
Once upon Atari
How I Made History by Killing an Industry
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Narrated by:
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Howard Scott Warshaw
About this listen
Video games set the world on fire, and Atari lit the match. This is an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry, as seen through the eyes of one of its most iconic pioneers. This book offers eye-opening details and insights, laying bare the issues and dynamics still taking place in modern software companies. A must-hear for anyone in high-tech production, delivered in a compelling narrative, with a fresh voice and unorthodox style.
How much fun can you have inventing video games in a creative paradise? What behind-the-scenes corporate intrigue went on while making billions of dollars and launching a new medium? What really caused the video game crash of 1983? Once upon Atari is the inside story of how it all happened and how it upended the life of one of its key players. An innovative work from one of the industry’s original innovators, delivered in a creative style that mirrors the industry it reveals. It is a compelling tale of innocence, joy, greed, devastation, and ultimately redemption.
©2020 Howard Scott Warshaw (P)2022 Howard Scott WarshawListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Over his four-decade career, Sid Meier has produced some of the world's most popular video games, including Sid Meier's Civilization, which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. Sid Meier's Memoir! is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multibillion-dollar industry.
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Only the Interesting Stuff
- By R. Squyres on 10-05-21
By: Sid Meier, and others
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Fight, Magic, Items
- The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West
- By: Aidan Moher
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) genre is one that is known for bold, unforgettable characters; rich stories; and some of the most iconic and beloved games in the industry. Inspired by early Western RPGs and introducing technology and artistic styles that pushed the boundaries of what video games could be, this genre is responsible for creating some of the most complex, bold, and beloved games in history. In Fight, Magic, Items, Aidan Moher guides listeners through the history of JRPGs.
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Excellent history of the JRPG genre
- By Cyrus on 08-14-23
By: Aidan Moher
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Play Nice
- The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment
- By: Jason Schreier
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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For video game fans, the name Blizzard Entertainment was once synonymous with perfection. The renowned company behind classics like Diablo and World of Warcraft was known to celebrate the joy of gaming over all else. What was once two UCLA students' simple mission—to make games they wanted to play—launched an empire with thousands of employees, millions of fans, and billions of dollars. But when Blizzard cancelled a buzzy project in 2013, it gave Bobby Kotick, the infamous CEO of corporate parent Activision, the excuse he needed to start cracking down on Blizzard's proud autonomy.
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Just ok
- By TH on 11-17-24
By: Jason Schreier
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Console Wars
- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- By: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
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Was hoping for so much more...
- By Rob G. on 11-17-14
By: Blake J. Harris
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Long Live Mortal Kombat, Round 1
- The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era
- By: David L. Craddock, John Tobias - foreword, James Rolfe - foreword
- Narrated by: Andy Ingalls
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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To politicians and parents, Mortal Kombat was a menace to society. To gamers, it was a way of life. From dedicated hustlers who put thousands of miles on their odometers driving coast to coast to challenge the top players in arcades, to fans who devote their free time to collecting action figures, setting world records, and plumbing the depths of its lore, the Mortal Kombat franchise has topped sales charts for thirty years, and its popularity shows no signs of waning. But before Mortal Kombat offended politicians and sold over 12 million units, executives at Midway saw it as filler.
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A lot of filler, and very little substance
- By Fred on 12-09-23
By: David L. Craddock, and others
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8-Bit Apocalypse
- The Untold Story of Atari's Missile Command
- By: Alex Rubens, Jeff Gerstmann - foreword
- Narrated by: Ryan Burke
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking listeners back to the days of TaB cola, dot matrix printers, and digging through the couch for just one more quarter, Alex Rubens combines his knowledge of the tech industry and experience as a gaming journalist to conjure the wild silicon frontier of the 8-bit ’80s. 8-Bit Apocalypse: The Untold Story of Atari's Missile Command offers the first in-depth, personal history of an era for which fans have a lot of nostalgia.
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Absolute waste of time!!
- By Talal on 03-30-19
By: Alex Rubens, and others
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Replay
- The History of Video Games
- By: Tristan Donovan, Richard Garriott
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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A riveting account of the birth and remarkable evolution of the most important development in entertainment since television, Replay is the ultimate history of video games. From its origins in the research labs of the 1940s to the groundbreaking success of the Wii, Replay sheds new light on gaming's past.
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Excellent Book
- By Devin on 01-17-18
By: Tristan Donovan, and others
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Press Reset
- Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
- By: Jason Schreier
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.
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Audio Quality is Inconsistent
- By Amazon Customer on 09-14-21
By: Jason Schreier
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iWoz
- How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Along the Way
- By: Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Before cell phones that fit in the palm of your hand and slim laptops that fit snugly into briefcases, computers were like strange, alien vending machines. They had cryptic switches, punch cards, and pages of encoded output. But in 1975, a young engineering wizard named Steve Wozniak had an idea: What if you combined computer circuitry with a regular typewriter keyboard and a video screen?
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iWOZ...apparently the best at everything!
- By Karen on 06-12-07
By: Steve Wozniak, and others
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Service Games
- The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition
- By: Sam Pettus
- Narrated by: Tom Racine
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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New Edition! More content, images, and corrected text and facts. Monochrome edition. Starting with its humble beginnings in the 1950s and ending with its swan-song, the Dreamcast, in the early 2000s, this is the complete history of Sega as a console maker. Before home computers and video game consoles, before the Internet and social networking, and before motion controls and smartphones, there was Sega.
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The Story of the Fall of Sega
- By Austin on 01-05-15
By: Sam Pettus
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Blood, Sweat, and Pixels
- The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made
- By: Jason Schreier
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Developing video games—hero's journey or fool's errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes listeners on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius.
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Behind the Scenes
- By SAMA on 11-27-17
By: Jason Schreier
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Inspired Therapist
- My Inner Journey from Wannabe to Healer
- By: Howard Scott Warshaw
- Narrated by: Howard Scott Warshaw
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Wise and real. This book offers a glimpse inside the mind of a therapist who is always pushing to be better while keeping the well-being of clients front and center. The author’s authentic and humorous voice comes through in a series of reflections about therapy, what it means to be a therapist, and what it means to live an authentic life. The quotes sprinkled throughout are poignant, and Warshaw’s unique blend of wit and insight make it fun as well as enlightening.
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An eye opening look into the mind
- By Bonnie on 04-13-23
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Prepare to Meet Thy Doom
- And More True Gaming Stories
- By: David Kushner
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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From Masters of Doom author David Kushner comes Prepare to Meet Thy Doom, a compilation of true gaming stories covering many facets of America's biggest entertainment business: the video game industry. In addition to more than a dozen fascinating tales of game creation, play, business, and controversy, Prepare to Meet Thy Doom follows up on Kushner's previous best seller, Masters of Doom, with a long-awaited update.
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An interesting and unsorted collection
- By Greg on 11-05-15
By: David Kushner
Narration
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Awesome story from start to finish !!!!
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Must Read if You're Into Videogames
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delivered with humor and sarcasm, I found myself chuckling often, which is not something I can say for many books.
higly recommend trip to memory lane
Funny and reminiscent
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Very funny and insightful
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The wisdom hiding in the pages should be mandatory reading for anyone in game design. The daily workout routine at the arcade I hope is a standard prescription for Dr. Warshaw’s clients in 2023.
Now that we have enough rumination time, how about a re-issue of E.T. with the changes described in Chapter 15? Or even better, a Raiders of the Lost Ark schedule of almost a year to give 2600 fans the E.T. sequel we’ve always wanted. Steven Spielberg is 76 now, and this could make a great reunion. The 45th anniversary is only four years away!
Finally! A memoir of a creative that rivals Stephen King’s On Writing.
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Loved it!
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Having said that, I loved listening to HSW. He’s got a nerd’s wit, and he employs it constantly, but, hey, it works for me. He’s is just constantly nuancing the sh*t out of the prose, with all kinds of fun little wordplay. It should be obnoxious. If I were reading this, I’d probably find it insufferable and quit. But when he delivers it (at the 1.2x I use for playback) it’s just so much fun.
And so I found myself liking HSW’s delivery, and how it prolongs what ought to be an article-length little thought piece on the collapse of Atari, into a prolonged time machine into a bygone charmed era that I enjoy living through again, with HSW as my proxy.
So, four stars for this thing. I enjoyed it. And four stars for HSW’s delightful performance. These are solid ratings in my book. I can only give the story two stars because, geez HSW, you really, really, really milked the stuffing out of your little tale. But I did enjoy it.
An Entertaining and Insightful Ramble of a Book
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humorous and insightful
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Loved hearing HSW talk about his history at Atari in his own words!
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