The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games (Tech Classics)

I've been a fan of Nostalgia Nerd's YouTube channel for some time now so was delighted to hear that he was writing a book. This is a small but weighty tome that covers pretty much every system you can think of from the early days of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972 right thought to systems from the turn of the century like the Xbox. Each system is afforded 4 pages, starting with some history and photos of the system and peripherals and then a brief snippet on 3 games for each - one you need to see because it shows the system's strengths, one you have to play and one to avoid.It's a cracking read and one I ploughed through and finished in a couple of days as once you start reading it's hard to stop. My only criticism is that as well researched as it is there's a couple of silly mistakes in there, including one on the entry for the ZX Spectrum where one paragraph is repeated in error and thus misses some other information out. You would have though that for a UK book that's the one page that would be double checked! It's not enough to spoil the book and lose a star from my rating as it still remains one of the best books I've read for a while.If you, or someone you know, are interested in retro computers and consoles then this is a great purchase that will bring back many memories of systems you owned and/or wanted. It's reasonably priced too so a nice little Christmas gift for someone.

My wife bought me this for my Birthday. She got it on here for £4 which, to be honest, is a ridiculously cheap price for such a fantastic book. I feel like we’ve robbed someone!This book is stuffed with information about almost every retro computer or console that you can think of. For each system the book has defined sections:* History and information* Fact sheet* Games page with ‘Must See’, ‘Must Play’ and ‘Must Avoid’.It’s really well presented and the information is laid out in short, tidy pieces so you can either read through the lot or just pick and choose which bits to read.A fantastic book for anyone interested in Retro systems and is highly recommended. Especially for the crazy price we got it for!

I'm a retro nut, and I thought I knew a lot. This book taught me otherwise. The book is by no means exhaustive. It doesn't cover some successors to consoles, or regional variants. It also doesn't cover some of the more obscure or lesser-known ones either. It does, however, cover almost every one of the 'major' consoles and computers from 1976ish through to 2005ish.Each console/computer is covered by a specification overview, and some text about how it came to be, the major players in its design, the goal for which it was made, what the other competitors were doing at the time, and any snags in their production. It covers major SNAFUs and delays, and helps to set the scene for why some very-capable consoles missed out on becoming legendary, and instead became the realm of retro geeks like me.As well as the description of the console, a selection of games (usually two or three) which exemplify the best (or hilariously worst) of the offerings for that platform. The descriptions of the games are brilliantly funny, cuttingly, brutally honest, and help to put the console into historical context.All of the consoles are covered by wonderful photographs that must have taken an age to do. They show the consoles from a variety of angles, including common peripherals and media.There's very little to say bad about this book, except perhaps there are a few typos and one paragraph that got pasted in twice by accident. Also, the text for the games is very small, you'll need your strong reading glasses on to be able to make them out!Absolutely brilliant book, and I hope the Nostalgia Nerd follows this up with an examination of the PC and its clones.

I loved this one. As a gaming history nerd this ticked all the boxes and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the same subject fully.

I bought it for my dad for Christmas and he loves it, it reminds him of when he was younger when all of the devices in it were just being released

Love this book

Was a great gift, I ended up keeping as they already had a copy!

I bought this based on an instagram post I saw (and the reviews on here). I am the biggest 80's/90's geek/retro gamer I know and was drawn in by the front cover of this book. I am now getting through it and to be honest I am rather bored! I am getting to the point where I am more skimming over certain bits than actually taking all the technical nonsense in, this gets very, very repetitive. I feel sorry for anyone whose eyesight is not 100% or who needs glasses to read, once you get to the must see, must play, must avoid section of each console the writing becomes microscopic and mixed with different coloured backgrounds the black ink can become a chore to read. This is a nice hardback book with attractive artwork that will stand out and look the part in my dedicated "retro room", it may be used as a reference point in conversation with friends who say "remember this" but as a cover to cover read it is very mundane and quite boring. Certain sections will bring memories flooding back so I suppose it serves a purpose in that respect but overall I am very underwhelmed with this book. In a word...disappointing.

Really enjoyed reading through it and glad to own it. Great YouTube channel as well.

Gute Ware, schnelle Lieferung, gerne wieder

Muy bien editado, de buena calidad, muchas fotos y texto necesario. Me gusta el enfoque y la manera de enfocar la nostalgia de esos productos que formaron (o forman aún) parte de nuestras vidas

Ottimo per la nostalgia delle vecchie console del retro gaming.è in inglese.bella illustrazioni

Format très sympa du livre, plus petit que la moyenne. Belle couverture rigide. Descriptions des machines avec à chaque fois un best-of du meilleur jeux, du plus nul ou de celui à voir simplement. Le papier est agréable, la mise en page jolie. Bref un must have pour tous les geeks de cette période faste des micro-ordinateurs. Et je l'ai reçu en parfait état alors que c'est un import UK expédié depuis le Royaume-Uni.