Press Reset cover art

Press Reset

Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry

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Press Reset

By: Jason Schreier
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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About this listen

 From the bestselling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade's most renowned studios fell apart—and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.

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.

The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark games—Bioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more—on to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely.

Schreier's insider interviews cover hostile takeovers, abusive bosses, corporate drama, bounced checks, and that one time the Boston Red Sox's Curt Schilling decided he was going to lead a game studio that would take out World of Warcraft. Along the way, he asks pressing questions about why, when the video game industry is more successful than ever, it's become so hard to make a stable living making video games—and whether the business of making games can change before it's too late. Programming Programming & Software Development Social Sciences Software Development Technology Game Software Video Game Video Game Industry

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Critic reviews

“Schreier covers the notoriously secretive gaming industry [and] knows it well.”

—GQ

“Jason Schreier is a huge fan of video games, and his enthusiasm is contagious.”

—Booklist

“My only complaint about Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is that there wasn't more to read.”

—Forbes
All stars
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Was way more interesting and exciting than I thought it would be, almost on par with the first book! Worst thing is the quality of the audio, which would sometimes sound like the guy was talking through a walkie talkie o_O

Another good and interesting read!

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The stories itself are ok. But it's kinda dissapointing that almost every chapter/story is connected to Irrational Games. I would have loved to hear about totally different studios. Furthermore there are to many characters in each chapter. I kinda lost track of what was going on when the main character or studio changed for the third time during a chapter.

Ist's okay

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I love games! I'm a gamer. I do not want my favourite past time to be at the cost of people's lives, mental health or anxiety. learning about game studios closing and how we got here is a must to enjoy your past time responsibly.

a must read for all gamers and aspiring game devs

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good investigative journalism. a lot of history and backgrounds to a lot of games we know and love. also leaves food for thought.

good insight into the AAA games industry

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A bunch of interesting tales of a turbulent industry. Makes you only more grateful of what incredible games some hard-working people manage to create for us to enjoy, despite everything.

NOTE: For some reason, every so often there will be a single paragraph that sounds like it was recorded inside of a tin can. It was always temporary (and thus, I found, manageable) but if that's something that will bother you too much then just bear in mind.

Good book, solid narration; variable audio quality

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