---
product_id: 1613409
title: "The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World"
price: "162 Lei"
currency: RON
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ro/products/1613409-the-ultimate-history-of-video-games-from-pong-to-pokemon
store_origin: RO
region: Romania
---

# Comprehensive gaming history In-depth industry insights Covers arcade to consoles The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

**Price:** 162 Lei
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎯 Unlock the epic saga behind every pixel and power-up!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
- **How much does it cost?** 162 Lei with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ro](https://www.desertcart.ro/products/1613409-the-ultimate-history-of-video-games-from-pong-to-pokemon)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Cultural Impact Explored:** Understand video games’ influence on society and politics.
- • **Dive into Gaming Origins:** Explore the rise of Atari and the golden age of arcades.
- • **Exclusive Insider Stories:** Interviews with pioneers like Nolan Bushnell and Shigeru Miyamoto.
- • **Nintendo vs Sega Showdown:** Relive the fierce competition that shaped home gaming.
- • **Collector’s Edition Vibes:** A must-have for any serious gaming history enthusiast.

## Overview

The Ultimate History of Video Games chronicles the evolution of gaming from the arcade era through the early 2000s, featuring detailed accounts of industry pioneers, major console battles, and cultural milestones that shaped the world of video games.

## Description

desertcart.com: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon-The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World: 9780761536437: Kent, Steven L.: Books

Review: Ultimate History of an Industry - When I was younger, I loved playing video games especially during the 1990s and early 2000s. I can even remember how, mainly during the sixth generation of consoles, my own addiction to the history and people of the video game industry. I could not get enough of it, even if I knew that I would never get to play many of the most popular games. With a book like The Ultimate History of Video Games, from the earliest days of arcades and the first consoles to the launch of Xbox, a great story is told. As the title of the book implies, the entire history of the video game industry is looked at. The first half of the book is pretty heavy on Atari. Nolan Bushnell plays a big part in Atari's early success. Many details are included such as Atari's internal affairs and how the budding industry got onto its feet. This led to the so-called golden age of video and arcade games in the early 1980s. After the North American video game crash in 1983, it would take a company from Japan, Nintendo, to rescue home video gaming. The rise of Nintendo is detailed in the book along with its fierce competition with, and eventual dominance of, Sega. The book ends with the release of three major consoles in the early 2000s: Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox. Throughout the book, many individuals who played key parts in video game history are looked at and even interviewed. Many gamers have probably heard of men like Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, and Shigeru Miyamoto, but many others played part not only in designing games but also the executives who ran companies. Not only are the major points in video game history looked at but also the minor side events that marked the way. Controversy is no stranger to video games and the book looks at the two times the U.S. Senate held hearings on the matter. Companies would sue each other, or at least threaten, for a variety of reasons. I thought this book was an excellent history of video games for the period of time it covered. Although the previous twelve years are not covered due to when this book was published, the historical information available is invaluable. My only disappointment with the book was that I felt too much coverage was given to Atari and not enough to other companies at the time, such as Coleco. However, the sheer amount of information available more than made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of video games.
Review: Previously published under a slightly different title - This book was previously published as simply "From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond...The Ultimate History of Video Games: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world" (without the "volume 1"), and had different cover art, and with the 2021 release of volume 2, this has been reskinned so that both books look like they belong together on a bookshelf. If you frequently buy books on the subject of video game history, you may want to make sure you don't already have the original 2001 edition before buying the "volume 1" edition. That said, this excellent book covers the history of video games prior to 2001 very thoroughly, and anyone with an interest in video game history will almost certainly find it to be a good read.

## Features

- Used Book in Good Condition

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #141,878 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #86 in Communication & Media Studies #220 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences #830 in Sociology Reference |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 877 Reviews |

## Images

![The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71gt2yWptyL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ultimate History of an Industry
*by F***K on September 26, 2013*

When I was younger, I loved playing video games especially during the 1990s and early 2000s. I can even remember how, mainly during the sixth generation of consoles, my own addiction to the history and people of the video game industry. I could not get enough of it, even if I knew that I would never get to play many of the most popular games. With a book like The Ultimate History of Video Games, from the earliest days of arcades and the first consoles to the launch of Xbox, a great story is told. As the title of the book implies, the entire history of the video game industry is looked at. The first half of the book is pretty heavy on Atari. Nolan Bushnell plays a big part in Atari's early success. Many details are included such as Atari's internal affairs and how the budding industry got onto its feet. This led to the so-called golden age of video and arcade games in the early 1980s. After the North American video game crash in 1983, it would take a company from Japan, Nintendo, to rescue home video gaming. The rise of Nintendo is detailed in the book along with its fierce competition with, and eventual dominance of, Sega. The book ends with the release of three major consoles in the early 2000s: Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox. Throughout the book, many individuals who played key parts in video game history are looked at and even interviewed. Many gamers have probably heard of men like Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, and Shigeru Miyamoto, but many others played part not only in designing games but also the executives who ran companies. Not only are the major points in video game history looked at but also the minor side events that marked the way. Controversy is no stranger to video games and the book looks at the two times the U.S. Senate held hearings on the matter. Companies would sue each other, or at least threaten, for a variety of reasons. I thought this book was an excellent history of video games for the period of time it covered. Although the previous twelve years are not covered due to when this book was published, the historical information available is invaluable. My only disappointment with the book was that I felt too much coverage was given to Atari and not enough to other companies at the time, such as Coleco. However, the sheer amount of information available more than made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of video games.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Previously published under a slightly different title
*by C***A on January 10, 2024*

This book was previously published as simply "From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond...The Ultimate History of Video Games: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world" (without the "volume 1"), and had different cover art, and with the 2021 release of volume 2, this has been reskinned so that both books look like they belong together on a bookshelf. If you frequently buy books on the subject of video game history, you may want to make sure you don't already have the original 2001 edition before buying the "volume 1" edition. That said, this excellent book covers the history of video games prior to 2001 very thoroughly, and anyone with an interest in video game history will almost certainly find it to be a good read.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awesome chronicle of gaming history (at least up until around 1995).
*by J***T on March 4, 2009*

While I was never an arcade rat (born in 1981), I can remember playing on an Atari 2800, and the love for console gaming has never ceased. It had been a goal of mine to finally pick up video games history book, and this is the one I chose. Before writing this review, I read through a few others to see if anyone shared my views, and they have. Like other readers suggested, the majority of this book is fantastic and detailed. It's all you want to know about the rise and fall of Atari, and their interwoven relationships with other gaming companies (i.e. Namco, etc) and prominent figures of today (i.e. Steve Jobs, etc). Also detailed is Japan's introduction into the American arcade market, most specifically Nintendo. No detail is left out. I loved reading about the work atmosphere of early Atari, how they made more money than they knew what to do with in such a short amount of time, and the crucial decisions they made early on to advance the arcade and home video game market. It's really hard to get a feel on whether Nolan Bushnell was a genius or simply lucky. Also great were the risks that Nintendo made to break into the American market, along with their determined positioning behind the team of Arakawa and Lincoln. However, when you get up to around the mid-1990's, the book falters tremendously based on what came before it. The last decade of video game history up to this book's publishing isn't well represented with the behind-the-scenes info that you've become used to from early in the book. Like someone else said in their review, it felt rushed, but it also felt as if the author wasn't anywhere near as well versed about recent happenings in the industry. You'll realize quickly that when you get to the launch of the original Playstation and Saturn, you've only got 2 or 3 chapters to go. While I wouldn't call this the "ultimate" history because of the lack of detail in more recent times, it definitely is the ultimate history of video games from their inception up to the 16-bit era. That's why I still give it 4 stars, because it's really good reading for those interested.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
- The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2: Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the Billion-Dollar Battle to Shape Modern Gaming
- The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox

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*Product available on Desertcart Romania*
*Store origin: RO*
*Last updated: 2026-02-07*