Evan Amos’s The Game Console dissected the “grisly innards” of more than 80 different platforms when it was first published in 2018. The author explored each machine’s history in a series of short blurbs while also using the “exploded view” photography on each page to dive into the many layers of silicon, plastic, and metal used to build them.
No Starch Press recently announced that this incredible visual study is getting a sequel next month with the release of The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox, a “Revised and Expanded” edition that’ll add more than 50 consoles, variants, and accessories to the original book:
Revised and updated since the first edition’s celebrated 2018 release, The Game Console 2.0 is an even bigger archival collection of vividly detailed photos of more than 100 video-game consoles. This ultimate archive of gaming history spans five decades and nine distinct generations, chronologically covering everything from market leaders to outright failures, and tracing the gaming industry’s rise, fall, and monumental resurgence.
The book’s 2nd edition features more classic game consoles and computers, a section on retro gaming in the modern era, and dozens of new entries — including super-rare finds, such the Unisonic Champion 2711, and the latest ninth-generation consoles. You’ll find coverage of legendary systems like the Magnavox Odyssey, Atari 2600, NES, and the Commodore 64; systems from the ‘90s and 2000s; modern consoles like the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5; and consoles you never knew existed.
The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox will be available in bookstores and as an ebook in August 2021.