Summary
The Console Chronicles is independent book publisher Lost In Cult’s latest foray into gaming history, taking you on a journey fromthe first generation of video game consoles to the consoles of the present day. Having read and enjoyed one of Lost In Cult’s previous publications, A Handheld History, I was eager to dig into the next title, and The Console Chronicles is just as rich and in-depth as I hoped.
Split into nine sections for each console generation, the book starts at the very beginning with the first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey, and Pong. While we’ve all likely heard the story of Pong birthing the video game industry as we know it a million times before, I was surprised to learn that so many individual consoles were made just to play Pong. Over900.
Plenty more fascinating revelations like this are spread throughout the book. Even if you think you’rea veteran of game console history, I can almost guarantee you’ll find something here that you didn’t know about before.
Like A Handheld History, The Console Chronicles doesn’t merely recite the canon of video game console history to you. The essays cleverly weave in personal stories related to the people connected to these consoles, whether they directly worked on them or have close personal connections to them, and it’s this human element that brings the chapters to life.
One chapter that particularly stood out to me is My First Day At Atari, found in the Story of Generation 2 section. As the title suggests, Howard Scott Warshaw recountshis first day working at Atariin 1981, where he would go on to make console games. He describes his wide-eyed wonder at being in this creative space and all the possibilities laid out before him, even if his new colleagues hinted at some unwanted change within their work environment.
The essay is a wonderful snapshot of what it was like to work in one of these companies, as well as how the stories of these early game and console developers began to unfold. As someone born 17 years after this story took place, it’s an insight into an era I never got to experience, with a much more personal lens than most deep dives into video game history afford.
I was equally intrigued by Abram Buehner’s Visions of Nintendo’s Future essay in the Story of Generation 6 section of the book. It begins by explaining Animal Crossing’s origins as Dōbutsu no Mori in Japan before launching with its English title on the GameCube, and goes into various personal stories associated with the Animal Crossing games.
It explores how these games have always fostered community and a sense of connection, and how the early games diverged from the likes of their contemporaries to create a slice-of-life experience anyone could enjoy, cementing early ideas for the Nintendo Wii.
Intertwining industry history with people who were there to experience it, whether professionally or personally, is easily the book’s biggest strength, allowing it to become something beyond a straight canonisation of console history.
Although the book reads in chronological order from generation one to nine, you could choose any chapter to read independently. In fact, I would recommend browsing the contents page and picking any chapter heading that catches your eye. Every essay gives appropriate context, even if it does follow chronologically from the previous one, so you can dip in and out of The Console Chronicles any way you choose.
Given how much information is packed in, though, I would still recommend giving each chapter a read - you never know what interesting tidbit of information you might find.
The essays are also presented beautifully alongside original illustrations and an array of photographs of the consoles, games, and controllers discussed. Open up any page and you’ll be greeted with gorgeous visuals and an intriguing essay to match. It’s a great coffee table book to read casually, but would also fit perfectly into a collector’s display.
The Console Chronicles is an in-depth and vibrant look into the history of gaming consoles, and worth picking up whether you’re casually interested in the topic or a console enthusiast.
