Power-up
Subtitle: how Japanese video games gave the world an extra life
By: Chris Kohler ; foreword by Shuhei Yoshida
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 320
ISBN-13: 9780486801490
Subjects: Design; Video games; Computer games; Marketing
Description: "'Chris Kohler brings the passionate intensity of a hardcore fan to his writing, but he also has the background knowledge and the critical facilities to explore video games as an industry, as a medium, and as a cultural phenomenon.' -- Wired. Why are Japanese video games a worldwide sensation? This enjoyable and informative survey explores the reasons, starting with how Japanese developers raised the medium to an art form. The book also traces the ways in which the developers' ideas infused popular culture beyond the gaming world. Interviews, anecdotes, and personal accounts offer insights from giants of the industry, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, and others involved in the creation of Donkey Kong, Mario, Pokemon, and other games. This revised edition includes updated material throughout the book as well as a new final chapter"--
Notes: "This Dover edition, first published in 2016, is a revised and updated republication of the work originally published by BradyGAMES Publishing, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2004. A new Foreword by Shuhei Yoshida has been specially prepared for the present edition. In addition, the author has added a new Introduction to the 2016 edition, additional material for Chapter 7, and a bonus Chapter."--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword; title: Introduction to the 2016 edition; title: Introduction to the 2004 edition; title: Super Mario nation; title: An early history of cinematic elements in video games; title: The play control of power fantasies: Nintendo, Super Mario, and Shigeru Miyamoto; title: Quests and fantasies: the Japanese RPG; title: Game music, music games; title: A tale of two Gaijin; title: Adventures in Akihabara: the Japanese game marketplace; title: Lost in transration: This game are sick; title: Pokémon: Shikaku Sedai No Sekai Shôhin; title: Future games; title: Conclusion: Thank you, Mario [but our profits are in another country]; title: Bonus 2016 chapter: Iwata dreams of video games.