High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, Second Edition

From the Publisher: Before the Beginning: A short tour of the prehistory of electronic games-including an homage to early pinball machines-and the key technological breakthroughs that made electronic gaming possible. Meet the earliest pioneers and experimenters who dreamed of using video screens for interactive entertainment. The 70s: Against the backdrop of a new era in social awareness and youth-oriented culture, the stage is set technologically for the birth of a new industry. Visionaries Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell lead the way, and Pong becomes a household word. The 80s: The electronic games industry is ready to rock and roll. While one hit follows another in the arcades, millions of homes across America are being invaded by Atari, Intellivision, and ColecoVision gaming systems. The personal computer and the floppy disk make it possible for anyone to become a game developer. The 90s: The CD-ROM, 3D graphics, and high-speed Internet access radically change the face of electronic gaming. New rivalries create rapidly escalating technologies, immersive realism, and a wide range of crossovers and tie-ins. Developmental budgets skyrocket, interactive games become very big business, and the companies themselves begin to merge and consolidate.