The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games (Tech Classics)

I'm a retro nut, and I thought I knew a lot. This book taught me otherwise. The book is by no means exhaustive. It doesn't cover some successors to consoles, or regional variants. It also doesn't cover some of the more obscure or lesser-known ones either. It does, however, cover almost every one of the 'major' consoles and computers from 1976ish through to 2005ish. Each console/computer is covered by a specification overview, and some text about how it came to be, the major players in its design, the goal for which it was made, what the other competitors were doing at the time, and any snags in their production. It covers major SNAFUs and delays, and helps to set the scene for why some very-capable consoles missed out on becoming legendary, and instead became the realm of retro geeks like me. As well as the description of the console, a selection of games (usually two or three) which exemplify the best (or hilariously worst) of the offerings for that platform. The descriptions of the games are brilliantly funny, cuttingly, brutally honest, and help to put the console into historical context. All of the consoles are covered by wonderful photographs that must have taken an age to do. They show the consoles from a variety of angles, including common peripherals and media. There's very little to say bad about this book, except perhaps there are a few typos and one paragraph that got pasted in twice by accident. Also, the text for the games is very small, you'll need your strong reading glasses on to be able to make them out! Absolutely brilliant book, and I hope the Nostalgia Nerd follows this up with an examination of the PC and its clones.

The book is a lovingly created romp through Computing history, covering the golden age of computer gaming, all the way from the 70s and the Magnavox to the Xbox (which makes me feel old as well as Nostalgic!). The snippets and history of each system are written by someone with a clear passion and love for retro gaming and provide an insight into not only the consoles and computers you love, but those you may have missed. It would make a great gift for any retro Gamer or micro computer enthusiast, or a great starting point to aid any collector who's considering starting a lovely retro games collection.

I've been a fan of Nostalgia Nerd's YouTube channel for some time now so was delighted to hear that he was writing a book. This is a small but weighty tome that covers pretty much every system you can think of from the early days of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972 right thought to systems from the turn of the century like the Xbox. Each system is afforded 4 pages, starting with some history and photos of the system and peripherals and then a brief snippet on 3 games for each - one you need to see because it shows the system's strengths, one you have to play and one to avoid. It's a cracking read and one I ploughed through and finished in a couple of days as once you start reading it's hard to stop. My only criticism is that as well researched as it is there's a couple of silly mistakes in there, including one on the entry for the ZX Spectrum where one paragraph is repeated in error and thus misses some other information out. You would have though that for a UK book that's the one page that would be double checked! It's not enough to spoil the book and lose a star from my rating as it still remains one of the best books I've read for a while. If you, or someone you know, are interested in retro computers and consoles then this is a great purchase that will bring back many memories of systems you owned and/or wanted. It's reasonably priced too so a nice little Christmas gift for someone.

This book lists most of the retro systems that I either grew up with or stared at admiringly in magazines. It’s a well written book with short pieces about each machine written in a style similar to the Nostalgia Nerds YouTube channel. It’s hard to shake Peters voice out of your head when reading the passages if you follow his YouTube videos. Each machine doesn’t take up a lot of the book covering only a couple of pages, with a short description over full page photos. I feel these short descriptions are actually to the books credit as there are videos and other texts to delve into about each machine if you are looking for more detailed information. This is, in all its openness, a coffee table book. As well as a description about each machine, Peter has listed three titles to play. One being a must see, one a must play and one to avoid, which is a nice way of solidifying any experience you had with the machine or providing decent recommendations if you wanted to pick one up. Although the book is thick enough with plenty of pages, the physical height and width of the book is much smaller than I expected. I don’t feel ripped off by this as that's down to my own expectations from some similar books I have bought. I also suspect this is a cost cutting exercise by the publishes as it’s a fairly niche book even within the world of retro gaming. Also, the book is missing anything about the Magnavox Odyssey 2 (or the Phillips Odyssey as it was known in the UK), my first ever gaming machine. So for these reasons I dock it one star out of personal opinion and lack of coverage of every machine. In short, a great book, easy to pick up and nice to keep out on the coffee table. For such a low price why wouldn’t you pick up a copy if you love retro computing... even if there is at lest one missing.

I brought it for gift for kid and he love it.

I am very happy with the purchase, book is great, in a perfect condition.

If you like Nostalgia Nerd's YouTube channel then you will love this book, I like the way the book is laid out and is written. I also like knowing whether the game he is writing about is any good or not, the book is about retro game consoles and systems. My only complaint and it is a small one is the font size is a little small. Overall I am very pleased with this book.

Great layout.

I received it on June 10th and finished it on June 11th (yes it's that good !!) What I liked about this book is not only was it written by my favorite retro tech reviewer on youtube (The Nostalgia Nerd) but also the hardback is very well made. The photos of the retro computers and games are clear. There are 39 systems in the book from around the world and each is presented in a way thats entertaining.I liked how the writer only reviewed 3 games per computer because the information he gives makes you actually want to play them. Now, there are two points which I didn't like (as shown in the photo) 1) the text is pretty small to read. I wish it was bigger - even my wife commented how small the print was. 2) On page 70, text is repeated when reviewing the Spectrum computer system (as shown in the photo). Two big paragraphs which make up half of the text on the page. Not too happy so I have emailed the author to find out if this is a printing error. In conclusion, I would say this is the best example of a retro tech review book. Others include too many games or fancy graphics but this is well lead out with facts and a perfect coffee table book.

This was a really fun read. It's by no means complete, but gives highlights of the best systems, accessories, etc. Highly recommended for the price.

Peter Leigh has done a great job at describing all of the major gaming consoles and computers from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. For each system he gives a detailed description, basic stats, pictures, and three representative games - the "must see", "must play", and "must avoid". Peter's descriptions are funny and spot on. He also brings a unique UK perspective, and describes gaming systems that were widespread not just in North America but also in Europe and Asia. As other have noted, the book did suffer from a few spelling mistakes, missing words, a duplicated paragraph (p.70), and a misplaced photo (p. 130). It feels like a second pass by an editor could have caught all of these. Perhaps a second printing could be done that corrects these boo boos. But aside from these, the book is an excellent reference that I'm sure I'll be using over and over again.

Muy bien editado, de buena calidad, muchas fotos y texto necesario. Me gusta el enfoque y la manera de enfocar la nostalgia de esos productos que formaron (o forman aún) parte de nuestras vidas