The Glow of the Game: Volume Two

By 1981 the chips were cheap, the factories were ready and the arcades were packed. Volume Two covers the golden age of the handheld from 1981 to 1985 and beyond: Epoch’s Astro Wars, Coleco’s tabletop Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, Nintendo’s Game & Watch, Tomy’s Tomytronic 3-D and the crash of 1983.

It covers 114 games, each photographed from the author’s own collection, plus a full glossary of manufacturers across both volumes.

What’s inside

• Player Two: the preface
• The Geography of the Glow: the double-page timeline, 1958–2001
• Design 1980–1989: black plastic, neon glow and the arcade in your pocket
• Year by year: 1981 VFD Reaches its Peak · 1982 The Golden Era Expands · 1983 Peak Variety, Peak Ambition · 1984 The Shift Toward Simulation · 1985 The Handheld is Reborn
• Pop Art Gallery
• Extra Credit: the odd ones out, 1965–2013
• The End of the Glow? and bonus content: “Made in England”
• The Players: a glossary of manufacturers across both volumes, and a glossary of terms

Every game gets its own double-page spread: the photograph on the left, its story on the right. A coloured badge shows where and when it was made, followed by the specs, setup and controls, how to play, and three interesting facts.

Look inside

The 114 games in Volume Two