I don’t know exactly when I decided to begin a third edition of Phoenix. The second edition had three more chapters than the first and perhaps I wanted to do the same for the third. So I researched and wrote three new chapters, 1997-1999. The year 2000 was probably over by the time I completed…… Continue reading THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 5
Author: rolenta
THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 4
Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Home Videogames was a minor hit. It was mentioned in major magazines such as Next Generation and I began receiving letters from people thanking me for writing it. Many of them asked me when I was going to write an updated version of the book since it only went…… Continue reading THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 4
THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 3
Based on the responses that I received from readers of The 2600 Connection, I knew that people wanted to read my books. My task was to figure out a way to get them to these readers. The 2600 Connection was a fanzine, an amateur publication that had been produced by a fan of the Atari…… Continue reading THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 3
THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 2
The American videogame industry had crashed at the end of 1983 and by 1984 few companies were releasing new games for the existing consoles. Then in 1985 Nintendo released its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and suddenly videogames were once again in vogue. In 1986 Atari released its 7800 console, which also played most 2600 games.…… Continue reading THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 2
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Apparently videogame historians are a dime a dozen these days. It seems anybody can just write something and claim to be a historian, whether the information they provided is accurate or not. The danger in this is people digest the current information, and if nobody calls it out it’s assumed to be the truth. That…… Continue reading SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 1
MY EARLY WRITING YEARS I began writing when I was ten years old. An avid reader of Superman comics, one day I took two pieces of notebook paper, folded them in half, stapled them along the edge, and began writing comic books. I use the word “writing” loosely because what I actually did was draw…… Continue reading THE ROAD TO VIDEOGAME HISTORY – Part 1
MY ATARI BOOK THAT WAS SABOTAGED
This article was originally written on July 15, 2020, but never published. In light of Curt Vendel’s untimely death on August 30, 2020, I thought I would honor Curt’s memory and release this so everyone would know about a book that we had once planned to write together. For those who don’t know who Curt…… Continue reading MY ATARI BOOK THAT WAS SABOTAGED
THE EPSTEIN-NINTENDO CONNECTION
On July 2, 2020, Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested for allegedly aiding Epstein in his nefarious activities. According to the indictment, Maxwell “assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls.” While videogamers may take a cursory interest in the Epstein-Maxwell scandal, they would take…… Continue reading THE EPSTEIN-NINTENDO CONNECTION
GETTING TO KNOW THE GAME SCHOLAR
Join Rob Far and Leonard Herman aka the Game Scholar on their first podcast as they discuss Leonard’s new website, thegamescholar.com and what to expect on this website. The Game Scholar Podcast #1
THE FORGOTTEN EPIC
Much has been written about gaming’s first decade, with a particular focus on western innovation and domination. This focus is understandable considering Americans developed the first console, the first arcade games, the first hit videogame, the first system to support programmable games and the first console that was a true mainstream success, among many other…… Continue reading THE FORGOTTEN EPIC
The Game Scholar 