Rating: 
Summary: STELLAR
Review: STELLAR. I've had a few people ask me what I thought of Van Burnham's first book: Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984, and the word that comes to mind is STELLAR.Books about retro video gaming seem to be the latest rage, with entries by John Sellers (Arcade Fever), Steve Kent (The First Quarter) and Jaro Galiens (Electronic Plastic) joining veteran Leonard Herman (Phoenix), and a slew of others in the works. But Van has gone a different route, concentrating in equal parts on imagery and lore. Supercade is a gorgeous book. A glamourous book. It's the kind of book that demands to be kept on the coffee table. But it's also a stunning documentary, which makes it something more than just a coffee table book. For 448 pages you'll experience the birth and growth of our favorite pastime, with Van leading us through the origins of both arcade and home machines with the help of an impressive array of industry legends. Drawing on the personal experience of the "Father of Video Games" Ralph Baer and the founder of Atari Nolan Bushnell, among others, each page gives you the feeling that you are THERE. The highlight of the book for me is the first 100 pages which detail in both words and pictures the events at Brookhaven National Labs, where physicist William Higinbotham invented the first electronic game (Tennis for Two) in 1958; "Building 20" at MIT and the origins of Spacewar!; the original "brown box" TV Game Project by Ralph Baer; and the birth of Atari. This is to date the most interesting account of those early years. There's so much to love about Supercade beyond its visual account of history. The typically dead-on use of the primitive graphics of these early years is effectively sprinkled throughout its pages. Interviews with notable personalities Tim Skelly and Walter Day as well as brilliant guest submissions by Leonard Herman, Steven Kent, and even our own Keita Iida lend additional substance to an already substance-packed compendium. Look carefully into the nooks and crannies of the book and you'll find loads of rare items beautifully photographed, and trivia in every little corner (do you know what the historical significance of the coin-op Radarscope is? Better take a look!). Supercade is a history book. It is a vivid snapshot of a vivid era. But most of all, it is an account of the time and pastime that, if you're reading this, has affected and shaped your life in some way
Rating:
Summary: Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age '71-'84
Review: The video industry took the world by storm on the 70s and 80s.
In many ways- it still does. Children of all ages are fascinated with the legendary Pac-Man, Ape Escape, bubble boble, Snowbounding, Wings of Fury and a host of other action games.
This book chronicles the development of the video culture into
a virtual frenzy. It is perfect for video enthusiasts everywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: A good visual history
Review: This book is an excellent visual history of arcade gaming. In certain cases I wish the author had dedicated more than one page to each game. However, the back-story Van Burnham provides on notable projects provides enough interest to make browsing and reading the various sections of the book fun. Looking at the screen shots, old advertisements, and arcade photos made me feel nostalgic for the 'good old days' of arcade gaming. I was somewhat disappointed by the physical materials that went into this book. The hard cover and binding seemed very flimsy and weak leading me to believe that it may not stand up to the test of time. However, the contents of the book still make it a worthy purchase for any gaming or digital art fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Good readance
Review: This is an incredibly informative book (better be for the price). It's not fun reading, though. Doesn't capture the pure nostalgia of what the era was all about. Was a little text-booky, which doesn't seem to be quite the right tone. Very cool images, though. If you can afford it.
Rating:
Summary: A great coffee table book on video games
Review: Van Burnham has put together a pretty impressive and lively book about the history of the Bronze and Golden Ages of video games. The book is very colorful, with lots (and I mean LOTS) of borrowed pictures and MAME screenshots, each with a story or small blurb about the particular subject at hand. Burnham covers both arcade and home console video games in this piece. Some neat extras include interviews with designers/programmers, a story by a Starcade game show contestent, and a fairly complete timeline. Burnham has done her research, filling the book with detailed historical record of the first video game (Spacewar!), the first interactive CRT game (Willy's Tennis For Two), and the MIT railroad club, among others. There are a few problems, however. The layout of the pictures is a filled with lots of unnecessary filtering (i.e. the "old and grey" Commodore PET... we had color photography in the 1970s too!) and blurring, and can get garish at times. You could even say artsy-fartsy or pretentious. There are also some minor historical errors. Tapper is a Bally Midway creation (the book calls it "Atari's Tapper"). Activisions's Alan Miller didn't design Atari's arcade Football; Dave Stubbins, Steve Bristow, and Mike Albaugh did. I also think that Burnham, in her game blurbs and descriptions, tended to be a little less colorful; preferring to copy verbatim from her research. This gives the impression that quantity took precidence over quality. The reader could get the impression that the author got a bit lazy towards the end of compiling this book, in the process of cramming in as many games as possible. Other than these minor gripes, this book is a solid "period piece" that belongs on any classic gaming fan's coffee table.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful...Captures the authentic feel of the golden days
Review: Van Burnham's book is a true piece of art - it doesn't try to exhaustively present historical data, or be all-inclusive. It offers to take the reader for a ride through the star system that some call the Golden Age of Video Games. She gives us visual glimpses of some of the brightest stars, with just enough narrative to give depth to the experience. This book is the real thing - it comes from the heart, which is rare these days especially among classic videogame junkies. It manages to convey the sense of awe and wonder that one may have felt when standing in a darkened arcade room in 1980. A rare gem, and a classic in its own right. Long live Van Burnham!
Rating:
Summary: Good - but some glaring errors
Review: Van Burnham, I've been on this planet eight days longer than you, and although we seem to be living parallel lives, I couldn't have done a better job on authoring such an incredibly rich history of the videogame. You relived my youth in the pages of this book, and dug up fascinating techie historial info I was always curious about. This book is a beautiful addition and complement to my classic arcade. It is well written, smartly laid-out, and ties together colourful modern publishing techniques wonderfully with its historial content. Thank-you.
Rating:
Summary: Supercade SuperNostalgia
Review: Whatever they say about poor snapshot graphics, this is definitively a great book.
The shape, the colours, the weight itself..and obviously all what is written inside, is pure golden age videogames history.
The most famous (and not so famous) arcades are reviewed, with lot of infos about.
Absolutely recommended for arcade fans, I loved so much reading this book. The nice thing about it is that you will read it again and again and again.
A whole era completely in your hand. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. A must have. A piece of modern history.
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