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Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life Paperback – October 21, 2016

by Chris Kohler (Author), Shuhei Yoshida (Foreword)
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Why are Japanese video games a worldwide sensation? This enjoyable and informative survey explores the reasons, starting with how Japanese developers raised the medium to an art form. The book also traces the ways in which the developers' ideas infused popular culture beyond the gaming world.
Interviews, anecdotes, and personal accounts offer insights from giants of the industry, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, and others involved in the creation of Donkey Kong, Mario, Pokémon, and other games. This revised edition includes updated material throughout the book as well as a new final chapter.
"Chris Kohler brings the passionate intensity of a hardcore fan to his writing, but he also has the background knowledge and the critical facilities to explore video games as an industry, as a medium, and as a cultural phenomenon." -- Chris Baker
"While it appears that Japanese gaming is on the wane today, it's worth your time to read about an era when nothing could be further from the truth." -- IGN
"Quite excellent... a great read." -- Hardcore Gaming 101
"Direct and insightful ... I believe that it belongs on the top shelf of any collector." -- Steve Kent, author of The Ultimate History of Video Games
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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dover Publications
  4. Publication date
    October 21, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    5.4 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0486801497
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0486801490
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

In writing Power-Up, I wanted to take what I had learned about Japanese art and culture and apply it to the video games that I had grown up loving so much, in an attempt to explain why Japan had been so successful throughout the world, from such an early point in gaming history. 
I wrote this book while living in Kyoto, Japan, just a few minutes' walk down the road from the original Nintendo Playing Cards building. It's a snapshot of that year of my life, as well as a history and profile of Japanese games from Super Mario to Final Fantasy to Ico. 
For the revised 2016 edition available from Dover Publications, I wrote the only thing that seemed appropriate: an all-new chapter paying tribute to the life and work of Nintendo's late president Satoru Iwata.

From the Back Cover

"Chris Kohler brings the passionate intensity of a hardcore fan to his writing, but he also has the background knowledge and the critical facilities to explore video games as an industry, as a medium, and as a cultural phenomenon."—Wired.
Why are Japanese video games a worldwide sensation? This enjoyable and informative survey explores the reasons, starting with how Japanese developers raised the medium to an art form. The book also traces the ways in which the developers' ideas infused popular culture beyond the gaming world.
Interviews, anecdotes, and personal accounts offer insights from giants of the industry, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, and others involved in the creation of Donkey Kong, Mario, Pokémon, and other games. This revised edition includes updated material throughout the book as well as a new bonus chapter.
Dover (2016) republication of the edition originally published by BradyGames, Sacramento, California, 2004.
See every Dover book in print at
www.doverpublications.com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications (October 21, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486801497
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486801490
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Chris Kohler

Chris Kohler

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Chris Kohler is the author of several books about video game culture and history. His career in the games industry spans a quarter century, from journalism to development.

Born in North Branford, CT, he majored in Japanese studies at Tufts University. While living in Kyoto, Japan on a Fulbright scholarship, he wrote his debut book Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life.

From 2005 to 2017, Kohler was an editor at WIRED magazine, founding its Webby-nominated gaming section Game|Life in 2005. He is currently Editorial Director at Digital Eclipse, a game development studio focusing on preserving game history through re-releases of classic games.

He is also the co-host of the Stitcher Award-winning pub trivia podcast Good Job, Brain! and the co-author of the Good Job, Brain! book. In 2017, Kohler released his most recent book, titled Final Fantasy V.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
120 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, entertaining, and highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
[Disclaimer: A full review will be forthcoming after I finish the book].

I recently purchased this book and, in one day, have gotten about 40 or so pages in. I can easily say that I am greatly enjoying my time with it so far.

Kohler writes very clear and concise. It has been very informative to read on the Japanese side of the video games industry, especially regarding its origins and both some of the significant people and companies that made it happen. Kohler's pacing for the two chapters I have read so far seems to be very balanced; just enough side information, fun facts, pictures, and minor variations throughout that make this so much more than a dry history book or thesis paper (which, ironically, this book started out as). It has been entertaining as well to read more in depth on Shigeru Miyamoto's beginnings (i.e., childhood interests, novel and academic/technical experiences, first encounters with Nintendo).

As Kohler puts it in the introduction, what you are getting here is a snapshot from his perspective and research of how the Japanese contributed to the video game industry as a whole. I noticed other reviewers stating things such as: "there were other companies other than Nintendo", it is "too narrow in scope", and it is "too short and too shallow", but would like to remind you that Kohler never claims his intent is to provide an all-in-one, comprehensive book on the subject matter. I believe, if you go in with this knowledge, it won't disappoint.

Even though I have a long way to go before I'm able to provide my definite thoughts, I feel confident in saying that I'd highly recommend this book to any gamer that has an appreciation for not only the games that they play, but the companies and individuals that started the games industry as well.

I hope this helps you in making a decision. I'm glad I chose to give this one a try.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars articles on top
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2021
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this is a good life-long journey in the vein of nintendo power and more. how did i know? cuz' i used to grade this guy. his father wrote most of the book but he handled the final edit. it's like a real family writing together. i was over at gamefaqs typing reviews for fun and believed this book to be pretty accurate. i like it and found that some developing can lead to more. i was a dos instructor with published software, he was a pupil of mine. fun read, fun time, thumb up big.........
One person found this helpful
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Michael Palisano
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of japanese gaming history
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2022
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Author Chris Kohler has writtenna superb volume covering the rose of Japanese gaming culture. Unique insights from premier developers including Miyamoto. Well-written and concise. A must-read for classic gaming aficionados.
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Nathan Vance
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into a fascinating history of an industry
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2017
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As an almost 40 year old American man, I've of course grown up playing Japanese video games. This book is an interesting look at video gaming's history, and how the Japanese have had such a large part in making it what it is today. Highly recommended.
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some dude
3.0 out of 5 stars Too short and too shallow, but basically worthwhile
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2005
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I enjoyed this book, mostly. Within its scattershot set of chapters about Japanese games in general, there's a fascinating, albeit sketchy, history of Nintendo that contained many small revelations for me, despite that I've been playing video games incessantly since 1987 or so. But the rest of the material was less compelling for me. The chapter about music games and music in games actively frustrated me--it gave only a brief survey of either topic, and seemed to spend most of its words on a tedious, obsessive examination of Final Fantasy albums. A chapter about Akihabara, Japan's premier consumer electronics marketplace, pushed the trivia-to-insight ratio similarly high. In his effort to treat video games as if they deserve the attention of artists, Kohler concentrates too much on material that is only interesting to fans.

Still, on the whole I'm glad I read this book, and I hope Kohler's stated desire to encourage further such works is satisfied; there is clearly much more to say.
13 people found this helpful
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C. Molnar
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2017
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Good quality, heavy duty hooks.
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Yesenia
5.0 out of 5 stars Fine product
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2019
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My son needed this book for school it arrived fast and for a decent price.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Bruno O.
5.0 out of 5 stars Mais um livro acima da média sobre o mercado de games
Reviewed in Brazil on April 24, 2024
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Mais um livro acima da média sobre o mercado de games
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ottawa mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2017
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Fast shipping. Son loves it.
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NEW
4.0 out of 5 stars Informativ aber speziell
Reviewed in Germany on March 30, 2010
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Das Buch "Power Up - How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life" ist eine wirklich gelungene, englischsprachige Lektüre über den Bereich Videospiele, jedoch mit der deutlichen Konzentration auf japanische Entwickler und Spielereihen (insbesondere Mario-Spiele und Final Fantasy Reihe). Die Texte werden durch zahlreiche kleine Screenshots und Fotos (beides schwarz-weiß) begleitet. Die "japanische Prägung" ist jedoch auch genau die Lücke in der Literatur, die der Auto schließen möchte. Inhalte sind dabei sowohl Analysen zu Spielinhalten und Spielentwicklung (wie entstand bspw. Donkey Kong und welche Geschichte erzählt das Spiel). Auch wird der japanische Videospielmarkt beleuchtet. Bspw. erfolgt eine Führung durch Akihabara mit dem Ziel dem Leser ein paar Hinweise insbesondere zum Gebrauchtwarenkauf zu geben. Auch wird in dem Buch deutlich wie stark auch der Markt für Videospielmusik in Japan ausgeprägt ist. Insgesamt werden nach und nach sowohl im Entwickler- als auch im Käuferverhalten Unterschiede zum Amerikanischen und Europäischen aufgezeigt, wobei die Bereicherung durch die Art der Geschichtenerzählung als tragendes Element in dem Buch stets wieder auftaucht.
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sotolf
4.0 out of 5 stars A great book with some draggy parts
Reviewed in Germany on January 23, 2017
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I was getting this book since I'm a big fan of retronauts a podcast about retro games, and this book really didn't disappoint it is well written and has a lot of interesting stuff in it, at times it was a bit long winded about stuff that I wasn't that interested in but it is well written which made me such with it, and I'm happy that I did. I liked it a lot, and it you're interested in games it probably will entertain you as well.
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