Arcade Books

[Visitor Q]

Can anyone recommend some good arcade history books? Looking for something with a lot of nice pictures, not to build but for the art and layouts.

Thanks.

[ark_ader]

I had a copy of the Encyclopedia of Arcade Collecting.




You can obtain it from Amazon.

It had lots of good pictures on a variety of cabinets.

Heavy book to ship, but well worth it.

[CheffoJeffo]

I had a copy of the Encyclopedia of Arcade Collecting.




You can obtain it from Amazon.

It had lots of good pictures on a variety of cabinets.

Heavy book to ship, but well worth it.

Also available from GameRoom Magazine, where it is on sale right now.

I have Van Burnham's Supercade, which has lots of pics (mostly screenshots, though).

[SirPeale]

Hey, here it is.  Looks neat.  I'll have to get a copy.

Other good ones:

Arcade Fever

Retro Gaming Hacks

[2600]

I'd say Ultimate History of Video Game is the best.  Very Good Read.

Amazon Link

Arcade Fever is good.
I don't have Supercade, but would like to.

HighScore is informative, but I didn't like it as much.  Not really something you can read through.

[XtraSmiley]

Few pics, but Game Over is an excellent book on Nintendo history.  Also, I think it is called Phoenix the Rise and Fall of Atari is fantastic.

[RayB]

Arcade Fever's a good cheap book to get just to have. It didn't say much I didn't already know, and there's an annoying amount of photos of machines that are old, dirty and damaged, but it covers all the classics and has some humorous parts as well.

[Singapura]

I've got the Arcade fever book but the writing style is very annoying.

[PacMon]

I've got the Arcade fever book but the writing style is very annoying.

I agree.  He seems like he's trying to "be cool" for a bunch of 12 year olds.  I did enjoy the pics.  The writing, not so much.

[Matthew Fisher]

I've got the Arcade fever book but the writing style is very annoying.

I agree.  He seems like he's trying to "be cool" for a bunch of 12 year olds.  I did enjoy the pics.  The writing, not so much.

There are also some factual errors.  Off the top of my head, he repeats the myth that you can hide behind the scores in the first rev of Asteroids.  As for Tempest he says that word "Tempest" spins like the old CBS logo in the attract mode (maybe he was thinking of Star Trek) and that every level is a different shape, when, in fact, the shapes repeat.  Probably more that I didn't notice.  Would it be that tough to do a little fact-checking or at least play the games in MAME or something?   

[Visitor Q]

Thanks Guys.

I have so other books from Schiffer Books, they are really well put together and very nice qaulity speaking of which... Have you guys see the Pinball books they are offering!!!???

http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/search_results.php

[CheffoJeffo]

Thanks Guys.

I have so other books from Schiffer Books, they are really well put together and very nice qaulity speaking of which... Have you guys see the Pinball books they are offering!!!???

http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/search_results.php

-1 for poor Link-Fu, but the books are nifty.

Those books are also available from GameRoom Magazine as well.

In case you are wondering why I keep citing GRM, well, it is a great magazine dedicated to the GameRoom, Kevin is a great guy who has done lots for the community (and is a member here) and they have lots of cool stuff.

 

[Visitor Q]

My bad on the link, the books are called "The Pinball Compendium". There are a few in the series it looks like, I think I am going to get 1982 to the Present.

Yeah I don't mind the plugs but Amazon is the cheapest with the free shipping however I will take your comment into consideration.

Speaking of which, how is that magazine GameRoom?

[CheffoJeffo]

Speaking of which, how is that magazine GameRoom?

I was a subscriber before Kevin took over, back when it was a black-and-white pulp magazine. It was worth every penny then and is even better now (full colour glossy).

There are some folks here who contribute and I would definitely recommend it.

[Visitor Q]

I may try and older issue or two, they are what... Like .88 cents.

[CheffoJeffo]

I may try and older issue or two, they are what... Like .88 cents.

I would also recommend checking out the "free download" issue:

http://www.gameroommagazine.com/#TRIAL

I do love the back issues and bought a bunch of them last year (mostly for specific articles about specific topics or games) .. and the price can't be beat.

[saint]

I'll echo what Cheffo's saying. GRM highly recommended.

[shardian]

I look forward to every issue of GRM. There are always some really neat articles in it.

[ChadTower]

Few pics, but Game Over is an excellent book on Nintendo history.  Also, I think it is called Phoenix the Rise and Fall of Atari is fantastic.

I did my senior thesis on the videogame industry crash in 83-84... I used both of those books heavily as resources.  Great books.