I do not yet have the physical book (Amazon estimates the delivery date to be between Tuesday September 11 and Wednesday September 26, 2012) but I have been reading what I can on the Amazon preview and Google Books. I've gotta say, so far I'm disappointed.
The subtitle for this book is "How Fifty Years of Video Games Conquered Pop Culture." Maybe the 'conquer pop culture' part is hidden in the parts that I do not yet have access to, but so far the book is just an overview of the history of video games, with little to no crossing into the pop culture realm.
The introduction was promising, beginning with the author's own experiences in gaming and his thoughts on the subject. Then it moves into the history, which, so far, is just a recounting of what happened with little to no discussion of the implications. I have learned some interesting things (such as Pong was not actually the first video game, a fact that I always thought was true), but have little idea how video games function or functioned in the world culture.
Based on the title, what I was hoping to get from this book was a little information on gamer culture, what makes game companies tick, how the market affects their decision making and vice versa.
If, when I get the physical copy, I find more about pop culture and video games, I will report back.
No comments:
Post a Comment