The riveting story of Nintendo's conquest of the interactive entertainment industry offering true tales filled with cocky arrogance, confidence and international intrigue that rival any novel. Whether it is recounting the struggles over the game'Tetris,' offering blow-by-blow narrative of Nintendo's bitter legal warfare or its see-saw competition with other companies for m The riveting story of Nintendo's conquest of the interactive entertainment industry offering true tales filled with cocky arrogance, confidence and international intrigue that rival any novel. Whether it is recounting the struggles over the game'Tetris,' offering blow-by-blow narrative of Nintendo's bitter legal warfare or its see-saw competition with other companies for market leadership, Game Over is a masterful piece of business journalism and technical reportage-a book both cautionary and hugely entertaining. This exhaustively researched history of Nintendo was a highly interesting read. In some ways, it was painful.

Interviews with the Quickest Gamers David Snyder. David Sheff, Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World. Chapter, Enter the Dragon. New York: Vintage. Chicago: Williams Electronics, Inc,. Michael Enger.

As a kid who grew up with a deep love of Nintendo, it was a little disheartening to learn about some of the tactics they employed in their rise to complete dominance of the video game and toy consumer markets. As a child, I had no concept of Nintendo's business practices, which were at times extremely heavy-handed, aggressive and borderline-illegal. Looking at this period of time in retr This exhaustively researched history of Nintendo was a highly interesting read.

In some ways, it was painful. As a kid who grew up with a deep love of Nintendo, it was a little disheartening to learn about some of the tactics they employed in their rise to complete dominance of the video game and toy consumer markets. As a child, I had no concept of Nintendo's business practices, which were at times extremely heavy-handed, aggressive and borderline-illegal.

Looking at this period of time in retrospect was fascinating. I've dinged this book down to four stars because some of the language used by David Sheff is highly dated. I did not read the updated edition of the book, so I cannot speak to the changes that were made. Also, I just can't let Sheff get away with stating that Super Mario World was a subpar game in comparison to Sonic the Hedgehog on the Genesis. Blasphemy:) There are not many books on the history of the video game industry, and this is one of the best you can buy. It goes into great detail on Nintendo's origin as a playing card manufacturer, their incredibly humble beginnings in America, the brilliant strategies they employed to infiltrate a difficult market, and their continued success against all odds.

The detailed account of bringing Tetris to global audiences was particularly interesting, and gave some insight into the business dealings of Cold War era Russia as it attempted to interact more broadly with the global market. Highly recommended for either history buffs or gamers, and a special thanks for my in-laws for the gift. 'Game Over' is a great book.

Beatport Tech House 2012. David Sheff presents the story of how Nintendo, a 19th century trading card company, grew to be what it is today (well, not today, really - the early 1990's, when Sheff was writing the book). Sheff makes the story interesting and tense, diving deep into personal accounts of major events in the Nintendo timeline.

The way he wrote about Nintendo absolutely transformed my image of the company - they went from the lackadaisical gaming company that represented childish in 'Game Over' is a great book. David Sheff presents the story of how Nintendo, a 19th century trading card company, grew to be what it is today (well, not today, really - the early 1990's, when Sheff was writing the book).