Replay: The History of Video Games

Book Preface

Foreword by Richard Garriott

Many consider the video games industry a young one. And, indeed, compared to many industries it is. It has developed from being a home-based hobby of the odd computer nerd to a multi-billion dollar business in just 30 years or so. I am old enough, and consider myself lucky enough, to have worked in the industry for much of its history. Astounding achievements in technology and design have driven this business to the forefront of the entertainment industry, surpassing books and movies long ago as not only the preferred medium for entertainment, but the most lucrative as well. Yet, it still has not been recognized as the important cultural art form that it is.

It is important to look back and remember how quickly we got here. Many who consider video game history focus on certain parts, such as consoles and other hardware that helped propel this business into the artistic medium it is today. However, there are many more aspects that are equally important. I believe that Tristan Donovan’s account is the most comprehensive thus far. In this book you will see his account of the inception of the video game’s true foundations. He details with great insight the people and events that led to what is the most powerful creative field today, and he takes a holistic view of the genre. Tristan’s unique approach demonstrates the strength of this field –he focuses on how video games have become a medium for creativity unlike any other industry, and how those creators, artists, storytellers, and developers have impacted culture in not just the US, but worldwide. That is quite a powerful influence and warrants recognition.

This book credits the greatest artistic creators of our time but doesn’t limit what they’ve accomplished to a particular platform. The video game genre spans coin-operated machines, consoles, personal computers, and more recently, the impetus of mobile, web-based, and handheld markets. There are very few venues in life these days you will not see some sort of influence of a video game – from music to film, to education to the military, games have touched the lives of people all over the world. While some cultures prefer a particular game style over another, the common denominator is that the art of the video game is not simply synonymous with entertainment, but with life.

Introduction

“Why are you writing another book on the history of video games,” asked Michael Katz, the former head of Sega of America, when I interviewed him for this book.

There are many reasons why, but two stand out. The first is that the attempts at writing the history of video games to date have been US rather than global histories. In Replay: The History of Video Games, I hope to redress the balance, giving the US its due without neglecting the important influence of games developed in Japan, Europe and elsewhere. The second, and more important, reason is that video game history is usually told as a story of hardware not software: a tale of successive generations of game consoles and their manufacturers’ battle for market share. I wanted to write a history of video games as an art form rather than as a business product.

In addition, video games do not just exist on consoles. They appear on mobile phones, in arcades, within web browsers and, of course, on computers – formats that lack the distinct generational divides of consoles. Hardware is merely the vehicle for the creativity and vision of the video game developers who have spent the last 50 or so years moulding a new entertainment medium where, unlike almost all other rival media, the user is an active participant rather than a passive observer.

Hardware sets limits on what can be achieved, but it does not dictate what is created. The design of the ZX Spectrum home computer did not guarantee the creation of British surrealist games such as Jet Set Willy or Deus Ex Machina. The technology of the Nintendo 64 only made Super Mario 64 possible, it did not ensure that Shigeru Miyamoto would make it.

The real history of video games is a story of human creativity, aided by technological growth. Replay sets out to celebrate the vitality and vision of video game creators, and to shed light on why video games have evolved in the way they have. For that reason not all of the games featured in this book will have been popular and conversely some very popular games are not mentioned. The focus is on the innovative, not the commercially successful.

Finally, a note on terminology. I’ve used the term ‘video game’ throughout this book with the occasional use of ‘game’ when there is no risk of confusion with other forms of game such as board games. I chose video game in preference to other terms for several reasons: it remains in every day use, unlike TV game or electronic game; it is broad enough to encompass the entire medium unlike ‘computer game’, which would exclude games, such as Atari’s Pong, that did not use microprocessors; and terms such as ‘interactive entertainment’, while more accurate, have failed to catch on despite repeated attempts over the years.