Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America - The History of Video Game Revolution | Perfect for Gamers, Collectors & Pop Culture Enthusiasts
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Product Description
The story of Nintendo's rise and the beloved icon who made it possible. Nintendo has continually set the standard for video-game innovation in America, starting in 1981 with a plucky hero who jumped over barrels to save a girl from an ape. The saga of Mario, the portly plumber who became the most successful franchise in the history of gaming, has plot twists worthy of a video game. Jeff Ryan shares the story of how this quintessentially Japanese company found success in the American market. Lawsuits, Hollywood, die- hard fans, and face-offs with Sony and Microsoft are all part of the drama. Find out about: *Mario's eccentric yet brilliant creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who was tapped for the job because was considered expendable. *Minoru Arakawa, the son-in-law of Nintendo's imperious president, who bumbled his way to success. *The unexpected approach that allowed Nintendo to reinvent itself as the gaming system for the non-gamer, especially now with the Wii Even those who can't tell a Koopa from a Goomba will find this a fascinating story of striving, comeuppance, and redemption.
Customer Reviews
As a child of the 1980's, some of my earliest memories are video game related. Christmas of 1987 will always be remembered as the year I was given my version of a Red Rider BB Gun...a Nintendo system, complete with Super Mario Bros. So in reality (and this sounds a little sad), I've known Mario as long as, or longer than, some of my closest friends.They say never judge a book by its cover, but as soon as I saw the cover art for "Super Mario", I knew I was going to love it. Maybe I was just getting a little wistful for the days of 8-bit graphics, but I had high hopes for this book before I opened the cover. And it roundly exceeded my expectations. I thought I knew about Nintendo's history, but from the very beginning, it was clear there was a great deal I didn't know. The author does an outstanding job of chronicling Nintendo (and Mario's) rise to power over the years.For all its success, Nintendo has its share of failures, and I was happy to see the author give them their share of attention. I never like when a book like this reads like a commercial or propaganda, and this most certainly didn't. Mr. Ryan is obviously a fan of Nintendo (he admits this early on...and I don't think you could write a book like this if you weren't a fan), but I never felt like he was gushing.Lastly, I really enjoyed the author's writing style. The pacing was good, and he mixed in a lot of humor, so in addition to being informative, I found it fun and entertaining.So whether or not you're a fan of video games, I really think you're going to enjoy this book. I know my interest in video games isn't what it once was, but "Super Mario" had me captivated from start to finish. All told, I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
