“Forever Physical” is the rallying cry of Limited Run Games, and the boutique publisher has done to their best to live up to those words over the last seven years, publishing hundreds of physical games across more than a dozen platforms.
Limited Run also recently invited several prominent game historians to their headquarters to create bonus material for some of their upcoming releases, as well as work on other projects. We got a look at one of those mystery projects last week, when the company announced that they’re expanding their already-pretty-massive operation with the launch of a new book publishing imprint.
Known as Press Run, the imprint will focus on “good reads for gamers” and it’ll be led by Jeremy Parish (the creator of Retronauts and the Video Works series) and Jared Petty (an IGN alum who also hosts the Top 100 Games Podcast).
“Readers searching for meaningful, informed, and entertaining stories by great writers will find a lot to love in Press Run books,” said Press Run Senior Editor and Project Manager Jared Petty. “We’re helping authors share their passion for games with larger audiences… it’s a thrill to get up every day and be a small part of that process.”
“Our long-term goal with Press Run is to create an ever-growing library of great books covering a wide array of topics, across a variety of formats and styles by a diverse lineup of authors,” said Press Run Media Curator Jeremy Parish. “Press Run will exist to keep great books in circulation for as long as people want to have them.”
Parish had even more to say about this mission in a lengthy blog post published on LimitedRunGames.com.
The first batch of titles from Press Run will include…
Limited Run: The Complete Run Vol. I – 2015-16 by Jeremy Parish
The first volume in an ongoing series that will be an essential companion for game collectors and Limited Run Games fans alike. The Complete Run offers a comprehensive overview of the company’s growing catalog from the very beginning, with full-color packaging photography and scans, extensive text overviews, screenshots, and checklists of everything produced and sold by Limited Run Games.Virtual Boy Works by Jeremy Parish
A revised second edition of our comprehensive Virtual Boy retrospective. Contains in-depth timelines, retrospectives, and photography of every game published in the U.S. and Japan for Nintendo’s least popular (but arguably most fascinating!) system.The History of Sunsoft Volume I by Stefan Gancer
An exhaustively researched exploration of the history of one of gaming’s true creative powerhouses, Japanese publisher Sunsoft. From its origins as a textile company to its breakout titles for arcades and NES, The History of Sunsoft is supported by extensive interviews and first-hand accounts by the people behind the company!PlayStation: A Retrospective by The GameSpite Crew
Back in print! This massive 400-plus book is packed with essays, commentary, and history, all centered on Sony’s first-ever console: The original PlayStation. Previously available only as a print-on-demand title and long out of circulation, this edition combines high-quality full-color printing with a budget-friendly price for the first time. (Available October 2022)NES Works 1987 by Jeremy Parish
A massive look at every game that shipped for Nintendo’s 8-bit console in its breakout year, 1987. Everything you could ever want to know about timeless masterpieces like The Legend of Zelda, Punch-Out!!, and Castlevania, as well as more esoteric titles like Arkanoid and Sqoon. The definitive book on this essential slice of video game history! (Available November 2022)
New titles will be available monthly, and Parish confirmed (via Twitter) that upcoming books from Chris Kohler, Kevin Bunch, Mike Drucker, Stuart Gipp, Diamond Feit, John Harris, Rey from The Video Game Museum, Ethan Johnson, Brian Clark, Mark Flitman, and Kurt Kalata will be released throughout 2022 and 2023.