A History of Video Games

By: Jeremy Parish, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jeremy Parish

Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Since their arrival in the mid-20th century, video games have become a sprawling, multi-billion dollar business. On an annual basis, the industry is even more profitable than Hollywood. Today’s video games feature stunning, lifelike visuals and complex storylines - but they didn’t start out that way.

The origin of video games can be traced back to World War II. In the 10 lectures of A History of Video Games, listeners will follow the development of the digital game from its roots in the war room to its proliferation in the 21st-century living room. Taught by journalist, podcast host, and video game historian Jeremy Parish, this lively course will track the tremendous leaps made in computing technology that allowed games to become increasingly sophisticated and the popular trends that pushed the boundaries of technology forward.

The story of video games is not just about technology. It’s also about popular culture, economics, and globalization. Throughout these lectures, students will learn about the extremely profitable gaming industry, as well as the creative minds and ambitious projects that helped build it - and even encounter a few spectacular failures. Be prepared to:

• Witness the precipitous rise and fall of Atari
• Experience the birth of blockbuster gaming systems like NES and Sega Genesis
• Learn about the evolution of the console, PC, and portable gaming
• Explore the creation of iconic game series, such as Mario Bros., Pac-Man, and Pokémon

From the simple pleasures of Pong to the complex online world of Fortnite, video games have come a long way over the course of seven decades, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Listeners will surely reminisce about their own experience with gaming as they learn more about this exciting industry, phenomenon, and pastime.

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Brings up great memories

Fun trip into video game history. Learned new things about the business side of the industry.

Excellent course

There is more to video games than meets the eye, buckle up and enjoy.

Retronauts Gaiden

A History of Video Games is just that, a history. The timelines don't go into too much history, but is a good overview. Jeremy's narration is what you'd like expect from a podcasting expert. If you're a Retronauts fan, this is the audiobook to listen to.

informative and nostalgic

educational and yet nostalgic in that it was not only a walk down memory lane for my childhood growing up in video games but also filled in mini gaps that I didn't know in the history of the art as well as taught me many interesting trivial facts of the world behind the scenes.

A fairly shallow and disjointed series of lectures

This reads not like a work of history, but as a collection of anecdotal information written by someone reading through Wikipedia articles.

insightful and well written

insightful, well written and chock-full of Mr. Parish at his best, A history of video games covers every big milestone in the history of the medium with Parish's signature serious tone and the wit of someone who quotes The Simpsons at least once in their day today lives. well worth the price of play

Good history of video games

Well researched and well done. What would be nice is an update from 2010 forward!

Should be longer!

Jeremy Parish is someone who knows his stuff regarding videogame history, with his Youtube channel going through individual games in order of release for different consoles and explaining how they fit in both the history of the time of release, and the overall impact on general gaming history.

Unfortunately his talents are kind of wasted here, the course is simply too short to go into the details needed to be a proper history of videogames. It starts out strong with going into the details of the birth of the industry and Atari, but then moves way too fast. Entire console generations are finished in minutes, and the last few lectures are more about general industry trends and how it has adapted to the times. It's clear that Jeremy has a lot more that he wants to talk about but is constrained by the limit of course length. I hope that he is able to make more content for Audible in the future which does take advantage of his vast knowledge of individual releases and consoles.

There are several books on Audible that go into deeper videogame history, those are more comprehensive, but if you're looking for a more casual overview then this course will give you a good starting point. The information is good, and if you're a paid Audible member you can listen to it as part of the Plus catalog.

Pleasant nostalgia

This was an interesting work, although extremely short. Much of it mentioned the technologies and games I grew up with, but it also went deeper into some history I was not aware of. It's interesting to see the different forces at work over the decades that shaped the modern world of video games. I enjoyed listening to this.

The pauses.......are maddening.

The information is great.


However, the narrator paused after every sentence for just a bit longer than is necessary.




Everyone once in awhile would be no bit deal, but the breaks between sentences become more and more noticeable as it goes on.




It becomes maddening and makes it impossible to get through.


I'd love the same text but in book form.


As is, I had to stop listening.