Hey! Listen!
A Journey Through the Golden Era of Video Games
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Get 3 months for £0.99/mo
Hey! Listen!
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Steve McNeil
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By:
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Steve McNeil
About this listen
For fans of David Hardcastle and Retro Tech by Peter Leigh.
A hilarious history of the golden period of computer games from the creator of Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit.
It is fair to say Steve McNeil likes video games. He took a Nintendo Wii with him on his honeymoon (obviously), and spent so much time playing smartphone games in bed in the dark that he got eye strain and had to wear an eye patch. The locals nicknamed him 'the pale pirate'.
Steve's obsession with video games can be traced back to the golden period from the early 70s to the late 90s. In this book he will delve into these games - from the appallingly bad to the breathtakingly good. He will also take us through the nerdy geniuses who created them, their fierce rivalries and risks often leading to some of the most farcical moments in the history of entertainment.
This is a story of obsession, full of tales of Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Mario, Sonic, Wolfenstein 3D, Worms and many more. It will also answer important questions about the golden age. Questions like: Why did Namco feel they had to change the name of Puck-Man to Pac-Man because they were worried about graffiti, when Nintendo were more than happy to bring out Duck Hunt?
Joysticks at the ready. Let's do a gaming!
©2019 Steve McNeil (P)2019 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Equal parts hilarious and informative, Hey! Listen! should be in every gamer's library." (Lucy James, Gamespot)
"The 'A La Recherche du Temps Perdu' of the gaming community. The 'A La Recherche du Temps Pew-Pew-Pew', as it were." (Dara O'Briain)
"If 'Games Master' was a Nobel title passed on through the ages like 'Duke of York' or 'Rear of the Year' rather than simply the name of a 90s magazine and TV show then Steve McNeil would surely be the current holder of the esteemed position. What I'm saying is, he knows a LOT about games...." (Scroobius Pip)
Loved it
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It’s a very good book, and very funny. If you've seen any Go 8 Bit or Steve's twitch streams, you'll know what to expect, although I was a little surprised by the no swears. Having Steve read the book really does add a lot though.
This isn’t a complete history of games, but it covers a lot, from pre- video games (it starts with pinball, Pong comes a few chapters in), up to Ocarina Of Time, in the late 90s. So it does take a while before you get to what we'd recognise as games, but you're never too far from an interesting fact, or a joke. If you're familiar with Steve's work, you'll probably recognise a few of them, but that’s also why I bought it.
Steve recorded a standup DVD for Go Faster Stripe based on the book, and judging by this audiobook reading, it will be worth watching.
Even if you weren't interested in games, there’s enough interesting trivia that almost anyone could enjoy it. There could be a book in itself, on the tragedy of Sega America being sabotaged by Sega Japan, dooming them both, possibly as fallout from the videogame violence moral panic, instead of the few chapters that cover it here.
And at just under 8 hours, I think it’s a good length for the topic.
Dara O'Briain's Hey! Listen!, by Steve McNeil
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Entertaining trip down memory lane
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The book charts the history of the players in gaming history from their pre-gaming beginnings through their multiple incarnations (who knew there were so many 'Atari' companies?) in a highly entertaining and enjoyable manner. Steve's delivery adds a personal touch, and you can really tell that an incredible amount of work has gone into researching the material for this book.
Hopefully Steve can be persuaded to author a follow-up volume, charting gaming's progress since Ocarina of Time!
Definitely worth a listen.
Comprehensive and entertaining history of gaming.
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Interesting and funny
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