the high notes, the only selection I would question would be the Amiga, which was hardly the success in the U.S. that Commodore hoped for.

Another thing, this whole scenario is turning out a bit like the C64 in the UK; In the UK the C64 apparently never happened and various organizations, including media, actively try to ignore it's existence - I strongly disapprove of this and what is taught in schools is nothing short of misinformation.
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If such a thing is true, I would guess there is some anti-US bias going on. I'm sure the British would like to focus on the home-grown Acorn BBC Micros and ZX Spectrums than American imports.
 
Just to clarify a few things... Yes, this is written from a North American perspective, though the vast majority of these platforms were popular worldwide (and we certainly mention several International or region-specific platforms in passing, including the ZX Spectrum and MSX platforms). Picking only 20 of the most popular/influential, there were some that didn't quite make the cut. You can think of those as the "next 5" if you'd like, if there was room for 25. Certain platforms, like the Sega Master System, were not included in deference to other contemporary platforms that overshadowed it, like the NES, while others, like the Atari ST, were similar enough to other platforms and were just a touch less popular (in this case versus the Amiga) to not be included (though again, it is talked about in the book).

With all the above in mind, since this is a fairly comprehensive history, many platforms are mentioned in passing, and some of the platforms that weren't included per se (like the Sega Master System or Sega Saturn) get a lot of ink in particular chapters (like the Sega Genesis and Sega Dreamcast chapters, to go with that same example).

The Magnavox Odyssey is sufficiently discussed in the early history (it doesn't warrant it's own chapter; and yes, home Pong consoles are discussed quite a bit, but again, they don't warrant a chapter of their own), and the Odyssey2 is mentioned in passing. Again, the Odyssey2 was passed up in deference to more popular contemporary platforms like the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision.

The PC Engine is mentioned in several places in the book, but it really was only popular in Japan. It was a distant third in North America, again, losing out to the Genesis and Super NES in that particular era.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions, but kindly keep in mind that there was a very specific methodology used and none of the platforms included or excluded were considered lightly. I think you'll find that as with Vintage Games before it, with the 35 most influential videogames of all time, this is a list that's hard to argue with based on the parameters that were set. We certainly make the case throughout the book as well.

Also, just to be clear, by including only 20 of the greatest game playing platforms of all time (that are still not commercially available), we were able to devote many pages to each platform, covering everything from its history, to its technology, to its games, to its influence, to what is going on with the platform today. While each platform chapter can technically stand alone (i.e., be read by itself), it was written with overall history in mind and has supporting chapters and introductions that help tie it all together. The idea was to tell the history of videogames from the perspective of the greatest platforms, with no concessions made. That's one of the downsides of books without tight focuses--concessions.
 
Great Hierophant said:
As for hitting the high notes, the only selection I would question would be the Amiga, which was hardly the success in the U.S. that Commodore hoped for.
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The Amiga was popular here for its graphics and animation capabilities -- but not so much for gaming. Deluxe Paint and the Video Toaster sold more Amigas in the USA than Lemmings ever did. Even NASA used Amigas for a while, because they needed a powerful CPU and a stable multitasking operating system -- neither of which PCs had at the time -- and although they considered the Macintosh, Apple wouldn't give them the technical details they needed to interface their hardware with it.
 
vwestlife said:
The Amiga was popular here for its graphics and animation capabilities -- but not so much for gaming. Deluxe Paint and the Video Toaster sold more Amigas in the USA than Lemmings ever did. Even NASA used Amigas for a while, because they needed a powerful CPU and a stable multitasking operating system -- neither of which PCs had at the time -- and although they considered the Macintosh, Apple wouldn't give them the technical details they needed to interface their hardware with it.
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Actually, while it's true that the PC DOS (EGA) standard dominated computer gaming outside the low end at that time, the Amiga was well represented with gaming software in North America. While a distant second, it was still a notable gaming platform at the time having a strong retail presence at chains like Electronics Boutique. Certainly the Atari ST and Apple IIGS were on a tier below the Amiga here in that regard.
 
Has the content of the book been finalized? I ask because it is very easy for factual errors and anachronisms to creep into these kinds of books, and a few more pairs of eyes can prevent that. There were even a few in your 2009 book.

If the content is final, then has a website for the book been set up to relay errors and omissions? (I'm thinking of the "errata" sites for books like the Graphics Gems series)
 
Every book has a few errors here and there - they're impossible to avoid due to the number of people involved (and frankly, not every error correction is always put through) - though of course you always hope that's mostly limited to editorial issues rather than factual issues. And yes, the book was turned into the publisher long ago. It's headed to press. It's also not normal practice for traditionally published books to be seen by those not directly contracted by the publisher. They have their own editorial teams and contract out for their own tech reviewers.

If you happen to find any editorial issues, you can always send me an email or post here or at Armchair Arcade (or any other place I'm at). I'll add it to a list for fixes for a second printing (if it sells out of the initial print run). For the recently released CoCo book, for instance, there are eight editorial fixes that need to be addressed if it goes into a second printing (some of those include an acknowledgement or two that was missed).
 
My god,, what have i opened up.... For the record, i was NOT trying to sound like an ass with my crack. I was rather being a bit playful with. In all seriousness, when i was ground up, will about the age of 6 *born in 81* EVERY kid on my block and several in my school had either an Oddy2, though being a system of the Late 70's. My sister even got one when she was 7 *born in 76*, a pong machine, or an atari 2600 or the like. Personally i think the O2 was pretty advanced for it's time, despite the weak graphics. I've got the voice module, and for 1978 tech, it's pretty slick. I'd like to find the basic module and the chess module for mine if i could, while not game changing, it DOES have its place, as does every game console, computer, or computing machine from the time. Each advanced computing in its own way. But some people are right, the NES gets far more hype than it really should, and Tetris, doesn't get enough hype. The amiga was what the PC should have been earlier in its life. There is just so much that could be said, it really can't be put in one post, perhaps not even in one book. But being in the US, i personally know enough about how the US was impacted, i would like to hear more about how, say, europe was impacted by all the computers or lore..
 
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I'm lucky enough to have the Chess module, but I can't afford what the BASIC module (not the BASIC cartridge, but the actual computer module) goes for these days. I really enjoy the Odyssey2 and have two of those, as well as a Videopac G7200 and Videopac+ G7401. A few years back an Odyssey3 prototype was up for sale on eBay for a reasonable price, but I didn't bite. It is a bit underpowered, but it's fairly colorful and is generally flicker free, and it certainly has its fair share of unique games.

As for the NES getting too much hype, I'm not sure if I agree with that. While I don't love it like many others do, it's hard to deny its importance and place in history. Not only was it the console that reinvigorated the moribund North American videogame market, but it was the first console that was a genuine worldwide success (though, yes, it's true, that the Sega Master System consoles did better in parts of Europe and South America). It was also obviously home to a huge range of classics and sold a ton. While it's sad that it seems like many people think videogames started with the NES, that's more a failure of education. Certainly putting things in their proper context is important, which is part of the reason why I write some of the books that I do.
 
Yea, the O3 does look pretty slick, it should have been released to market. A plus is it was backwards compatible with O2 games. The layout of the O3 looks good, compact, and gives the controllers their own storage area at the top of the console. I've been thinking about whipping out my O2 recently, but need to get a couple of adapters to work with my TV. All in due time i suppose.
 
k2x4b524[ said:
Yea, the O3 does look pretty slick, it should have been released to market. A plus is it was backwards compatible with O2 games. The layout of the O3 looks good, compact, and gives the controllers their own storage area at the top of the console. I've been thinking about whipping out my O2 recently, but need to get a couple of adapters to work with my TV. All in due time i suppose.
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Well, more or less the Videopac+ is what the Odyssey3 would have been (sans some of the cooler add-ons), so I think it's pretty safe to say that it's probably a good thing they didn't release it, since it clearly would have still been an underpowered alternative to most of the competition. The only clear pre-crash console game changer that never actually got released would have likely been the Intellivision IV (they also worked up an Intellivision III, but that was deprecated for the IV), which was an incredible design. My only concern with that one is that I suspect it would have been too costly to mass produce (much like the Keyboard Component) with the target specs.
 
I believe the Philips cd-i system with cd was also release in 1991 the same year the pc engine cd drive came out? Not sure the exact dates though.
 
NEC's one was released December 4th 1988 in Japan, August 1 1990 in the US. I think the Duo (the one with integrated CD came out September 1991 and the Phillips CD-I was released in December.
 
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