Ten or fifteen years ago, before everything went online, this would have been a 4 or 5 star book. Sadly, it just doesn't stand up to the vast wealth of information on the internet, which for free, is infinitely cheaper.
The author lays out the book in three sections, the Atari 7200, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and the Sega Master system. He gives a brief history of the system, highlights the peripherals, and lists all the games in alphabetical order to include year released, publisher, etc. That's great. That's where the positives stop. All pictures are in black and white which would have been OK for a book from when the games were released but seems dated in a book released in 2012. The summary of the games is usally less informative than the Wikipedia entries. Most games get one paragraph. A few games are referred to as "rare" which no context to just how rare, and many games that I would easily classify as rare make no mention of limited press runs.
I don't want to make it sound like the book is worthless though. First of all, if you are reading the book, you obviously enjoy retro games, so you probably don't want everything all digital and online any way. Second, it is a handy reference for the basics, and some of you probably have the first volume of the series ([...]) so might as well go all Pokemon and collect them all.
Still, there is plenty of room for improvements. First, a screenshot from most, if not all of the games. Come on! Also, the cover art, or at least, cartridge art is a good start. Second, this book is aimed at collectors, so give them what they are looking for. The entry for the NES' Action 51 just says it's a crappy game. With that knowledge, you would not pick up a copy for $2 at a yard sale, and then you'd be a complete idiot as the game frequently sells for ~$100 in good condition. Third, a full-page article on some of the pinnacle games that defined the system and discuss their lasting legacies would be good.
A decent book, but the simple ways it could have been better make it a tad frustrating for me.
