Digital Dinosaurs!

10/15/26: Three new reviews have been added (Wonderswan, Neo-Geo Pocket Color, Virtual Boy) along with a guide to console generations... what they are and how long they last, among other things.

These days, if you've seen one video game system, you've seen them all. However, in the tech-limited 20th century, game consoles and handhelds were distinct, unique, and memorable in their own ways... although not always for the best reasons!

This book explores the history of video games one console at a time, with an emphasis on personal experiences with these machines and what they can do. What makes the Neo-Geo unlike any other 16-bit game system? What's the secret tie that binds the ColecoVision to the much later Master System? Who would surf the internet with a game.com when you have to connect the system to an online capable computer first?

All of these mysteries and more will be revealed in Digital Dinosaurs. Or, they will, when the book is finished. It's at about, oh... sixty percent right now.

What's here!

* Reviews and historical overviews of thirty different game systems and handhelds, including favorites like the NES, Sega Genesis, and Playstation, along with less desired consoles like the RCA Studio II and Emerson Arcadia.

* Technical specifications for each console reviewed, including CPU, RAM, resolution, display technologies, sprite loads, palettes, and more. It's your source for everything you needed to know about ancient game systems!

* A legend describing in detail what each technical specification means for the performance of each console, including real world examples.

* Lots of research from trusted sources throughout the internet for more accurate information.

* A smart, zesty Gen-X take on the history of the hobby, seasoned with personal experiences and no end of pop-culture references. (There will be bias. Oh how there will be bias. What, did you expect me to fluff up the game.com with praise?)

* A preliminary cover, riffing on Dino Wars for the TRS-80 Color Computer.

What's not

* Reviews of six other systems (CD-i, Virtual Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Neo-Geo Pocket Color, Wonderswan).

* Missing bits of data, especially in the ROM/BIOS sections.

* Lots MORE research to verify details throughout the book. I swore that I heard an Atari exec attacked a 5200 with a sledgehammer in a board meeting, but maybe it wasn't Jack Tramiel. Maybe it never happened at all! I really hope it happened; it's a great story.

* Some kind of forward, as these books tend to have them.

* Editing to clear up statements and improve flow. What's currently here was written in about a week.

* Illustrations and pictures. The current plan is to match up each system with a collage of pivotal moments in its lifespan; likely in the form of a family album or scrapbook. For instance, the "$300" announcement for the Playstation, E.T. for the 2600, and screencaps illustrating each machine's capabilities.

I'm planning a ten dollar price for this book. There's no need to pay for it NOW; it's still pretty early. Feedback would be sweet, though! Helpful feedback and constructive criticism, not "how dare you besmirch the good name of the CreatiVision, you heathen!" Not that anyone would ever say that.

Anyway. Give it a look, see if you enjoy it. Thanks!