5 Tell-All Books For Getting Into Video Game History
These video game history books shows just how much the process of how game development has over the years, with some very rocky starts for some.
My final project in high school was a hour long presentation about the history of the video games industry, and not just my personal favorites. So, this is a subject that I have been interested in for a long time just a few years.
Of course, these video game history books can’t tell the whole story all in one go. But, each one fits together to tell a larger whole.
1. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels
Starting off strong with a national bestseller. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games are Made is one you’ll see pop up often when researching any sort of video game history. It’s also got a doozy of a title. But, Jason Schreier knows his gaming history, as we’ll see him again on this list.
2. The Ultimate History of Video Games: Vol. 1 & 2
Any nonfiction book that has to be split into two 600 page books is going to be extensive! So, The Ultimate History of Video Games, Vol. 1 covers from very early video gaming to around the mid 90s. Then, Vol. 2 covers from then until around 2021, when the book was released.
3. Press Reset
This book is also written by Jason Schreier, who wrote Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. Press Reset is much more of an exposé, in a sense. It focuses on a “behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade’s most renowned studios fell apart – and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.” But, with all the nastiness of the gaming industry coming to light now, it’s great to see this kind of investigative journalism going on.
4. Console Wars
Wars define the generation in which they are held. Overly dramatic introduction aside, the same is true for gaming consoles. However, the console wars of the 90s where a huge keystone in how the gaming industry developed. So, the book simply titled Console Wars is going to be a great place to start on the subject.
5. Sid Meier’s Memoir!
Civilization‘s creator, Sid Meier, wrote a memoir. As great as his games are, his titling has routinely been very direct. Sid Meier’s Civilization, Sid Meier’s Pirates, Sid Meier’s Memoir. He’s nothing if not consistent. Still, the man that is considered “the grandfather of computer gaming” has a lot to say about his own life. He was there for most of it.
Those are our favorite video game history books. There are obviously tons more out there. But, if we forgot any, let us know!
