Curious Video Game Machines: A Compendium of Rare and Unusual Consoles, Computers and Coin-Ops

Bought as a Christmas present as an extra, but the book is big and quality in the print and pages is good enough to be a main gift! WhoopLooks well laid out and easily read.

The one thing I really appreciated about this book is how engaging and informative it is. Plenty of research has been done, it's not just a book filled with pretty pictures, but a rather comprehensive insight into rare and obscure gaming machines. You think you’ve read and seen it all however this book covers not just unusual computers and consoles but also the early attempts of virtual reality as well as bizarre arcade machines. An excellent read for all gaming enthusiasts.

Things I never knew about video game history all wrapped up in a very neat compendium. Some of it familiar 'I had one of those!' and some of it very, very obscure. A great read for computer and gaming nerds.

Curious Video Game Machines unveils the stories behind rare and obscure gaming machines and sheds light on the overlooked chapters of video game history. Well-researched, enthusiastically written, and brought to life with fun colour images. This is a gem for video game enthusiasts.

If you are curious about the obscure end of gaming, this book is for you. Expertly researched and laid out, you will learn a ton of new facts on machines you may never have known existed.

This book gives the background to how the industry has evolved with the what ifs and dead ends told by the people who were there.

This was a great read. Lewis has explored the obscure and forgotten corners of video game history and uncovered some brilliantly bizarre machines and the stories of their creation.

I’m only a few chapters in but wow am I impressed so far! This book is so much more than I expected. The writing is excellent. The pictures and visuals are so well done and pleasing to my eyes. If you are at all considering this book, buy it!

This is an excellent collection of stories and pictures from the video game underworld. Containing all sorts of fascinating histories of unusual gaming devices – like the Barcode Battler, Yugoslavia’s Galaksija, and Casio’s ‘Loopy’ – retro-gaming journalist, Lewis Packwood, (who writes for The Guardian, Retro Gamer, and many others) has created a thoroughly entertaining book.Extremely well-researched, Packwood is clearly a passionate expert on the topic. He has sourced many never-before-heard bits of information firsthand from the programmers, collectors, and enthusiasts involved in these machines.For anyone interested in the history of lesser-known video games and consoles – this book is a must. The large, coffee-table format, peppered with colour photos, is perfect for dipping in and out of, and Packwood ensures that the prose flows, by entwining personal stories with the facts to make this a highly entertaining read.Recommended for all computer game nerds.